Every American poet feels that the whole responsibility for contemporary poetry has fallen upon his shoulders, that he is a literary aristocracy of one.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

Almost all of our relationships begin and most of them continue as forms of mutual...

Almost all of our relationships begin and most of them continue as forms of mutual...

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

We are not commanded (or forbidden) to love our mates, our children, our friends, our...

We are not commanded (or forbidden) to love our mates, our children, our friends, our...

Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out...

Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out...

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are...

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are...

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has...

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has...

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be...

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be...

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more...

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more...

No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are...

No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are...

A tremendous number of people in America work very hard at something that bores them....

A tremendous number of people in America work very hard at something that bores them....

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he...

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he...

No hero is mortal till he dies.

No hero is mortal till he dies.

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

When I am in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who...

When I am in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who...

The image of myself which I try to create in my own mind in order...

The image of myself which I try to create in my own mind in order...

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the...

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the...

Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words

Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words

No one can be reasonable and angry at the same time

No one can be reasonable and angry at the same time