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? — William Empson Copy Share Image
“Villanelle It is the pain, it is the pain endures. Your chemic beauty burned my muscles through. Poise of my hands reminded me of… — William Empson Copy Share Image
Proust has listed a great many reasons why it is impossible to be happy, but, in the course of being happy, one finds it… — William Empson Copy Share Image
“Waiting for the end, boys, waiting for the end. What is there to be or do? What's become of me or you? Are we… — William Empson Copy Share Image
“Slowly the poison the whole blood stream fills. It is not the effort nor the failure tires. The waste remains, the waste remains and… — William Empson Copy Share Image
The central function of imaginative literature is to make you realize that other people act on moral convictions different from your own. — William Empson Copy Share Image
Slowly the poison the whole blood stream fills. It is not the effort nor the failure tires. The waste remains, the waste remains and… — William Empson Copy Share Image
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. — William Empson Copy Share Image
