Beastly Quote by D. H. Lawrence
“My wife has a beastly habit of comparing poetry -- all literature in fact -- to the droppings of the goats among the rocks -- mere excreta that fertilises the ground it falls on.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: Women in Love, 1920
Literature is often reduced to base, animalistic comparisons, yet it still enriches the world.
In simple terms: Poetry is likened to goat droppings that fertilize.
Key Takeaway
Value art despite crude analogies.
Themes
art
literature
humor
critique
Mood
wry
intellectual
Type
literary
satirical
When to use this quote
- teaching literature
- creative writing
- critical analysis
- cultural commentary
Key Concepts
Modernism
satire
Questions to Reflect On
- How does humor affect our view of literature?
- Can crude metaphors reveal truth?
A Different Perspective
May dismiss the deeper value of art.
![“I wasn’t reading poetry because my aim was to work my way through English Literature in Prose A–Z. But this was different. I read [in, Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot]: This is one moment, / But know that another / Shall pierce you with a sudden painful joy. I started to cry. (…)The…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ead/jeanette-winterson-166_books_i-wasn-t-reading-poetry-because-my-aim-w_1191707.jpg)
![“Well, it seems like a miracle to be able to look forward-to-to see all the minutes in front of one come hopping along with something marvellous in them, instead of just[Pg 295] saying, Well, that one didn't actually hurt and the next may be quite bearable if only something beastly doesn't come…” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fc4/dorothy-l-sayers-738_able_well-it-seems-like-a-miracle-to-be-able_244103.jpg)
