If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
Swift has sailed into his rest; Savage indignation there Cannot lacerate his breast Imitate him if you dare, World-besotted traveler; he Served human liberty.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the death of a significant figure who fought for human liberty, encouraging others to honor him through imitation.
William Butler Yeats' quote serves as a tribute to a person who has passed away, suggesting that his legacy is one of valor and sacrifice in the pursuit of human liberty. By acknowledging the 'savage indignation' that cannot touch him in death, Yeats highlights the idea that true bravery lies in the willingness to fight for freedom, urging others to emulate this noble spirit.
In practice
During a memorial service, this quote can be used to inspire courage in carrying forward the values of the deceased.
If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
The attempt to remove evil from the world by killing a thousand evil - doers, only adds to the evil in the world.
I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.
Know that this universe is nothing but a dream bluff of nature to test your consciousness of immortality.
It might reasonably be maintained that the true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground. To be at last in such secure innocence that one can juggle with the universe and the stars, to be so good that one can treat everything as a joke - that may be, perhaps, the real end and final holiday of human souls.
A beetle may or may not be inferior to a man - the matter awaits demonstration; but if he were inferior by ten thousand fathoms, the fact remains that there is probably a beetle view of things of which a man is entirely ignorant. If he wishes to conceive that point of view, he will scarcely reach it by persistently revelling in the fact that he is not a beetle.
I have since often observed, how incongruous and irrational the common temper of mankind is, especially of youth ... that they are not ashamed to sin, and yet are ashamed to repent; not ashamed of the action for which they ought justly to be esteemed fools, but are ashamed of the returning, which only can make them be esteemed wise men.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.