Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by W. H. Auden

Quote by W. H. Auden

Author

W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden

W. H. Auden was a prominent 20th-century poet, celebrated for his innovative and influential poetry. His works frequently delve into themes of love, politics, and the human experience, and he is a pivotal figure in the literary movement known as New Criticism. Born on February 21, 1907, in York, England, Auden passed away on September 29, 1973. more

You May Also Like

“By an epiphany he meant a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or memorable phrase of the mind itself. He believed it was for the man of letters to record these epiphanies with extreme care (saving them for later use, that is), seeing that they themselves are the most delicate and evanescent of moments.”

MenMindMomentsUseCareSpiritualRecordsSeeingHe ManSpeechLettersExtremesCraftsSavingManifestationPhrasesMemorableDelicateGesturesEpiphanyVulgarity
Author:James Joyce
Create image

“Try and write straight English; never using slang except in dialogue and then only when unavoidable. Because all slang goes sour in a short time. I only use swear words, for example, that have lasted at least a thousand years for fear of getting stuff that will be simply timely and then go sour.”

WritingTryingYearsUseStuffExampleThousandDialogueCraftsSwearThousand YearsSourShort TimeTimelySlangSwear Word
Book:Ernest Hemingway Selected Letters 1917-1961
Create image

“Whatever one wishes to say, there is one noun only by which to express it, one verb only to give it life, one adjective only which will describe it. One must search until one has discovered them, this noun, this verb, this adjective, and never rest content with approximations, never resort to trickery, however happy, or to vulgarism, in order to dodge the difficulty.”

GivingOrderWishDifficultyCraftsResortsVerbsAdjectivesNounsDodgeTrickeryApproximation
Author:Guy de Maupassant
Create image

“This element of surprise or mystery — the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called — is of great importance in a plot. It occurs through a suspension of the time-sequence; a mystery is a pocket in time, and it occurs crudely, as in "Why did the queen die?" and more subtly in half-explained gestures and words, the true meaning of which only dawns pages ahead. Mystery is essential to a plot, and cannot be appreciated without intelligence.”

MindSometimesDiesLeftBehindsHalfMysteryEssentialsElementsPagesAppreciateImportanceSurpriseCraftsDawnQueensPocketsPlotGesturesAppreciatedLeft BehindSequenceDetectivesBroodingSuspensionTrue MeaningElement Of SurpriseMarching On
Author:E. M. Forster
Create image