I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.
Virginia WoolfRead
What has praise and fame to do with poetry? Was not writing poetry a secret transaction, a voice answering a voice? So that all this chatter and praise, and blame and meeting people who admired one and meeting people who did not admire one was as ill suited as could be to the thing itself- a voice answering a voice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Virginia Woolf emphasizes the intrinsic and personal nature of poetry, suggesting that external validation like praise and fame is irrelevant to the true essence of writing.
In this quote, Virginia Woolf reflects on the intimate relationship between the poet and their craft, arguing that poetry transcends external recognition or societal opinions. She posits that the act of writing poetry is a deeply personal exchange, akin to a private conversation between voices, and that the distractions of public acclaim and criticism can detract from the authentic experience of creating art. Woolf’s assertion highlights the importance of genuine expression over superficial acknowledgment in the realm of poetry.
Themes
PoetryArtCreationExpressionValidation
In practice
Example use cases
During a literature class discussing the nature of poetry, this quote could be used to illustrate the importance of personal meaning in writing.
More from Virginia Woolf
All quotes →Death is woven in with the violets,” said Louis. “Death and again death.”)
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He began to search among the infinite series of impressions which time had laid down, leaf upon leaf, fold upon fold softly, incessantly upon his brain; among scents, sounds; voices, harsh, hollow, sweet; and lights passing, and brooms tapping; and the wash and hush of the sea.
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I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts.
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I do think all good and evil comes from words. I have to tune myself into a good temper with something musical, and I run to a book as a child to its mother.
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London perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play and a story and a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs through the streets... To walk alone through London is the greatest rest.
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