Tell troth and shame the devil.
Ben JonsonRead
A good poet's made as well as born.
Interpretation
Talent in poetry is a combination of innate ability and learned skill.
Ben Jonson's quote implies that becoming a great poet involves both natural talent and the acquisition of knowledge and experience. This indicates that while some individuals may have a natural affinity for poetry and creativity, honing one's craft through practice, education, and life experiences is equally crucial in achieving excellence in this art form.
In practice
This quote could be used in a poetry workshop to inspire participants to both embrace their innate abilities and commit to practice.
Tell troth and shame the devil.
We are persons of quality, I assure you, and women of fashion, and come to see and to be seen.
All concord's born of contraries.
Queen and huntress, chaste and fair Now the sun is laid to sleep, Seated in thy silver chair, State in wonted manner keep: Hesperus entreats thy light Goddess, excellently bright.
I know no disease of the soul but ignorance, a pernicious evil, the darkener of man's life, the disturber of his reason, and common confounder of truth.
You are not now to think what's best to do, _x000D_ As in beginnings, but what must be done, _x000D_ Being thus enter'd; and slip no advantage _x000D_ That may secure you. Let them call it mischief; _x000D_ When it is past, and prosper'd , 'twill be virtue.
I feel that I want to use light as this wonderful and magic elixir that we drink as Vitamin D through the skin - and I mean, we are literally light-eaters - to then affect the way that we see.
People say my films are dark. But like lightness, darkness stems from a reflection of the world. The thing is, I get these ideas that I truly fall in love with. And a good movie idea is often like a girl you're in love with, but you know she's not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents, because they sometimes hold some dark and troubling things.
The object of fiction isn't grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story.... Writing is seduction. Good talk is part of seduction.
For me, there is a paradox in poetry, which is like the paradox in tragedy. You have the most terrible subject, but it's in a form that is so sensually gratifying that it connects the surviving heart to the despairing intellect.
Original thought, original artistic expression is by its very nature questioning, irreverent, iconoclastic.
The writing life requires courage, patience, persistence, empathy, openness, and the ability to deal with rejection. It requires the willingness to be alone with oneself. To be gentle with oneself. To look at the world without blinders on. To observe and withstand what one sees. To be disciplined, and at the same time, take risks. To be willing to fail - not just once, but again and again, over the course of a lifetime.
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