Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a willingness to be the one who loves more in a relationship, even if affection cannot be reciprocated equally.
In this quote, W. H. Auden suggests that when love is not perfectly reciprocated, one should take the initiative to love more deeply. It highlights the beauty and strength of unconditional love, indicating that the act of loving someone fully can outweigh the need for equal affection in return.
Themes
LoveAffectionUnconditionalRelationshipSacrifice
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a wedding speech to emphasize devotion.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes βThat the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
W. H. AudenRead
Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
W. H. AudenRead
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.
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