The creations of a great writer are little more than the moods and passions of his own heart, given surnames and Christian names, and sent to walk the earth.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Great literature often stems from the author's personal emotions projected onto fictional characters.
- In plain terms
- Writers turn their own feelings into stories by giving them names and sending them into the world.
- What can you take from it?
- Art is often a disguised reflection of the creator's inner life.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do your characters reflect you?
- How much of your heart is in your work?
Another view
Not all great writing is autobiographical; some works are purely imaginative.
More from William Butler Yeats
The years like great black oxen tread the world, And God the herdsman goads them on behind, And I am broken by their passing feet.
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