Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
What woeful stuff this madrigal would be, In some starved hackney sonneteer, or me! But let a lord once own the happy lines, How the wit brightens! how the style refines!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on how the value of poetry is heightened by its association with status and privilege.
In this quote, Alexander Pope critiques the perception of poetry and its worth depending on the reputation of the author rather than the quality of the work itself. He suggests that a piece of writing, regardless of its artistic merit, gains significance and appeal when it is affiliated with someone of high social standing, illustrating the disparity between genuine artistry and social elitism in the realm of literature.
Themes
PoetryArtStatusSocietyElitism
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the value of art, one could use this quote to highlight the influence of social status on artistic perception.
More from Alexander Pope
All quotes →What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead
Similar quotes
Trying to be a professional dancer, paying my rent by posing nude for art classes, staring at people staring at me naked. Daring them to think of me as anything but a form they were trying to capture with their pencils and charcoal. I was defiant. Hell-bent on surviving. On making it. But it was hard and it was lonely, and I had to dare myself every day to keep going.
Madonna CicconeRead
I see things, that's all. Write enough stories and every shadow on the floor looks like a footprint; every line in the dirt like a secret message.
Stephen KingRead
Tasting a dish should be memorable If nothing remains in the memory of a single guest, then I have made a mistake.
Alain DucasseRead
Movie actors earn their living and learn their craft through listening and reacting.
Michael CaineRead
Japan lives with drastic segregation between the sublime, the ugly, and the utterly without qualities. Dominance of the last 2 categories makes mere presence of the first stunning: when beauty 'happens', it is absolutely surprising.
Rem KoolhaasRead
Music is not a profession. Music is a way of life - one that requires much professionalism.
Daniel BarenboimRead