ByQuotes

Andrew Coyle Bradley Quotes

Powerful Andrew Coyle Bradley for Daily Growth

About Andrew Coyle Bradley

Andrew Cunningham Lancelot (A.C.L.) Bradley (1851-1935) was a significant figure in British literary criticism and poetry, best known for his contributions to the study of Shakespeare. Born on October 24, 1851, in Dublin, Ireland, he spent most of his life in England where he studied at Balliol College, Oxford University. Bradley's early influences were diverse, encompassing the works of German philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer, and his close friendship with poet Edward Burne-Jones played a crucial role in shaping his literary sensibilities. However, it was his association with the influential group known as the "Oxford Aesthetes" that truly marked his early career, influencing his writing style and critical approach. In 1879, Bradley published his first major work, "Shakespearean Tragedy," which established him as a leading scholar in the field of Shakespeare studies. This seminal work, characterized by its insightful analysis and nuanced understanding of Shakespeare's plays, cemented Bradley's reputation as a critical thinker. Bradley continued to produce significant works throughout his life, including "Oxford Lectures on Poetry" (1893), "Shakespearean Comedy" (1904), and "Andreas: An Idyll of the White Apocalypse" (1915). His poetry, while less well-known than his critical works, displays a profound understanding of human emotion and a deep sensitivity to the beauty of language. Despite his scholarly achievements, Bradley's personal life was marked by tragedy. He lost his wife, Emily, after just five years of marriage, leaving him with three young children to raise alone. Despite these challenges, Bradley remained a dedicated scholar and a respected voice in literary criticism until his death on February 3, 1935. Bradley's lasting impact can be seen in the continued relevance of his critical works and his enduring influence on subsequent Shakespeare scholars. His nuanced understanding of Shakespeare's plays and his insightful analysis have made him a crucial figure in the study of Shakespearean literature.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The greatest thing a poet can be is himself."

This quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity in poetry, suggesting that poets should strive to express their unique perspectives, feelings, and experiences in their work. By being true to themselves, poets can create genuine and powerful pieces that resonate with readers. In essence, Bradley encourages poets to avoid conforming to external expectations or imitating others, instead embracing their individuality and letting it shine through their poetry.

"True poetry consists in the quiet submission of the mind to the enchantment of the words."

The quote emphasizes that genuine poetry has a transformative power, captivating our minds and transcending conscious thought. It suggests that when we immerse ourselves in poetry, we surrender to its magical allure, allowing it to influence us deeply and evoke emotions, ideas, or insights beyond our ordinary comprehension.

"Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted."

This quote suggests that poetry has the power to transform and elevate our perspective, making us see ordinary or flawed aspects of reality in a more beautiful, harmonious, or idealized way. In other words, it's like looking at ourselves or the world through a polished mirror that enhances our beauty and perfection, rather than revealing all our flaws and imperfections. This is one of the unique characteristics that sets poetry apart from everyday language and experiences – its ability to inspire, enchant, and transform our perceptions of the world around us.

"Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it the product of a subconscious' storage-battery; it comes from work."

This quote emphasizes that inspiration doesn't strike randomly or as a result of accumulated unconscious thoughts, but rather it emerges through hard work and dedication. In essence, it suggests that consistent effort and persistent engagement in one's craft is essential for the sparks of inspiration to arise.

"The poet cannot help but be a part of the world, and the world in its turn cannot help affecting him."

This quote emphasizes the interconnectedness between artists, specifically poets, and the world around them. It suggests that a poet's work is inherently influenced by their experiences, emotions, and observations of the world, making them an integral part of it. Simultaneously, the world also shapes the poet, influencing their perspectives and creative output. In essence, the quote underscores the symbiotic relationship between artists and society, with each influencing and being influenced by the other.

In speaking, for convenience, of devices and expedients, I did not intend to imply that Shakespeare always deliberately aimed at the effects which he produced.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Always, Which, Imply, Convenience

We cannot arrive at Shakespeare's whole dramatic way of looking at the world from his tragedies alone, as we can arrive at Milton's way of regarding things, or at Wordsworth's or at Shelley's, by examining almost any one of their important works.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Works, We Cannot, Almost, Shelley

We might not object to the statement that Lear deserved to suffer for his folly, selfishness and tyranny; but to assert that he deserved to suffer what he did suffer is to do violence not merely to language but to any healthy moral sense.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Tyranny, Might, Folly, Object

Shakespeare also introduces the supernatural into some of his tragedies; he introduces ghosts, and witches who have supernatural knowledge.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Some, Supernatural, Also, Witches

In Shakespearean tragedy the main source of the convulsion which produces suffering and death is never good: good contributes to this convulsion only from its tragic implication with its opposite in one and the same character.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Death, Suffering, Which, Main Source

Shakespeare very rarely makes the least attempt to surprise by his catastrophes. They are felt to be inevitable, though the precise way in which they will be brought about is not, of course, foreseen.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Surprise, Very, Which, Precise

Nor does the idea of a moral order asserting itself against attack or want of conformity answer in full to our feelings regarding the tragic character.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Against, Idea, Asserting, Conformity

Both Brutus and Hamlet are highly intellectual by nature and reflective by habit. Both may even be called, in a popular sense, philosophic; Brutus may be called so in a stricter sense.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Nature, May, Hamlet, Philosophic

But, in addition, there is, all through the tragedy, a constant alternation of rises and falls in this tension or in the emotional pitch of the work, a regular sequence of more exciting and less exciting sections.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Through, Tension, Constant, Regular

In approaching our subject it will be best, without attempting to shorten the path by referring to famous theories of the drama, to start directly from the facts, and to collect from them gradually an idea of Shakespearean Tragedy.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Famous, Will, Attempting, Collect

Most people, even among those who know Shakespeare well and come into real contact with his mind, are inclined to isolate and exaggerate some one aspect of the tragic fact.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Fact, Some, One Aspect, Exaggerate

King Lear alone among these plays has a distinct double action. Besides this, it is impossible, I think, from the point of view of construction, to regard the hero as the leading figure.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

I Think, Leading, King Lear, Besides

Job was the greatest of all the children of the east, and his afflictions were well-nigh more than he could bear; but even if we imagined them wearing him to death, that would not make his story tragic.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Death, Him, Imagined, Tragic

Shakespeare's idea of the tragic fact is larger than this idea and goes beyond it; but it includes it, and it is worth while to observe the identity of the two in a certain point which is often ignored.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Ignored, Larger, Which, Tragic

When Shakespeare begins his exposition thus he generally at first makes people talk about the hero, but keeps the hero himself for some time out of sight, so that we await his entrance with curiosity, and sometimes with anxiety.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Sometimes, Some, About, Entrance

A Shakespearean tragedy as so far considered may be called a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man in high estate. But it is clearly much more than this, and we have now to regard it from another side.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Death, Leading, Considered, Shakespearean

In the first place, it must be remembered that our point of view in examining the construction of a play will not always coincide with that which we occupy in thinking of its whole dramatic effect.

- Andrew Coyle Bradley

Play, Always, Which, Coincide

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.