Mock mockers after that That would not lift a hand maybe To help good, wise or great To bar that foul storm out, for we Traffic in mockery.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The poet criticizes those who mock instead of helping, noting that mockery harms society.
- In plain terms
- Mocking people stops good things.
- What can you take from it?
- Stop mocking to help others.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you mock?
- Who helps you?
Another view
Satire can sometimes help expose truth.
More from William Butler Yeats
Come let us mock at the good That fancied goodness might be gay, And sick of solitude Might proclaim a holiday: Wind shrieked- and where are they?
Permalink to quote #121 Odour of blood when Christ was slain Made all platonic tolerance vain And vain all Doric discipline.
Permalink to quote #123 Come let us mock at the wise; With all those calendars whereon They fixed old aching eyes, They never saw how seasons run, And now but gape at the sun.
Permalink to quote #120
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