I'll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky.
W.H. Auden
Love, Eternity, Poetic Imagery, Cosmic Metaphor, Devotion
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Self-deprecation | Intellectualism | Cosmic Metaphor | Craft | Praise | Rest | Action | Animal Behavior | Nature Imagery | Development | Beauty | Political Idealism | Deception | Death | Transience | Sexuality | Neurosis | Cosmic Imagery | Commissioning | Suspicion | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“Machines are beneficial to the degree that they eliminate the need for labor, harmful to the degree that they eliminate the need for skill.” W.H. Auden
Technology, Labor, Skill, Progress, Societal Impact
W.H. Auden Technology, Labor, Skill, Progress, Societal Impact“Language is the mother, not the handmaiden, of thought; words will tell you things you never thought or felt before.” W.H. Auden
Language, Thought, Expression, Creativity, Communication
W.H. Auden Language, Thought, Expression, Creativity, Communication“We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die.” W.H. Auden
Fear, Resistance To Change, Suffering, Personal Truth, Existential Struggle
W.H. Auden Fear, Resistance To Change, Suffering, Personal Truth, Existential Struggle“An unmanly sort of man whose love life seems to have been largely confined to crying in laps and playing mouse.” W.H. Auden
Masculinity, Love, Criticism, Weakness, Character Assessment
W.H. Auden Masculinity, Love, Criticism, Weakness, Character Assessment“The most important truths are likely to be those which society at that time least wants to hear.” W.H. Auden
Truth, Society, Resistance, Unpopularity, Social Criticism
W.H. Auden Truth, Society, Resistance, Unpopularity, Social Criticism“The friends who met here and embraced are gone, Each to his own mistake;.” W.H. Auden
Friendship, Separation, Mistakes, Individual Paths, Transience
W.H. Auden Friendship, Separation, Mistakes, Individual Paths, Transience“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone. Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.” W.H. Auden
Grief, Mourning, Silence, Death, Ritual
W.H. Auden Grief, Mourning, Silence, Death, Ritual“The relation of faith between subject and object is unique in every case. Hundreds may believe, but each has to believe by himself.” W.H. Auden
Faith, Individuality, Belief, Subjectivity, Personal Experience
W.H. Auden Faith, Individuality, Belief, Subjectivity, Personal Experience“A god who is both self-sufficient and content to remain so could not interest us enough to raise the question of his existence.” W.H. Auden
Theology, Divine Nature, Human Interest, Existence, Philosophical Inquiry
W.H. Auden Theology, Divine Nature, Human Interest, Existence, Philosophical Inquiry“The only reason the Protestants and Catholics have given up the idea of universal domination is because they've realised they can't get away with it.” W.H. Auden
Religion, Power, Realism, Historical Perspective, Cynicism
W.H. Auden Religion, Power, Realism, Historical Perspective, Cynicism“I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade.” W.H. Auden
Uncertainty, Fear, Disillusionment, Urban Life, Historical Reflection
W.H. Auden Uncertainty, Fear, Disillusionment, Urban Life, Historical Reflection“Detective stories have nothing to do with works of art.” W.H. Auden
Detective Fiction, Art, Literary Criticism, Genre Distinction, Value Judgment
W.H. Auden Detective Fiction, Art, Literary Criticism, Genre Distinction, Value Judgment“Thoughts on his own death, like the distant roll of thunder at a picnic.” W.H. Auden
Death, Contemplation, Metaphor, Life’s Fragility, Incongruity
W.H. Auden Death, Contemplation, Metaphor, Life’s Fragility, Incongruity“To the man-in-the-street, who, I’m sorry to say, is a keen observer of life. The word Intellectual suggests straight away: A man who’s untrue to his wife.” W.H. Auden
Intellectuals, Perception, Stereotypes, Societal Values, Criticism
W.H. Auden Intellectuals, Perception, Stereotypes, Societal Values, Criticism“To my generation no other English poet seemed so perfectly to express the sensibility of a male adolescent. If I do not now turn to him very often, I am eternally grateful to him for the joy he gave me in my youth.” W.H. Auden
Poetry, Nostalgia, Male Adolescence, Gratitude, Literary Influence
W.H. Auden Poetry, Nostalgia, Male Adolescence, Gratitude, Literary Influence“Money cannot buy the fuel of love but is excellent kindling.” W.H. Auden
Love, Money, Relationships, Metaphor, Materialism
W.H. Auden Love, Money, Relationships, Metaphor, Materialism“The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have not yet developed a significant profile of their own.” W.H. Auden
Childhood, Identity, Development, Masks, Human Nature
W.H. Auden Childhood, Identity, Development, Masks, Human Nature“Life remains a blessing, even if we are incapable of recognizing it.” W.H. Auden
Life, Blessing, Perception, Gratitude, Human Limitation
W.H. Auden Life, Blessing, Perception, Gratitude, Human Limitation