If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Originally, poetry creates the myth, while the prose-writer draws its portrait.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry shapes the essence of myths, while prose provides a detailed depiction of them.
This quote by Jean-Paul Sartre suggests that poetry and prose serve different purposes in the realm of storytelling and expression. Poetry is seen as a creative force that gives rise to myths, encapsulating deep truths and emotions in a succinct and impactful form, whereas prose is the medium that elaborates on these myths, providing a clear picture and deeper understanding of the narratives established by poetry.
Themes
PoetryProseMythArtExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about the roles of different writing styles, one might say, 'As Sartre noted, originally, poetry creates the myth, while the prose-writer draws its portrait.'
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes βAll I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Similar quotes
I don't believe that a lot of the things I hear on the air today are going to be played for as long a time as Coleman Hawkins records or Brahms concertos.
Oscar PetersonRead
The artist is a strange being. I think it's safe to say that a real artist is conscious of having a personal singularity that is partly a blessing and partly a curse. An artist enjoys and suffers from isolation. As solitude, isolation can nurture. It can also destroy.
Peter SchjeldahlRead
Stories are there to be told, and each story changes with the telling. Time changes them. Logic changes them. Grammar changes them. History changes them. Each story is shifted side-ways by each day that unfolds. Nothing ends. The only thing that matters, as Faulkner once put it, is the human heart in conflict with itself. At the heart of all this is the possibility, or desire, to create a piece of art that talks to the human instinct for recovery and joy.
Colum MccannRead
When one lives in a society where people can no longer rely on the institutions to tell them the truth, the truth must come from culture and art.
John TrudellRead
Architecture has the power to create order out of unholy confusion.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art.
John LasseterRead