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

Every American poet feels that the whole responsibility for contemporary poetry has fallen upon his...

Every American poet feels that the whole responsibility for contemporary poetry has fallen upon his...

The word 'Intellectual' suggests straight away - A man who's untrue to his wife

The word 'Intellectual' suggests straight away - A man who's untrue to his wife

Hemingway is terribly limited. His technique is good for short stories, for people who meet...

Hemingway is terribly limited. His technique is good for short stories, for people who meet...

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have...

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have...

A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.

A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.

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...

History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology...

History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology...

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....

Men make the mistake of thinking that because women can't see the sense in violence,...

Men make the mistake of thinking that because women can't see the sense in violence,...

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 commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession.

Murder is commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession.

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...

Music is the best means we have of digesting time.

Music is the best means we have of digesting time.

We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here...

We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here...

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

No hero is immortal till he dies

No hero is immortal till he dies

What the mass media offers is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to...

What the mass media offers is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to...

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the...

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the...

'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is...

'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is...

Act well your part, there all the honour lies.

Act well your part, there all the honour lies.