Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by William Butler Yeats

Quote by William Butler Yeats

Work

The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

This volume includes a selection of W. B. Yeats' most celebrated poems, reflecting his engagement with Irish nationalism, the human condition, and the mystical. It is a testament to his influence on modern poetry and his exploration of themes such as love, death, and the supernatural. more

Author

William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist, and essayist, considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. His poetry deeply reflected the nationalist sentiments of Ireland and also showcased rich imagination and profound philosophical thinking. Yeats' poetic style was versatile, evolving from early romanticism to late symbolism, and his works have had a profound impact on literature both in Ireland and around the world. more

You May Also Like

“Dance, v.i. To leap about to the sound of tittering music, preferably with arms about your neighbor's wife or daughter. There are many kinds of dances, but all those requiring the participation of the two sexes have two characteristics in common: they are conspicuously innocent, and warmly loved by the vicious.”

“The tango is the man and woman in search of each other. It is the search for an embrace, a way to be together, when the man feels that he is a male and the woman feels that she is female, without machismo. She likes to be led; he likes to lead. Disagreements may occur later or they may not. When that moment comes, it is important to have positive and productive dialogue, fifty-fifty. The music arouses and torments, the dance is the coupling of two people defenseless against the world and powerless to change things.”

“Dancing is, in itself, a very trifling and silly thing: but it is one of those established follies to which people of sense are sometimes obliged to conform; and then they should be able to do it well. And though I would not have you a dancer, yet, when you do dance, I would have you dance well, as I would have you do everything you do well.”

“Just the pleasure of moving and the pleasure of using your body is, I think, maybe the main point. And the pleasure of dancing with somebody in an unplanned and spontaneous way, when you're free to invent and they're free to invent and you're neither one hampering the other - that's a very pleasant social form.”

“... if you desire to marry you must realize that a mistress is won by the good temper and grace displayed while dancing... for dancing is practiced to reveal whether lovers are in good health and sound of limb, after which they are permitted to kiss their mistresses in order that they may touch and savor one another thus to ascertain if they are shapley or emit an unpleasant odor as of bad meat. Therefore, from this standpoint, quite apart from the many other advantages to be derived from dancing, it becomes an essential to a well-ordered society.”