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

Music

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Insight & Reflection

The theme of music is universal, yet W. H. Auden manages to capture its essence in a uniquely profound way. Taking a moment to internalize this can shift our mindset, reminding us that our perspective on music often shapes our reality.

About W. H. Auden

Wystan Hugh Auden was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content. Some of his best known poems are about love, such as "Funeral Blues"; on political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles"; on cultural and psychological themes, such as The Age of Anxiety; and on religious themes, such as "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae".

More quotes by W. H. Auden  ’
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by W. H. Auden

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh."

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"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."

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"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street."

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More about Music

"Ninety percent of all music is always crap, and when too many people decide they're going to have guitar bands, then ninety percent of them are going to be crap. It's just a given law."

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"Beauty in art is the harmony of spirit, intellect, and craft. A lesson woven into the fabric of human history."

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