If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
For such, _x000D_ Being made beautiful overmuch, _x000D_ Consider beauty a sufficient end, _x000D_ Lose natural kindness and maybe _x000D_ The heart-revealing intimacy _x000D_ That chooses right, and never find a friend.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Excessive focus on beauty can lead to a loss of genuine kindness and meaningful connections.
In this quote, Yeats warns that prioritizing superficial beauty can distract one from the deeper values of kindness and genuine human connection. Overemphasis on appearance may create barriers to true intimacy and friendship, ultimately leading to loneliness and unfulfilled relationships.
Themes
BeautyKindnessFriendshipIntimacyValues
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of inner beauty during a community event.
More from William Butler Yeats
All quotes →It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
William Butler YeatsRead
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
William Butler YeatsRead
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
William Butler YeatsRead
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
William Butler YeatsRead
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
William Butler YeatsRead
Similar quotes
Who doesn’t respect and value his past, is not worth the honour of the present, and has no right to a future
Jozef PilsudskiRead
The world is bad but not without hope. It is only hopeless when you look at it from an ideal viewpoint.
Friedrich DurrenmattRead
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope, For hope would be hope for the wrong thing.
T. S. EliotRead
For a stalk to grow or a flower to open there must be time that cannot be forced; nine months must go by for the birth of a human child; to write a book or compose music often years must be dedicated to patient research ...To find the mystery there must be patience, interior purification, silence, waiting.
Pope John Paul IiRead
The ultimate ignorance is the rejection of something you know nothing about, yet refuse to investigate.
Wayne DyerRead
A Warrior of Light never resorts to trickery, but he knows how to distract his opponent.
Paulo CoelhoRead