Quotation
Quote by William Butler Yeats
We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry.
Explore the idea
Understanding this quote
The quote contrasts two kinds of conflict. Disagreement with other people becomes rhetoric: language used to argue or persuade. Struggle within oneself becomes poetry, because private tension is shaped into expressive words. It presents poetry as a way of giving form to inner conflict, while rhetoric gives form to public debate.
Source & trust
About this quotation
- Source
- Oxford University Research Archive
- Format
- Article
Explore the idea
Topics
Join the community
Keep meaningful words close.
Save quotes, follow people and topics, join conversations, and publish words of your own.
“English poetry is wonderful but it is not for me.”
“It is so easy to paint like your master & to think other people's thoughts, the difficulty is to be yourself.”
“Scrisul este şi el un talent cultivat cu educaţia, ca şi toate celelalte talente.”
Read quote“I started out as just a person who enjoyed, at first listening to music, and then I joined a band and really enjoyed playing music.”
“Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence.”
“모든 연기는 나로부터 시작된다고 생각한다.”
“Saya masih Zizan yang sama cuma saya ingin memperbaiki diri dan melakukan sesuatu yang lain tetapi masih berteraskan kepada komedi.”
“The important thing now is that in the conversation with the Australian people, we can only appeal to goodness.”
“All I can do is make the art and perform it with conviction.”
“I don’t believe in industry’s perception, I believe in creating trends.”
What Remains on the Workbench
Mara had labeled the storeroom shelves by date, material, and probable owner—everything except possibility.
Read Story