Best English Literature Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 2

“Bad is the world, and all will come to naught when such ill-dealing must be seen in thought.”

English Literature William Shakespeare Richard Iii English Theatre Elizabethian Theatre

Source: Richard III

“I am nothing if not misanthropic," declared Sebastian. "I think you mean philanthropic," said Henry. "God, you are so perdantic." "That would be pedantic." "See! You're even perdantic about the word perdantic.”

Grammar English Language Spoken Word English Literature Pedantry Grammar Humor Grammar Nazi Pedant

Book:The Fish That Climbed a Tree

Source: The Fish That Climbed a Tree

“I was always drawn to teachers who made class interesting. In high school, I enjoyed my American and English literature classes because my teachers, Jeanne Dorsey and Dani Barton, created an environment where interaction was important.”

Made Important School Literature Interesting Class Environment Teacher High School Enjoyed Interaction English Literature

Author:Ellen Ochoa

“My mother's father taught English literature. When I was about ten or eleven, I could recite Macaulay's 'Lays of Ancient Rome.' While other kids were playing pedestrian war games, I'd be Horatius keeping the bridge.”

War Kids Mother Father Literature Games Taught Ten Lays Ancient Bridges Rome Eleven English Literature Pedestrians Ancient Rome War Games

Author:Bernie Taupin

“I'd probably want to teach at university, because children would drive me insane. I suspect it would be English literature, Shakespeare and so forth. I've always been deeply, deeply in love with that kind of thing.”

Want Kind Children Would Be Literature Teach Comedy University Insane Suspects English Literature Deeply In Love

Author:Stephen Fry

“It's an absurd error to put modern English literature in the curriculum. You should read contemporary literature for pleasure or not at all. You shouldn't be taught to monkey with it.”

Should Literature Pleasure Modern Taught Errors Contemporary Absurd Monkeys Curriculum English Literature Contemporary Literature Modern English

Author:Rebecca West

“If England has any dignity left in the way of literature, she will forget for ever the pitiful antics of English Literature's performing flea.”

Ifs Way Literature Left Forget Dignity England Performing Fleas Pitiful English Literature Antics

Book:The Letters of Sean O'Casey: 1910-41

Source: The Letters of Sean O'Casey: 1910-41

“I often imagine that the longer he studies English literature the more the Japanese student must be astonished at the extraordinary predominance given to the passion of love both in fiction and in poetry.”

Passion Literature Given Fiction Study Imagine Students Extraordinary Imagine That English Literature Love Passion

Book:Books and Habits from the Lectures of Lafcadio Hearn

Source: Books and Habits from the Lectures of Lafcadio Hearn

“It is no exaggeration to say that the English Bible is, next to Shakespeare, the greatest work in English literature, and that it will have much more influence than even Shakespeare upon the written and spoken language of the English race.”

Next Literature Language Race Written Influence Exaggeration English Literature Spoken Language

Book:Books and Habits from the Lectures of Lafcadio Hearn

Source: Books and Habits from the Lectures of Lafcadio Hearn

“The Irishman in English literature may be said to have been born with an apology in his mouth.”

May Has Beens Said Literature Born Judgment Mouths Apology English Literature Irishmen

Book:Labour in Irish History

Source: Labour in Irish History

“I used to do miserably in English literature, which I thought was a sign of moral turpitude. As I look back on it, I think it was rather to my credit. The notion of actually putting writers' words into other words is quite ridiculous because why bother if writers mean what they mean, and if they don't, why read them? There is, I suppose, a case for studying literary works in depth, but I don't quite know what 'in depth' means unless you read a paragraph over and over again.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Looks Mean Used Literature Education Moral Cases Study Depth Notion Credit Ridiculous Bother Paragraph English Literature Why Bother Literary Works

Author:Patricia Wentworth

“I left school at 16 but I wish I'd gone to university - I think I would have studied English literature. I had a knack for that. But I don't think you have the kind of wisdom at 16 to make that decision.”

Thinking Kind School Literature Left Wish Decision Gone University Knack English Literature

Author:Brendan Coyle

“With English literature, if you do a bit of shonky spelling, no one dies, but if you're half-way through a maths calculation and you stick in an extra zero, everything just crashes into the ravine.”

Ifs Way Dies Literature Bits Half Sticks Math Extras Zero Crash Calculations Spelling English Literature Half Way

Author:Mark Haddon

“I fell even more deeply in love with Tolkiens legendarium after studying Old English literature at uni, as I got a sense of the historical events and cultures that Tolkien used to create his world. My favourite of his imaginary locations is Lothlorien.”

World Used Culture Literature Study Events Historical Favourite Imaginary Location English Literature Old English Historical Events Deeply In Love

Author:Samantha Shannon

“I have an English literature degree. I wanted to be the next great American novelist from a very early age, but I put it aside for a while, because I got very realistic at one point.”

Age Wanted Next Literature Degrees Novelists Realistic Great American English Literature

Author:Daniel Suarez

“And in spite of everything, Ireland remains the brain of the Kingdom. The English, judiciously practical and ponderous, furnish the over-stuffed stomach of humanity with a perfect gadget--the water closet. The Irish, condemned to express themselves in a language not their own, have stamped on it the mark of their own genius and compete for glory with the civilized nations. This is then called English literature.”

Humanity Literature Language Nations Water Perfect Brain Genius Glory Mark Remains Practicals Kingdoms Spite Civilized Stomach Ireland Closets Gadgets English Literature Civilized Nations

Author:James Joyce

“English literature is a flying fish.”

Literature England Fishes Flying Fishing English Literature

Author:E. M. Forster

“Quoting, like smoking, ... is a dirty habit to which I am devoted. But then ... I am a professor of English literature; it is an occupational hazard.”

Literature Habit Dirty Smoking Professors Devoted Quotations Hazards English Literature Quoting Occupational Hazards

Author:Carolyn Heilbrun

“The Bible contains some of the most sublime passages in English literature, but is also full of contradictions, inconsistencies, and absurdities.”

Literature Religious Bible Contradiction Passages Absurdity Sublime Inconsistency English Literature

Author:Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“As a student in England, I studied French and English literature. I read L'Etranger and the rhythm of the novel felt familiar to me - very African.”

Literature Felt Novel Students England Familiar Rhythm English Literature

Author:Sefi Atta

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

“I never intended to be a historian of religion. My aim was to become a professor of English Literature in a university, but I had a series of absolute career disasters and found myself making television programs about the nature of religion and about Christian history and started to discover about other religious traditions, and that was an absolute eye-opener for me.”

Eye Christian Found Literature Religious Careers Television Program Tradition Absolutes Aim Series University Disaster Professors Historian English Literature Religious Traditions

Author:Karen Armstrong

“I study English literature but my friends are doing psychology and things like that. No one cares about acting there. It's not competitive and it's a nice environment for me.”

Care Literature Acting Study Psychology Environment Nice My Friends English Literature No One Cares

Author:Yasmin Paige

“There's a history of English literature where the best boils to the top, and Jane Austen stands right at the top of that.”

Literature Jane Austen English Literature

Author:JJ Feild

“The English tourist in American literature wants above all things something different from what he has at home. For this reason the one American writer whom the English whole-heartedly admire is Walt Whitman. There, you will hear them say, is the real American undisguised. In the whole of English literature there is no figure which resembles his - among all our poetry none in the least comparable to Leaves of Grass”

Want Different Real Reason Whole Home Literature Figures All Things Admire Grass Tourists Walt Leaves Of Grass American Literature English Literature American Writer

Book:Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)

Source: Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)

“You can't understand European history at all other than through religion, or English literature either if you can't recognise biblical allusions.”

Ifs Literature Biblical Recognise Allusion English Literature European History

Author:Richard Dawkins

“I feel a bit of an imposter talking about the science. I'm not a scientist, you may be aware. I read English Literature.”

Feels May Literature Bits Talking Scientist English Literature Imposter

Author:James Delingpole

“My brother and I were both good at science, and we were both good at English literature. Either one of us could have gone either way.”

Way Literature Gone Brother My Brother English Literature

Author:Margaret Atwood

“I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is going on in what he reads: The most conscientous student will be continually misconstruing the implications, even the meaning.”

Knows Doe Literature Deals Students Implications English Literature

Book:The Great Code: The Bible and Literature

Source: The Great Code: The Bible and Literature

“I often think that eventually I'd love to do some papers... my correspondence if life calms down a bit, but I think I'd do history or English literature... I've had enough of journos.”

Ifs Thinking Enough Literature Bits Paper Calm Papers Had Enough Correspondence Calm Down English Literature

Author:Brooke Fraser

“I went to university and studied English literature, and I forgot about music. I was gonna be a journalist. But then I decided to try and be a backing singer, and my mum was like, "Go for it." If that didn't work, I was gonna go to law school. I was just being boringly sensible; trying to be a singer felt a bit indulgent.”

Ifs Trying School Law Literature Felt Bits Decided University Singers Journalist Sensible Mum Just Being Law School English Literature

Author:Jessie Ware

“I loved English literature - if didn't it would have been hard - but I had to learn it myself. I remembered ways to repeat words, to put more emphasis on certain lines.”

Ifs Way Has Beens Hard Certain Literature Lines Remembered Repeats Emphasis English Literature

Author:Benjamin Clementine

“I think in general there's no point in going into a field like English literature if you're not going to have fun with it.”

Ifs Thinking Literature Fun Fields Having Fun No Point English Literature

Author:Louis Menand

“I changed my major to English literature, which was on the advice of my father. I finally said, "You know, Dad, to heck with it: I'm just going to be an actor. But I'm going to go to school." And he said, "Well, if you're going to go to school, then major in English literature. Those are the tools you are going to be working with as a man who's going to be acting in English, one would assume."”

Ifs Knows Men Wells Said School Actors Father Literature Acting Advice Changed Dad Majors Tools Assuming English Literature

Author:Keith Carradine

“I didn't see many female politicians on TV. I didn't see women in history textbooks, so I did geography, and art and English literature. But I know I must have been affected by not seeing women represented.”

Knows Has Beens Art Literature Seeing Tvs Politician Female Affected Geography Textbooks English Literature Women In History History Textbooks

Author:Emma Watson

“I would tell myself to get more sleep! Believe it or not, I wrote the book while finishing my PhD in English literature. It was wonderful to get away from doing literary scholarship by writing this mythical love story. I think so much of my own love for books and scholarship comes through in The Thorn and the Blossom.”

Thinking Writing Believe Book Stories Literature My Own Sleep Wonderful Love Story Get Away Scholarship Finishing English Literature Phds

Author:Theodora Goss

“I studied English literature at university, but for some reason we only spent one week on [Charles] Dickens, so I remember just trying to find the shortest book that I could find. I was like, "'Hard Times,' really great - it's short, that'll do it."”

Trying Book Hard Reason Remember Literature Week University Hard Times Really Great Dickens English Literature

Author:Felicity Jones

“We are lucky in the United States to have our liberal arts system. In most countries, if you go to university, you have to decide for all English literature or no literature, all philosophy or no philosophy. But we have a system that is one part general education and one part specialization. If your parents say you've got to major in computer science, you can do that. But you can also take general education courses in the humanities, and usually you have to.”

“Kingsley Amis was one of a trio of brilliant comic novelists who made English literature sparkle in the twentieth century.”

Made Literature Century Brilliant Comic Novelists Twentieth Century Sparkle English Literature Trios

Author:Russell Baker

“There are reviews that are clearly wrong. Dr. Johnson's famous Life of Savage, he's clearly wrong about the value of Savage. But it's one of the great works in English literature. You can learn more about the artistic expression and what the poet does and how to write about art from that than any number of guys who are terrible writers, who have no original ideas, but who say yes, "Hamlet" is a wonderful play. It's a meaningless statement.”

Writing Art Guy Values Literature Wonderful Poet Terrible Artistic Meaningless Great Work English Literature

Author:Gary Giddins

“I'd studied English literature and American history, but the English literature, which I thought was going to be helpful to me in an immediate way, was the opposite. So I had to un-think a lot of things and move out of my own head, and I learned a lot. It was like graduate school, but an un-graduate school or an un-school.”

School Moving Literature Helpful Graduates American History Graduate School English Literature

Author:Lynne Tillman

“There's always a host of voices you're inspired by. I love Don DeLillo, and I love Isaac Bashevis Singer, and I love Beckett, and I love Pinter. He's one of the funniest voices in English literature since Dickens.”

Literature Voice Inspired Singers Host Dickens Isaac English Literature Beckett Pinter

Author:Dylan Moran

“I've loved 'Vanity Fair' since I was 16 years old. You know, we're all colonial hangovers in India, steeped in English literature. It is one of these novels that I read under the covers at my convent boarding school in Simla.”

Knows Years School Literature Novel Fairs India Vanity Hangover Old You English Literature Vanity Fair

Author:Mira Nair

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

“I was an English-literature major, and that's all about stories and narratives.”

Stories Literature Majors Narrative English Literature

Author:Rachel Weisz

“I don't only write about English literature; I also write about chaos theory and... ants. I can understand ants.”

Writing I Can Literature Theory Chaos Ants English Literature Chaos Theory

Author:A. S. Byatt

“I think that the Bible as literature should be a compulsory part of the national curriculum.. you can't understand English literature and culture without it. But insofar as theology studies the nature of the divine, it will earn the right to be taken seriously when it provides the slightest, smallest smidgen of a reason for believing in the existence of the divine. Meanwhile, we should devote as much time to studying serious theology as we devote to studying serious fairies and serious unicorns.”

Thinking Should Believe Reason Culture Literature Business Existence Education Study Taken Divine Serious Theology Fairy Smallest Curriculum Unicorn Belive Compulsory English Literature

Author:Richard Dawkins

“I studied English literature; I took 2 independent religion classes, but I wasn't a religion major really.”

Literature Class Majors Independent English Literature

Author:Maggie Gyllenhaal

“English literature is a kind of training in social ethics. English trains you to handle a body of information in a way that is conducive to action.”

Way Kind Body Action Literature Social Creativity Information Training Ethics Train Handle English Literature

Author:Marilyn Butler

“English is, from my point of view as an Americanist, an ethnicity. And English literature should be studied in Comparative Literature. And American literature should be a discipline, certainly growing from England and France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, and the Native traditions, particularly because those helped form the American canon. Those are our backgrounds. And then we'd be doing it the way it ought to be done. And someday I hope that it will be.”

English Literature Quotes

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English Literature Quotes