The older lives like not to be stood in rows or at right angles.
W.H. Auden
Aging, Conformity, Individuality, Rebellion, Metaphor
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Hemingway | Travel | Infidelity | Human Needs | Mundanity | Hell | Grace | Learning | Movement | Conformity | Physics | National Pride | Regret | Embarrassment | Artistic Expression | Public Behavior | Permanence | Everyday Objects | Worry | Dedication | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“But if a stranger in the train asks me my occupation, I never answer “writer” for fear that he may go on to ask me what I write, and to answer “poetry” would embarrass us both, for we both know that nobody can earn a living simply by writing poetry.” W.H. Auden
Writing, Identity, Poetry, Embarrassment, Livelihood
W.H. Auden Writing, Identity, Poetry, Embarrassment, Livelihood“If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me.” W.H. Auden
Love, Inequality, Selflessness, Relationships, Emotional Generosity
W.H. Auden Love, Inequality, Selflessness, Relationships, Emotional Generosity“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“People always get what they want. But there is a price for everything. Failures are either those who do not know what they want or are not prepared to pay the price asked them. The price varies from individual to individual. Some get things at bargain-sale prices, others only at famine prices. But it is no use grumbling. Whatever price you are asked, you must pay.” W.H. Auden
Desire, Price, Failure, Individual Differences, Acceptance
W.H. Auden Desire, Price, Failure, Individual Differences, Acceptance“Without communication with the dead, a fully human life is not possible.” W.H. Auden
Death, Communication, Humanity, Spirituality, Ancestral Connection
W.H. Auden Death, Communication, Humanity, Spirituality, Ancestral Connection“Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.” W.H. Auden
Authenticity, Originality, Writing, Artistic Integrity, Creative Advice
W.H. Auden Authenticity, Originality, Writing, Artistic Integrity, Creative Advice“I know nothing, except what everyone knows – if there when Grace dances, I should dance.” W.H. Auden
Knowledge, Grace, Participation, Humility, Spiritual Insight
W.H. Auden Knowledge, Grace, Participation, Humility, Spiritual Insight“Our sufferings and weaknesses, in so far as they are personal, are of no literary interest whatsoever. They are only interesting in so far as we can see them as typical of the human condition.” W.H. Auden
Literature, Suffering, Human Condition, Universality, Artistic Relevance
W.H. Auden Literature, Suffering, Human Condition, Universality, Artistic Relevance“Yet no one hears his own remarks as prose.” W.H. Auden
Self-perception, Communication, Prose, Unconscious Expression, Language
W.H. Auden Self-perception, Communication, Prose, Unconscious Expression, Language“If a stranger in the train asks me my occupation, I never answer 'writer' for fear that he may go on to ask me what I write, and to answer poetry would embarrass us both.” W.H. Auden
Poetry, Social Interaction, Embarrassment, Occupation, Self-perception
W.H. Auden Poetry, Social Interaction, Embarrassment, Occupation, Self-perception“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“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“Doom is dark and deeper than any sea-dingle.” W.H. Auden
Doom, Darkness, Depth, Poetic Imagery, Foreboding
W.H. Auden Doom, Darkness, Depth, Poetic Imagery, Foreboding“Acts of injustice done Between the setting and the rising sun In history lie like bones, each one.” W.H. Auden
Injustice, History, Metaphor, Societal Impact, Human Consequence
W.H. Auden Injustice, History, Metaphor, Societal Impact, Human Consequence“About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters; How well they understood Its human position; how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along.” W.H. Auden
Suffering, Art, Human Condition, Everyday Life, Perception
W.H. Auden Suffering, Art, Human Condition, Everyday Life, Perception“Aphorisms are essentially an aristocratic genre of writing. The aphorist does not argue or explain, he asserts; and implicit in his assertion is a conviction that he is wiser and more intelligent than his readers.” W.H. Auden
Aphorisms, Writing Style, Wisdom, Intelligence, Literary Elitism
W.H. Auden Aphorisms, Writing Style, Wisdom, Intelligence, Literary Elitism“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” W.H. Auden
Necessity, Love, Water, Survival, Human Priorities
W.H. Auden Necessity, Love, Water, Survival, Human Priorities“A man is a form of life that dreams in order to act and acts in order to dream.” W.H. Auden
Dreams, Action, Human Nature, Purpose, Cycle
W.H. Auden Dreams, Action, Human Nature, Purpose, Cycle