All works of art are commissioned in the sense that no artist can create one by a simple act of will but must wait until what he believes to be a good idea for a work comes to him.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

No hero is mortal till he dies.

No hero is mortal till he dies.

We must love one another or die.

We must love one another or die.

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

Before people complain of the obscurity of modern poetry, they should first examine their consciences...

Before people complain of the obscurity of modern poetry, they should first examine their consciences...

You must go to bed with friends or whores, where money makes up the difference...

You must go to bed with friends or whores, where money makes up the difference...

The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money,...

The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money,...

All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.

All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.

Every autobiography is concerned with two characters, a Don Quixote, the Ego, and a Sancho...

Every autobiography is concerned with two characters, a Don Quixote, the Ego, and a Sancho...

Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.

Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.

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...

No poet or novelist wishes he were the only one who ever lived, but most...

No poet or novelist wishes he were the only one who ever lived, but most...

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...

All that we are not stares back at what we are.

All that we are not stares back at what we are.

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

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...

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to...

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to...

Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of...

Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of...

You know there are no secrets in America. It's quite different in England, where people...

You know there are no secrets in America. It's quite different in England, where people...

Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.

Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.