Marriage is rarely bliss But, surely it would be worse As particles to pelt At thousands of miles per sec About a universe In which a lover's kiss Would either not be felt Or break the loved one's neck.
W.H. Auden
Marriage, Love, Physics, Cosmic Perspective, Human Relationships
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Premonition | Spiritual Insight | Consumption | Art | Value Judgment | Madness | Community | Foreboding | Normality | Darkness | Unconscious | Anticipation | Photography | Travel Writing | Mystery | Senses | Acting | Blessing | Iceland | Discipline | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“With the farming of a verse Make a vineyard of the curse.” W.H. Auden
Poetry, Transformation, Creativity, Metaphor, Redemption
W.H. Auden Poetry, Transformation, Creativity, Metaphor, Redemption“Literary confessors are contemptible, like beggars who exhibit their sores for money, but not so contemptible as the public that buys their books.” W.H. Auden
Literary Criticism, Confessional Writing, Public Consumption, Contempt, Hypocrisy
W.H. Auden Literary Criticism, Confessional Writing, Public Consumption, Contempt, Hypocrisy“Herds of reindeer move across Miles and miles of golden moss.” W.H. Auden
Nature, Movement, Beauty, Landscape, Imagery
W.H. Auden Nature, Movement, Beauty, Landscape, Imagery“The theater has never been any good since the actors became gentlemen.” W.H. Auden
Theater, Acting, Social Class, Artistic Decline, Cultural Criticism
W.H. Auden Theater, Acting, Social Class, Artistic Decline, Cultural Criticism“I smell blood and an era of prominent madmen.” W.H. Auden
Premonition, Social Criticism, Madness, Leadership, Foreboding
W.H. Auden Premonition, Social Criticism, Madness, Leadership, Foreboding“A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.” W.H. Auden
Illusion, Enchantment, Permanence, Human Experience, Disillusionment
W.H. Auden Illusion, Enchantment, Permanence, Human Experience, Disillusionment“Shall memory restore The steps and the shore, The face and the meeting place;.” W.H. Auden
Memory, Restoration, Place, Relationships, Nostalgia
W.H. Auden Memory, Restoration, Place, Relationships, Nostalgia“Politics cannot be a science, because in politics theory and practice cannot be separated, and the sciences depend upon their separation.” W.H. Auden
Politics, Science, Theory, Practice, Academic Disciplines
W.H. Auden Politics, Science, Theory, Practice, Academic Disciplines“God bless the USA, so large, so friendly, and so rich.” W.H. Auden
National Pride, America, Identity, Wealth, Optimism
W.H. Auden National Pride, America, Identity, Wealth, Optimism“You owe it to all of us to get on with what you’re good at.” W.H. Auden
Empowerment, Responsibility, Personal Growth, Talent, Encouragement
W.H. Auden Empowerment, Responsibility, Personal Growth, Talent, Encouragement“Any society is in danger of dismissing the virtue of another society because of its vices, and a democracy is always in danger of not paying enough attention to manners and forms.” W.H. Auden
Society, Virtue, Vice, Democracy, Cultural Criticism
W.H. Auden Society, Virtue, Vice, Democracy, Cultural Criticism“The surest sign that a man has a genuine taste of his own is that he is uncertain of it.” W.H. Auden
Taste, Uncertainty, Individuality, Self-doubt, Authenticity
W.H. Auden Taste, Uncertainty, Individuality, Self-doubt, Authenticity“What living occasion can, Be just to the absent?” W.H. Auden
Absence, Justice, Presence, Memory, Human Relationships
W.H. Auden Absence, Justice, Presence, Memory, Human Relationships“History marches to the drum of a clear idea.” W.H. Auden
History, Ideas, Progress, Clarity, Metaphor
W.H. Auden History, Ideas, Progress, Clarity, Metaphor“We were put on this Earth to help others. Why others were put here is beyond me.” W.H. Auden
Altruism, Purpose, Human Connection, Existential Questions, Moral Inquiry
W.H. Auden Altruism, Purpose, Human Connection, Existential Questions, Moral Inquiry“A tremendous number of people in America work very hard at something that bores them. Even a rich man thinks he has to go down to the office everyday. Not because he likes it but because he can't think of anything else to do.” W.H. Auden
Work, Boredom, Wealth, Purpose, American Culture
W.H. Auden Work, Boredom, Wealth, Purpose, American Culture“A poet feels the impulse to create a work of art when the passive awe provoked by an event is transformed into a desire to express that awe in a rite of worship.” W.H. Auden
Creativity, Art, Emotion, Awe, Spiritual Expression
W.H. Auden Creativity, Art, Emotion, Awe, Spiritual Expression“How happy is the lot of the mathematician! He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or rival can ever win a reputation he does not deserve. No cashier writes a letter to the press complaining about the incomprehensibility of Modern Mathematics and comparing it unfavorably with the good old days when mathematicians were content to paper irregularly shaped rooms and fill bathtubs without closing the waste pipe.” W.H. Auden
Mathematics, Judgment, Professionalism, Comparison, Societal Expectations
W.H. Auden Mathematics, Judgment, Professionalism, Comparison, Societal Expectations“For a desert island, one would choose a good dictionary rather than the greatest literary masterpiece imaginable, for, in relation to its readers, a dictionary is absolutely passive and may legitimately be read in an infinite number of ways.” W.H. Auden
Language, Utility, Imagination, Reading, Flexibility
W.H. Auden Language, Utility, Imagination, Reading, Flexibility