To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.
Robert SchumannRead
My whole life has been a twenty years struggle between poetry and prose, or, if you like to call it so, Music and Law.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the internal conflict between artistic expression and structured discipline.
In this quote, Robert Schumann expresses the ongoing tension he experienced throughout his life between the free-flowing creativity of poetry and music and the constraints of prose and law. This struggle symbolizes the broader conflicts many artists face between their passions and the societal expectations or formal structures that govern their lives.
Themes
StruggleCreativityArtMusicLaw
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about the challenges artists face in balancing creative freedom with societal norms.
More from Robert Schumann
All quotes →It was an unforgettable picture to see Chopin sitting at the piano like a clairvoyant, lost in his dreams; to see how his vision communicated itself through his playing, and how, at the end of each piece, he had the sad habit of running one finger over the length of the plaintive keyboard, as though to tear himself forcibly away from his dream.
Robert SchumannRead
I am so fresh in soul and spirit that life gushes and bubbles around me in a thousand springs.
Robert SchumannRead
Think it a vile habit to alter works of good composers, to omit parts of them, or to insert new-fashioned ornaments. This is the greatest insult you can offer to Art.
Robert SchumannRead
You write to become immortal, or because the piano happens to be open, or you've looked into a pair of beautiful eyes.
Robert SchumannRead
Endeavour to play easy pieces well and with elegance; that is better than to play difficult pieces badly.
Robert SchumannRead
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