If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
Cast a cold eye on life, on death Horseman pass by
Interpretation
The quote suggests a detached perspective on life and death, implying one should observe without being emotionally involved.
William Butler Yeats's quote encourages individuals to adopt a cold, analytical view of both life and death. The imagery of a 'horseman' passing by implies a sense of inevitability and distance, urging us to recognize the transient nature of existence and to observe it without emotional interference. This perspective allows for a more profound understanding of lifeβs fleeting moments and the unavoidable reality of death.
In practice
In a philosophy class while discussing existentialism.
If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
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.
We don't realize how much racism has tainted our self-image as human beings.
I believe in mysticism, with an interior goal, _x000D_ and you are your own temple _x000D_ and your own priest.
It's very important to say that French doesn't belong to France and to French people. Now you have very wonderful poets and writers in French who are not French or Algerian - who are from Senegal, from Haiti, from Canada, a lot of parts of the world.
Civilization is a work of peaceful co-operation.
There is nothing the matter with Americans except their ideals. The real American is all right; it is the ideal American who is all wrong.
Meditation helps me feel the shape, the texture of my inner life. Here, in the quiet, I can begin to taste what Buddhists would call my true nature, what Jews call the still, small voice, what Christians call the holy spirit.
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