So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet west, The sundown splendid and serene, Death.
William Ernest HenleyRead
It is the artist's function not to copy but to synthesise: to eliminate from that gross confusion of actuality which is his raw material whatever is accidental, idle, irrelevant, and select for perpetuation that only which is appropriate and immortal.
Interpretation
What this quote means
An artist’s role is to filter and reinterpret reality, highlighting what is meaningful and enduring.
This quote emphasizes the unique role of an artist in transforming the chaotic elements of reality into something cohesive and profound. Rather than simply imitating what they see, artists are tasked with distilling their experiences and observations, focusing on what is essential and timeless, and presenting it in a way that resonates with others.
Themes
ArtistSynthesisCreativityMeaningInterpretation
In practice
Example use cases
During an art critique session, I quoted Henley to emphasize the importance of selection in an artist's work.
More from William Ernest Henley
All quotes →Were I so tall as to reach the pole or grasp the ocean at a span, I must be measured by my soul. The mind is the standard of the man.
William Ernest HenleyRead
Here is the ghost _x000D_ _x000D_ Of a summer that lived for us, _x000D_ _x000D_ Ere is a promise _x000D_ _x000D_ Of summer to be.
William Ernest HenleyRead
I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
William Ernest HenleyRead
Similar quotes
There is nothing so necessary for men as dancing.
MoliereRead
It seems to me that it had no other rationale than to show that we are not simply the country of entertainers, but also that of engineers and builders called from across the world to build bridges, viaducts, stations and major monuments of modern industry, the Eiffel Tower deserves to be treated with consideration.
Gustave EiffelRead
I cannot life for life itself: but for the words which stay the flux. My life, I feel, will not be lived until there are books and stories which relive it perpetually in time. I forget too easily how it was, and shrink to the horror of the here and now, with no past and no future. Writing breaks open the vaults of the dead and the skies behind which the prophesying angels hide. The mind makes and makes, spinning its web.
Sylvia PlathRead
Before you can write a novel you have to have a number of ideas that come together. One idea is not enough.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Nobody wants to read about the honest lawyer down the street who does real estate loans and wills. If you want to sell books, you have to write about the interesting lawyers - the guys who steal all the money and take off. That's the fun stuff.
John GrishamRead
I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to that joy for an artist?
Mary CassattRead