For the creation of a masterwork of literature two powers must concur, the power of the man and the power of the moment, and the man is not enough without the moment.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Creating a masterpiece needs both the creator's ability and the right timing.
- In plain terms
- You need talent and luck to make a great work.
- What can you take from it?
- Talent alone is insufficient without the right circumstances.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When has timing mattered more than skill?
- What defines a masterwork?
Another view
Some works succeed despite poor timing or moderate talent.
More from Matthew Arnold
The grand style arises in poetry, when a noble nature, poetically gifted, treats with simplicity or with severity a serious subject.
Permalink to quote #75 Critical power...tends to make an intellectual situation of which the creative power can profitably avail itself. It tends to establish an order of ideas, if n…
Permalink to quote #77 Of these two literatures, as of the intellect of Europe in general, the main effort, for now many years, has been a critical effort; the endeavour, in all bran…
Permalink to quote #74
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