William Empson
William Empson
Sir William Empsonwas an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his first, Seven Types of Ambiguity, published in 1930...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth27 September 1906
absorb admit asking attending cultures dissolve judgement natural stand
Attending there let us absorb the cultures of nationsAnd dissolve into our judgement all their codes.Then, being clogged, with a natural hesitation(People are continually asking one the way out),Let us stand here and admit that we have no road.
absorb admit asking attending cultures dissolve hesitation judgement nations natural stand
Attending there let us absorb the cultures of nations And dissolve into our judgement all their codes. Then, being clogged, with a natural hesitation (People are continually asking one the way out), Let us stand here and admit that we have no road.
seems till
It seems unpleasantly refinedTo put things off till someone knows.
involves life oneself solved
. . . life involves maintaining oneself between contradictions that can't be solved by analysis.
good understand
A humanist, as I understand the term, says, "This world is good enough for me, if only I can be good enough for it.
pain
It is the pain, it is the pain, endures.
brother careful cry doll few flesh mine shall sister unity whose
So your flesh shall be part of mine And part of mine be yours. Brother and sister we shall be Whose unity endures. Always the sister doll will cry, Made in these careful ways, Cry on and on, Come back to me, Come back, in a few days.
reading thinking bridges
I think many people (like myself) prefer to read poetry mixed with prose; it gives you more to go by; the conventions of poetry have been getting far off from normal life, so that to have a prose bridge makes reading poetry seem more natural.
views poetry literature
I'm afraid I take ... this rather clinical view of love: it's saving you from madness. I'm not so enthusiastic as other poets have been.
boys knowing waiting
Shall I make it clear, boys, for all to apprehend, Those that will not hear, boys, waiting for the end, Knowing it is near, boys, trying to pretend, Sitting in cold fear, boys, waiting for the end?
borders hopefulness improving
Liberal hopefulness Regards death as a mere border to an improving picture.
dream men long
All those large dreams by which men long live well Are magic-lanterned on the smoke of hell.
accommodations forbearance temper
The difficult part of good temper consists in forbearance, and accommodation to the ill-humors of others.
maintaining analysis contradiction
Life involves maintaining oneself between contradictions that can't be solved by analysis.