William Empson: Man

William Empson was English literary critic and poet. Explore interesting quotes on man.
William Empson: 50   quotes 2   likes

“Man, as the prying housemaid of the soul.”

William Empson

Source: This Last Pain' (1930), Line 5.

Soul

“Twixt devil and deep sea, man hacks his caves;
Birth, death; one, many; what is true, and seems;
Earth's vast hot iron, cold space's empty waves.”

William Empson

"Arachne" (1928), line 1; cited from John Haffenden (ed.) The Complete Poems (London: Allen Lane, 2000) p. 34.
The Complete Poems

Death , Birth , Sea

“The man writes with such genuine passion for the books he's discussing. With so many critics you feel they're writing so people will say they're good critics.”

William Empson

W. H. Auden, recorded in Alan Ansen (ed. Nicholas Jenkins) The Table Talk of W. H. Auden (London: Faber, 1991) p. 44.
Criticism

People , Books , Feeling , Passion

“Ripeness is all; her in her cooling planet
Revere; do not presume to think her wasted.
Project her no projectile, plan nor man it;
Gods cool in turn, by the sun long outlasted.”

William Empson

"To an Old Lady" (1928), line 1; cited from John Haffenden (ed.) The Complete Poems (London: Allen Lane, 2000) p. 24.
The Complete Poems

God , Thinking , Sun