All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others.
Cyril ConnollyRead
Most people do not believe in anything very much and our greatest poetry is given to us by those who do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Belief and conviction enhance the quality of artistic expression.
Cyril Connolly suggests that true belief in ideals, emotions, or visions is fundamental to creating profound poetry. Those who possess deep convictions are more likely to produce art that resonates deeply with others, as their passion and sincerity infuse their work with authenticity.
Themes
BeliefPoetryArtAuthenticityConviction
In practice
Example use cases
During a poetry reading, to emphasize the importance of passion in creative expression.
More from Cyril Connolly
All quotes βWhen I contemplate the accumulation of guilt and remorse which, like a garbage-can, I carry through life, and which is fed not only by the lightest action but by the most harmless pleasure, I feel Man to be of all living things the most biologically incompetent and ill-organized. Why has he acquired a seventy years life-span only to poison it incurably by the mere being of himself? Why has he thrown Conscience, like a dead rat, to putrefy in the well?
Cyril ConnollyRead
A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he set out, will have condemned himself to second-hand thoughts and to second-rate friends.
Cyril ConnollyRead
The artist is a member of the leisured classes who cannot pay for his leisure.
Cyril ConnollyRead
We are all serving a life sentence in the dungeon of the self.
Cyril ConnollyRead
Imprisoned in every fat man a thin man is wildly signaling to be let out.
Cyril ConnollyRead
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