Oh, let there be nothing on earth but laundry,_x000D_ Nothing but rosy hands in the rising steam_x000D_ And clear dances done in the sight of heaven.
Interpretation
The quote celebrates the beauty and simplicity of everyday tasks, elevating them to art.
Richard Wilbur's quote highlights the transformative power of mundane activities, such as doing laundry, by portraying them as moments of joy and beauty. It suggests that even the most ordinary tasks can be filled with grace and can connect us to something divine when approached with mindfulness and appreciation.
In practice
In a speech about finding beauty in everyday life.
It is true that the poet does not directly address his neighbors; but he does address a great congress of persons who dwell at the back of his mind, a congress of all those who have taught him and whom he has admired; they constitute his ideal audience and his better self.
I would feel dead if I didn't have the ability periodically to put my world in order with a poem. I think to be inarticulate is a great suffering, and is especially so to anyone who has a certain knack for poetry.
I work very deliberately, with a plan. But sometimes I come to a point that I planned as the end and it needs softening. Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep - it can't be done abruptly.
A good picture is equivalent to a good deed.
It is not enough to photograph the obviously picturesque.
He asked himself what is a woman standing on the stairs in the shadow, listening to distant music, a symbol of. If he were a painter he would paint her in that attitude. Her blue felt hat would show off the bronze of her hair against the darkness and the dark panels of her skirt would show off the light ones. Distant Music he would call the picture if he were a painter.
Google the name Prometheus, and see how often it has been given to innovations in many different fields, notably science, medicine and space exploration. The fire he stole can be seen, too, as the spark generating all artistic creativity.
We have learned to express the more delicate nuances of feeling by penetrating more deeply into the mysteries of harmony.
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