There, by the starlit fences The wanderer halts and hears My soul that lingers sighing About the glimmering weirs.
A. E. HousmanRead
Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking_x000D_ _x000D_ Spins the heavy world around.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that humor and lighthearted activities can help lift the burdens of life.
A. E. Housman's quote reflects the idea that engaging in joyful activities such as jesting, dancing, and drinking serves as a counterbalance to the serious and heavy aspects of the world. It implies that these light-hearted pursuits can make life's burdens feel lighter and more manageable, promoting a sense of liveliness and joy amidst our daily struggles.
Themes
HumorJoyLightheartednessDancingDrinkingLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of finding joy in everyday life.
More from A. E. Housman
All quotes βWho made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here am I in hell. My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, I never soiled with such a deed.
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I am not a pessimist but a pejorist (as George Eliot said she was not an optimist but a meliorist); and that philosophy is founded on my observation of the world, not on anything so trivial and irrelevant as personal history.
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Lovers lying two and two Ask not whom they sleep beside, And the bridegroom all night through Never turns him to the bride.
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And malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.
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Wanderers eastward, wanderers west, Know you why you cannot rest? 'Tis that every mother's son Travails with a skeleton. Lie down in the bed of dust; Bear the fruit that bear you must; Bring the eternal seed to light, And morn is all the same as night.
A. E. HousmanRead
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