Since the printing press came into being, poetry has ceased to be the delight of the whole community of man; it has become the amusement and delight of the few.
John MasefieldRead
Commonplace people dislike tragedy because they dare not suffer and cannot exult.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that ordinary people avoid tragedy because they fear emotional pain and the intensity of lifeβs experiences.
John Masefield's quote reflects on the human inclination to shy away from the depths of human experience, particularly tragedy. It implies that commonplace individuals may not only fear suffering but also miss out on the profound joy and exaltation that can accompany such experiences. By avoiding tragedy, they deny themselves the full spectrum of emotional existence, leading to a shallow engagement with life.
Themes
TragedyEmotionsExperienceLifeSuffering
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming personal challenges, you might quote this to illustrate the depth of human experience.
More from John Masefield
All quotes βI must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
John MasefieldRead
What am I, Life? A thing of watery salt Held in cohesion by unresting cells, Which work they know not why, which never halt, Myself unwitting where their Master dwells?
John MasefieldRead
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
John MasefieldRead
Poetry is a mixture of common sense, which not all have, with an uncommon sense, which very few have.
John MasefieldRead
Once in a century a man may be ruined or made insufferable by praise. But surely once in a minute something generous dies for want of it.
John MasefieldRead
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Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.
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