Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth
Mason CooleyRead
Young poets bewail the passing of love; old poets, the passing of time. There is surprisingly little difference.
Interpretation
Young poets lament lost love, while old poets mourn the loss of time, revealing a shared essence in their sorrow.
This quote suggests that regardless of age, the themes of love and time are intertwined in poetry. Young poets focus on the fleeting nature of love, while older poets reflect on the inevitable passage of time, indicating that both experiences evoke similar feelings of loss and nostalgia.
In practice
In a literary discussion about the themes in poetry, this quote highlights the universal feelings of love and time.
Am I in love? --yes, since I am waiting. The other one never waits. Sometimes I want to play the part of the one who doesn't wait; I try to busy myself elsewhere, to arrive late; but I always lose at this game. Whatever I do, I find myself there, with nothing to do, punctual, even ahead of time. The lover's fatal identity is precisely this: I am the one who waits.
Give crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away; Give pearls away and rubies, But keep your fancy free.
She's beautiful, and therefore to be wooed; She is a woman, therefore to be won.
I am bewitched with the rogue's company. If the rascal have not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be hanged.
How was I able to live alone before, my little everything? Without you I lack self-confidence, passion for work, and enjoyment of life--in short, without you, my life is no life. [Written to his wife, Mileva]
Tell Allen I plead guilty to vampirism and other crimes against life. But I love him and nothing else cancels love.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.