I believe...that to be very poor and very beautiful is…
““I believe...that to be very poor and very beautiful is most probably a moral failure more than an artistic success. Shakespeare would have done well in any generation because he would have refused to die in a corner; he would have taken the false gods and made them over; he would have taken the current formulae and forced them into something lesser men thought them incapable of. Alive today he would undoubtedly have written and directed motion pictures, plays, and God knows what. Instead of saying, "This medium is not good," he would have used it and made it good. If some people called some his work cheap (which some of it was), he wouldn't have cared a rap, because he would know that without some vulgarity there is no complete man. He would have hated refinement, as such, because it is always a withdrawal, and he was too tough to shrink from anything.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Chandler suggests that poverty and beauty are moral failings, while true artistic greatness requires daring use of all mediums, even the vulgar.
In simple terms: Great art embraces all, even the lowly.
Key Takeaway
Embrace all mediums, reject snobbery.
Themes
artistic integrity
social critique
creativity
Mood
defiant
provocative
Type
critical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- Film making
- Thewriting
- Theatre production
- Visual arts
- Music composition
Key Concepts
Moral philosophy
Aesthetics
Cultural criticism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance refinement with rawness?
- When is vulgarity essential to authenticity?
A Different Perspective
Not all audiences value vulgarity; some may reject it.