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John Drinkwater Quotes

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About John Drinkwater

John Drinkwater (1882-1937) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, renowned for his dramatic interpretations of historical figures and his poignant verse that reflected the spirit of his times. Born on September 4, 1882, in London, England, Drinkwater grew up in a family of modest means but with a strong appreciation for art and literature. His father, Charles Henry Drinkwater, was an illustrator, while his mother, Sarah Ann (nee Hulme), was a former actress. Drinkwater attended University College School in London before moving to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he developed an interest in acting and drama. He became a member of the Marlowe Society and performed in several productions. After graduating, Drinkwater returned to London and began his career as an actor and playwright. In 1903, Drinkwater published his first collection of poetry, "Songs of a Fool," which garnered critical acclaim for its vivid imagery and emotional intensity. This was followed by several other volumes, including "The Victory of the Hill" (1908), "A Draft of Words" (1912), and "Gallipoli to Jeddah" (1916). His works often explored themes of love, death, and war, reflecting the turmoil and passion of his times. Drinkwater's most significant works as a playwright include "Ferry to Mars" (1904), "The Times We Live In" (1912), and "Abraham Lincoln" (1930). These plays, like his poetry, were characterized by their historical settings and dramatic portrayals of famous figures. Drinkwater's most successful play was "Abraham Lincoln," which was adapted into a film in 1930 starring Walter Huston as the title character. Drinkwater died on March 25, 1937, leaving behind a legacy of powerful verse and compelling drama that continues to resonate today. His work serves as a poignant reminder of the human spirit's capacity for passion, emotion, and resilience in the face of adversity.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries, but aim to be better than what you yourself ever were."

This quote by John Drinkwater emphasizes the importance of setting ambitious goals and continuously striving for personal growth beyond one's current abilities. Instead of focusing on surpassing peers, it encourages individuals to challenge themselves to reach their full potential and improve upon previous accomplishments. The ultimate objective is not just to be better than others but to be better than oneself. This mindset fosters a relentless pursuit of excellence and fuels personal development throughout one's life.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

This quote by John Drinkwater suggests that, despite being in a difficult or unfortunate situation (the "gutter"), some individuals have the capacity to rise above their circumstances and maintain a focus on aspirations, dreams, or higher ideals (looking at the stars). It implies resilience, optimism, and personal growth even in challenging times.

"Life is not a mere sequence of unrelated moments; it is a seamless harmony woven of many notes and motifs, melody and rhythm."

This quote by John Drinkwater suggests that life is not just a collection of random events or moments, but rather a beautifully crafted symphony with various themes, melodies, and rhythms intertwined. It encourages us to view our lives as a harmonious composition, finding patterns, connections, and meaning among the various experiences we encounter, just as one would in music. This perspective invites us to appreciate the unity and coherence of life's events and embrace the complex symphony that is our personal journey.

"Ideas are only dangerous in the hands of those who do not know how to think."

This quote suggests that ideas, especially radical or unconventional ones, can be harmful if they're wielded by individuals who lack critical thinking skills. It implies that without the ability to analyze, question, and evaluate information properly, people may act impulsively or blindly on potentially dangerous ideas. The message is a call for education, open-mindedness, and intellectual rigor in order to responsibly navigate and apply new concepts.

"Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear."

This quote emphasizes that courage is not about being fearless, but about recognizing that certain values or objectives outweigh the fear we may feel in a given situation. It suggests that to act bravely, one must weigh the importance of their actions against their fear, choosing to move forward despite the presence of fear because something else - be it honor, love, duty, or a higher purpose - is deemed more significant.

For while the subjects of poetry are few and recurrent, the moods of man are infinitely various and unstable. It is the same in all arts.

- John Drinkwater

Subjects, Infinitely, Moods, Unstable

Great men are rare, poets are rarer, but the great man who is a poet, transfiguring his greatness, is the rarest of all events.

- John Drinkwater

Great, Greatness, Rarer, Events

We recognise in the finished art, which is the result of these conditions, the best words in the best order - poetry; and to put this essential poetry into different classes is impossible.

- John Drinkwater

Art, Which, Classes, Essential

There can be no proof that Blake's lyric is composed of the best words in the best order; only a conviction, accepted by our knowledge and judgment, that it is so.

- John Drinkwater

Best, Words, Accepted, Blake

The musician - if he be a good one - finds his own perception prompted by the poet's perception, and he translates the expression of that perception from the terms of poetry into the terms of music.

- John Drinkwater

Good, Own, Expression, Prompted

But in the finished art of the song the use of words has no connection with the use of words in poetry.

- John Drinkwater

Art, Song, Use, No Connection

If it is an imperfect word, no external circumstance can heighten its value as poetry.

- John Drinkwater

Imperfect, Circumstance, External

It is commonly asserted and accepted that Paradise Lost is among the two or three greatest English poems; it may justly be taken as the type of supreme poetic achievement in our literature.

- John Drinkwater

May, Poetic, Commonly, Asserted

Poetry being the sign of that which all men desire, even though the desire be unconscious, intensity of life or completeness of experience, the universality of its appeal is a matter of course.

- John Drinkwater

Desire, Which, Universality, Completeness

To take an analogy: if we say that a democratic government is the best kind of government, we mean that it most completely fulfills the highest function of a government - the realisation of the will of the people.

- John Drinkwater

Kind, Will, Say, Fulfills

It should here be added that poetry habitually takes the form of verse.

- John Drinkwater

Here, Form, Added, Verse

So it is in poetry. All we ask is that the mood recorded shall impress us as having been of the kind that exhausts the imaginative capacity; if it fails to do this the failure will announce itself either in prose or in insignificant verse.

- John Drinkwater

Mood, Been, Insignificant, Verse

The poet's perfect expression is the token of a perfect experience; what he says in the best possible way he has felt in the best possible way, that is, completely.

- John Drinkwater

Perfect, Expression, Felt, Token

Poe's saying that a long poem is a sequence of short ones is perfectly just.

- John Drinkwater

Poem, Perfectly, Poe, Sequence

To know anything of a poet but his poetry is, so far as the poetry is concerned, to know something that may be entertaining, even delightful, but is certainly inessential.

- John Drinkwater

Concerned, May, Certainly, Delightful

Any long work in which poetry is persistent, be it epic or drama or narrative, is really a succession of separate poetic experiences governed into a related whole by an energy distinct from that which evoked them.

- John Drinkwater

Succession, Which, Poetic, Governed

A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal emotion, but then so is all poetry, and to suppose that there are several kinds of poetry, differing from each other in essence, is to be deceived by wholly artificial divisions which have no real being.

- John Drinkwater

Other, Essence, Wholly, Lyric

When the poet makes his perfect selection of a word, he is endowing the word with life.

- John Drinkwater

Perfect, Selection, His, Poet

The written word is everything.

- John Drinkwater

Everything, Word, Written, Written Word

Poetry is the communication through words of certain experiences that can be communicated in no other way.

- John Drinkwater

Words, Through, Other, Communication

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