If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
This melancholy London - I sometimes imagine that the souls of the lost are compelled to walk through its streets perpetually. One feels them passing like a whiff of air.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep sense of loss and the haunting presence of souls in the city of London.
William Butler Yeats reflects on the profound melancholia of London, suggesting that the spirits of lost souls roam its streets eternally. This evokes a poignant image of their lingering presence, highlighting themes of loss and the unseen connection between the living and the dead, creating a vivid atmosphere of sorrow intertwined with urban life.
In practice
In a speech about the history of London, one might use this quote to express the city's profound sense of history and memory.
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.
The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building.
Living systems are never in equilibrium. They are inherently unstable. They may seem stable, but theyβre not. Everything is moving and changing. In a sense, everything is on the edge of collapse.
A rabbit's foot may bring good luck to you, but it brought none to the rabbit.
Used to the conditions of a capitalistic environment, the average American takes it for granted that every year business makes something new and better accessible to him. Looking backward upon the years of his own life, he realizes that many implements that were totally unknown in the days of his youth and many others which at that time could be enjoyed only by a small minority are now standard equipment of almost every household.
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
Nothing else matters much...not wealth, nor learning, nor even health...without this gift: the spiritual capacity to keep zest in living. This is the creed of creeds, the final deposit and distillation of all important faiths: that you should be able to believe in life.
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