--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grave authors say, and witty poets sing…" description: "\"Grave authors say, and witty poets sing, That honest wedlock is a glorious thing.\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png" --- # Grave authors say, and witty poets sing, That honest… ![“Grave authors say, and witty poets sing, That honest wedlock is a glorious thing.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png) > “Grave authors say, and witty poets sing, That honest wedlock is a glorious thing.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet celebrates marriage as an honorable, joyous institution, contrasting it with the frivolity of other pursuits. **In simple terms:** Marriage is noble and joyous. Key Takeaway Value and honor committed partnership. Themes marriage honor joy Mood celebratory thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - wedding planning - relationship counseling - family celebrations - community events Key Concepts Social contract cultural values personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What makes a marriage truly glorious? - How can partners sustain joy over time? A Different Perspective Idealizing marriage may overlook its challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Matrimony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matrimony/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Wedlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wedlock/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) ## Related quotes > [Men dream of courtship, but in wedlock wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/men-dream-of-courtship-but-in-wedlock-wake/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/they-dream-in-courtship-but-in-wedlock-wake/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Horses (thou say'st) and asses men may try, And ring suspected vessels ere they buy; But wives, a random choice, untried they take; They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/horses-thou-say-st-and-asses-men-may-try-and-ring-suspected-vessels/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Yet that man is happy and poets sing of him who conquers with hand and swift foot and strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pindar/yet-that-man-is-happy-and-poets-sing-of-him-who-conquers-with-hand/) [Pindar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pindar/) > [Poets sing our human music for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ann-duffy/poets-sing-our-human-music-for-us/) [Carol Ann Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ann-duffy/) > [Besides the Autumn poets sing, A few prosaic days, A little this side of the snow, And that side of the Haze..., Grant me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/besides-the-autumn-poets-sing-a-few-prosaic-days-a-little-this-side/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“And where are we going?' he asked. "to war,' I said grandly. 'We'll give the poets something to sing about. We'll wear their tongues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/and-where-are-we-going-he-asked-to-war-i-said-grandly-we-ll-give-the/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [When I became a poet, the Korean literary world expected women poets to sing passively of love. Naturally, this was not written anywhere, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/when-i-became-a-poet-the-korean-literary-world-expected-women-poets/) [Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/) > [Though God alone never tastes woe, Yet that man is happy, and poets sing of him, Who conquers with hand or swift foot And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pindar/though-god-alone-never-tastes-woe-yet-that-man-is-happy-and-poets/) [Pindar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pindar/) > [Those ancients who in poetry presented the golden age, who sang its happy state, perhaps, in their Parnassus, dreamt this place. Here, mankind's root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/those-ancients-who-in-poetry-presented-the-golden-age-who-sang-its/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Musings The little poets sing of little things: Hope, cheer, and faith, small queens and puppet kings; Lovers who kissed and then were made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/musings-the-little-poets-sing-of-little-things-hope-cheer-and-faith/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [I believe in dreams. People should have faith in the songs poets sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-believe-in-dreams-people-should-have-faith-in-the-songs-poets-sing/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [But keeping secrets is a discipline. I never use to think of myself as a good liar, but after having had some practice I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/but-keeping-secrets-is-a-discipline-i-never-use-to-think-of-myself-as/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The holy heaven yearns to wound the earth, and yearning layeth hold on the earth to join in wedlock; the rain, fallen from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-holy-heaven-yearns-to-wound-the-earth-and-yearning-layeth-hold-on/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Grave authors say, and witty poets sing, That honest wedlock is a glorious thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-that-honest-wedlock-is-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-that-honest-wedlock-is-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/alexander-pope-235_books_grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-t_651208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Grave authors say, and witty poets sing, That honest wedlock is a glorious thing.” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Grave authors say, and witty poets...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-that-honest-wedlock-is-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/grave-authors-say-and-witty-poets-sing-that-honest-wedlock-is-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```