--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins…" description: "\"Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world around.\" — A. E. Housman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/a-e-housman-8360_dance_oh-tis-jesting-dancing-drinking-spins-th_1989956.png" --- # Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world… ![“Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world around.” quote by A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/a-e-housman-8360_dance_oh-tis-jesting-dancing-drinking-spins-th_1989956.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/a-e-housman-8360_dance_oh-tis-jesting-dancing-drinking-spins-th_1989956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/a-e-housman-8360_dance_oh-tis-jesting-dancing-drinking-spins-th_1989956.png) > “Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world around.” [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s hardships are masked by revelry and distraction. **In simple terms:** Joy hides sorrow. Key Takeaway Find meaning beyond distraction. Themes joy distraction existence Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetic literary When to use this quote - festivals - nightlife - stress relief Key Concepts absurdism escapism Questions to Reflect On - What do you distract yourself from? - Can joy coexist with grief? A Different Perspective Escapism may prevent confronting real issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Dancing Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing-drinking-3444781/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Drinking Spins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-spins-3444784/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [Jesting Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesting-dancing-3444780/) [Just dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-dance/) [Spins Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spins-heavy-3444783/) [Tis Jesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tis-jesting-3444782/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/to-chase-the-glowing-hours-with-flying-feet/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery - what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dancing-is-just-discovery-discovery-discovery-what-it-all-means-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [When you are dancing with your partner, for that two and a half minutes, you are in love with each other. You're corresponding with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-manning/when-you-are-dancing-with-your-partner-for-that-two-and-a-half/) [Frankie Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-manning/) > [Come and trip it as ye go On the light fantastic toe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/come-and-trip-it-as-ye-go-on-the-light-fantastic-toe/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Dance till the stars come down from the rafters Dance, Dance, Dance 'till you drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/dance-till-the-stars-come-down-from-the-rafters-dance-dance-dance/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Dancing: The Highest Intelligence in the Freest Body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/dancing-the-highest-intelligence-in-the-freest-body/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The most essential thing in dance discipline is devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/the-most-essential-thing-in-dance-discipline-is-devotion/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Fine dancing, I believe, like virtue, must be its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/fine-dancing-i-believe-like-virtue-must-be-its-own-reward/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Just get up and dance! Life starts when WE do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-greene/just-get-up-and-dance-life-starts-when-we-do/) [Vivian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-greene/) > [Dance is so important in the world. It needs no language. Our bodies speak a language of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-farah/dance-is-so-important-in-the-world-it-needs-no-language-our-bodies/) [Ibrahim Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-farah/) > [Just because two of the people in this barn have decided to spend their lives together doesn't mean the rest of us are obligated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ryan/just-because-two-of-the-people-in-this-barn-have-decided-to-spend/) [Sara Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ryan/) > [Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/man-must-speak-then-sing-then-dance-the-speaking-is-the-brain-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Anywhere everywhere! Anything anyhow! just dance!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/anywhere-everywhere-anything-anyhow-just-dance/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The secret of this kind of climbing, is like Zen. Don't think. Just dance along. It's the easiest thing in the world, actually easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-secret-of-this-kind-of-climbing-is-like-zen-don-t-think-just/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythym of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-d-amboise/dance-is-your-pulse-your-heartbeat-your-breathing-it-s-the-rhythym-of/) [Jacques d'Amboise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-d-amboise/) ## More by A. E. Housman > [I think that to transfuse emotion - not to transmit thought but to set up in the reader's sense a vibration corresponding to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/i-think-that-to-transfuse-emotion-not-to-transmit-thought-but-to-set/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Clay lies still, but blood's a rover; Breath's aware that will not keep. Up, lad: when the journey's over then there'll be time enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/clay-lies-still-but-blood-s-a-rover-breath-s-aware-that-will-not-keep/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Housman is one of my heroes and always has been. He was a detestable and miserable man. Arrogant, unspeakably lonely, cruel, and so on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/housman-is-one-of-my-heroes-and-always-has-been-he-was-a-detestable/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [On occasions, after drinking a pint of beer at luncheon, there would be a flow into my mind with sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/on-occasions-after-drinking-a-pint-of-beer-at-luncheon-there-would-be/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [To justify God's ways to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/to-justify-god-s-ways-to-man/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/ten-thousand-times-i-ve-done-my-best-and-all-s-to-do-again/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/here-dead-lie-we-because-we-did-not-choose-to-live-and-shame-the-land/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [A moment's thought would have shown him. But a moment is a long time, and thought is a painful process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/a-moment-s-thought-would-have-shown-him-but-a-moment-is-a-long-time/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [His folly has not fellow Beneath the blue of day That gives to man or woman His heart and soul away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/his-folly-has-not-fellow-beneath-the-blue-of-day-that-gives-to-man-or/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;The wind it plies the saplings double, And thick on Severn snow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/on-wenlock-edge-the-wood-s-in-trouble-his-forest-fleece-the-wrekin/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Into my hear an air that kills through yon far country blows what are those blue remembered hills what spires,what farms are those? that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/into-my-hear-an-air-that-kills-through-yon-far-country-blows-what-are/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > ['Tis spring; come out to ramble The hilly brakes around, For under thorn and bramble About the hollow ground The primroses are found. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/tis-spring-come-out-to-ramble-the-hilly-brakes-around-for-under-thorn/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [If a man will comprehend the richness and variety of the universe, and inspire his mind with a due measure of wonder and awe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/if-a-man-will-comprehend-the-richness-and-variety-of-the-universe-and/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/malt-does-more-than-milton-can-to-justify-god-s-ways-to-man/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [I am not a pessimist but a pejorist (as George Eliot said she was not an optimist but a meliorist); and that philosophy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/i-am-not-a-pessimist-but-a-pejorist-as-george-eliot-said-she-was-not/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) [Explore all 81 A. E. Housman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) ## More Dance quotes > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I make dance music because I love to dance. But I want to think at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-make-dance-music-because-i-love-to-dance-but-i-want-to-think-at-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [I studied all kinds of dance, all types of music. I got good grades. I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [I like Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. I love pop music, but I also like Sam Smith's slow songs. That would be more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-ziegler/i-like-sam-smith-and-taylor-swift-i-love-pop-music-but-i-also-like/) [Maddie Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-ziegler/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [My body was so instrumental to how I took pictures: it was practically a dance. I used to use my legs a lot; now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/my-body-was-so-instrumental-to-how-i-took-pictures-it-was-practically/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [If you dance, you dance because you have to. Every dancer hurts, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/if-you-dance-you-dance-because-you-have-to-every-dancer-hurts-you-know/) [Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Being fit is the easiest part of being a dance professional. I used to just throw on a backpack full of rocks and run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-du-beke/being-fit-is-the-easiest-part-of-being-a-dance-professional-i-used-to/) [Anton du Beke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-du-beke/) > [I'm a horrible dancer, but I wanted to record songs that made me want to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lane/i-m-a-horrible-dancer-but-i-wanted-to-record-songs-that-made-me-want/) [Chris Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lane/) [Browse all 9,682 Dance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world around.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. E. 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