Welcome, fellow literary enthusiasts, to a journey of introspection and inspiration with one of the greatest poets of the 20th century—W.H. Auden. Renowned for his remarkable ability to capture the complexity of human existence in poetic form, Auden's words resonate deeply within our souls, stirring emotions we didn't even know we possessed. In this article, we'll delve into the profound wisdom encapsulated in 50 reflective W.H. Auden quotes, inviting you to explore the labyrinthine corridors of your own thoughts and feelings.
But first, let's embark on a short voyage to the heart of Auden's literary brilliance. Picture this: it's the year 1939, and the world is at the precipice of an impending cataclysm. In the midst of the turmoil, Auden, a young and talented poet, boards a ship bound for America. As the vessel slices through the waves, Auden's mind dances with a kaleidoscope of ideas, each fragment finding its place in the intricate tapestry of his poetry. Little did he know that this journey would mark the beginning of a lifelong exploration of the human condition, eventually earning him a reputation as one of the most influential poets of his time. And it is within the folds of his verses that we discover the power to reflect, to question, and to discover our own truths.
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Contemplating Life's Complexity
1. “We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for, I don't know.”
2. “Choice of attention—to pay attention to this and ignore that—is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer.”
3. “We must love one another or die.”
4. “In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.”
5. “The stars are dead. The animals will not look. We are left alone with our day, and the time is short, and history to the defeated may say, ‘Alas, but cannot help nor pardon.'”
6. “We are all failures—at least the best of us are.”
7. “The only way to spend an eternity is in gratitude.”
8. “The center that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.”
9. “Time, which sees all things, has found you out.”
10. “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”
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Reflecting on Change and Truth
- “You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.”
- “To pray is to pay attention to something or someone other than oneself.”
- “We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die.”
- “In suffering, we learn who our true friends are.”
- “For poetry makes nothing happen: it survives in the valley of its saying.”
- “To choose what is difficult all one's days, as if it were easy, that is faith.”
- “The only justice is to follow the sincere intuition of the soul, angry or gentle.”
- “You must love your crooked neighbor with your crooked heart.”
- “All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.”
- “I and the public know what all schoolchildren learn, those to whom evil is done do evil in return.”
War, Media, and Society
- “Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected.”
- “What the mass media offers is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to be consumed like food, forgotten, and replaced by a new dish.”
- “Evil is unspectacular and always human.”
- “I don't think writers are sacred, but words are.”
- “Love your crooked neighbor with your crooked heart.”
- “One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.”
- “To those who wish me well, I wish them well.”
- “Art is born of humiliation.”
- “A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish.”
- “No hero is mortal till he dies.”
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Love, Gratitude, and Introspection
- “No time for irony now, no time for laughter, the game is over.”
- “If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.”
- “I am a soul. I know well that what I shall render up to the grave is not myself.”
- “The intelligent are to the intelligentsia what a gentleman is to a gent.”
- “We must love one another or die.”
- “Let your only choice be to do good.”
- “You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.”
- “Choice of attention—to pay attention to this and ignore that—is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer.”
- “To pray is to pay attention to something or someone other than oneself.”
- “The center that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.”
Exploring Society and Individuality
- “To choose what is difficult all one's days, as if it were easy, that is faith.”
- “You must love your crooked neighbor with your crooked heart.”
- “All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.”
- “Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected.”
- “Evil is unspectacular and always human.”
- “I don't think writers are sacred, but words are.”
- “Love your crooked neighbor with your crooked heart.”
- “One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.”
- “A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish.”
- “If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.”
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