The lesson is that dying men must groan; And poets groan in rhymes that please the ear.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Wain contrasts the suffering of dying men with the aestheticized suffering of poets.
- In plain terms
- Real pain groans; poets turn that pain into pleasing rhymes.
- What can you take from it?
- Art can refine raw pain into something pleasing.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does art change pain?
- Is pleasing the ear a goal?
Another view
Poetry can also amplify raw emotion rather than pleasing the ear.
More from John Wain
Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.
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Permalink to quote #3 How much of our literature, our political life, our friendships and love affairs, depend on being able to talk peacefully in a bar!
Permalink to quote #4
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