--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never can hear a crowd of people…" description: "\"I never can hear a crowd of people singing and gesticulating, all together, at an Italian opera, without fancying myself at Athens, listening to that p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg" --- # I never can hear a crowd of people singing and… ![“I never can hear a crowd of people singing and gesticulating, all together, at an Italian opera, without fancying myself at Athens, listening to that particular tragedy, by Sophocles, in which he introduces a full chorus of turkeys, who set about bewailing the death of Meleager.” quote by Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg) > “I never can hear a crowd of people singing and gesticulating, all together, at an Italian opera, without fancying myself at Athens, listening to that particular tragedy, by Sophocles, in which he introduces a full chorus of turkeys, who set about bewailing the death of Meleager.” [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poe likens the emotional impact of opera to ancient Greek tragedy, feeling transported to Athens while watching a chaotic chorus. **In simple terms:** Opera can feel like ancient tragedy, evoking deep, chaotic emotions. Key Takeaway Allow art to transport you beyond the present. Themes art emotion history theatre culture Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary analytical When to use this quote - attending opera - studying drama - comparing artistic forms Key Concepts Greek tragedy catharsis musical immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does opera evoke ancient emotions? - What modern parallels exist for tragic choruses? A Different Perspective May overlook personal taste or cultural context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Athens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) [Chorus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chorus/) [Chorus Turkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chorus-turkeys-5360728/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Hear Crowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-crowd-1638443/) [Introducing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/introducing/) [Italian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/italian/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Sophocles Introduces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophocles-introduces-5360729/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-sophocles-1996966/) [Turkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turkeys/) ## Related quotes > [All art at a certain level is entertainment. We go to a tragedy by Sophocles to be entertained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/all-art-at-a-certain-level-is-entertainment-we-go-to-a-tragedy-by/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [I definitely get pumped up when I hear a crowd cheering for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-gordon/i-definitely-get-pumped-up-when-i-hear-a-crowd-cheering-for-me/) [Jeff Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-gordon/) > [As I'm out there in the ring, I hear everything that the crowd is giving me. I give it back sometimes, too. As far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias/as-i-m-out-there-in-the-ring-i-hear-everything-that-the-crowd-is/) [Elias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias/) > [I hear the crowd screaming like 'Aye! get it brody!' So I'm on my shoulders and I take it real low. They like 'How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cali-swag-district/i-hear-the-crowd-screaming-like-aye-get-it-brody-so-i-m-on-my/) [Cali Swag District](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cali-swag-district/) > [When you're focused, you don't hear the crowd noises, you only hear what you need to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-ruettiger/when-you-re-focused-you-don-t-hear-the-crowd-noises-you-only-hear/) [Rudy Ruettiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-ruettiger/) > [I could hear from the crowd some monkey noises, and this went on for about 25 minutes. Every time I touched the ball, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-prince-boateng/i-could-hear-from-the-crowd-some-monkey-noises-and-this-went-on-for/) [Kevin-Prince Boateng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-prince-boateng/) > [No matter how tired you get, when you get in that ring and hear that crowd road, everything will go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cage/no-matter-how-tired-you-get-when-you-get-in-that-ring-and-hear-that/) [Christian Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cage/) > [Sometimes I hear the crowd cheering, and most of the time your body's on auto pilot, so sometimes even after I do a floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-biles/sometimes-i-hear-the-crowd-cheering-and-most-of-the-time-your-body-s/) [Simone Biles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-biles/) > [Some guys lock up when they hear the crowd. I feel the energy and take it with me into the fight. I've been in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lashley/some-guys-lock-up-when-they-hear-the-crowd-i-feel-the-energy-and-take/) [Bobby Lashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lashley/) > [It's so amazing to hear a crowd of people singing one of your songs. It's the best feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-payne/it-s-so-amazing-to-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singing-one-of-your-songs/) [Liam Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-payne/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Athens, much like Austin, is a difficult music scene. There are so many musicians there that it is hard to get gigs and hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-smith/athens-much-like-austin-is-a-difficult-music-scene-there-are-so-many/) [Corey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-smith/) > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/as-for-aliki-if-you-were-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-rome-and-say-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More by Edgar Allan Poe > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [There is no passion in nature so demoniacally impatient, as that of him who, shuddering upon the edge of a precipice, thus meditates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-no-passion-in-nature-so-demoniacally-impatient-as-that-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [To vilify a great man is the readiest way in which a little man can himself attain greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-vilify-a-great-man-is-the-readiest-way-in-which-a-little-man-can/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashioned his thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/a-skillful-literary-artist-has-constructed-a-tale-if-wise-he-has-not/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“For eyes we have no models in the remotely antique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/for-eyes-we-have-no-models-in-the-remotely-antique/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/those-who-dream-by-day-are-cognizant-of-many-things-that-escape-those/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish experiment—that of looking down within the tarn—had been to deepen the first singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-have-said-that-the-sole-effect-of-my-somewhat-childish-experiment/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [And all my days are trances, And all my nightly dreams Are where thy dark eye glances, And where thy footstep gleams-- In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-all-my-days-are-trances-and-all-my-nightly-dreams-are-where-thy/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Other friends have flown before — On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.” Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/other-friends-have-flown-before-on-the-morrow-he-will-leave-me-as-my/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“To the right and left, as far as the eye could reach, there lay outstretched, like ramparts of the world, lines of horridly black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-the-right-and-left-as-far-as-the-eye-could-reach-there-lay/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Men die nightly in their beds, wringing the hands of ghostly confessors ... on account of the hideousness of mysteries which will not suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/men-die-nightly-in-their-beds-wringing-the-hands-of-ghostly/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [And the Raven, never flitting, Still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas Just above my chamber door; And his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-the-raven-never-flitting-still-is-sitting-still-is-sitting-on-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-was-forced-to-fall-back-upon-the-unsatisfactory-conclusion-that/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but i feel the bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/for-the-moon-never-beams-without-bringing-me-dreams-of-the-beautiful/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) [Explore all 615 Edgar Allan Poe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never can hear a crowd of people singing and gesticulating, all together, at an Italian opera, without fancying myself at Athens, listening to that particular tragedy, by Sophocles, in which he introduces a full chorus of turkeys, who set about bewailing the death of Meleager.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edgar Allan Poe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singing-and-gesticulating-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singing-and-gesticulating-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bd/edgar-allan-poe-315_art_i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singi_1474739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never can hear a crowd of people singing and gesticulating, all together, at an Italian opera, without…” — Edgar Allan Poe", "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": "Edgar Allan Poe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never can hear a crowd...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singing-and-gesticulating-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-never-can-hear-a-crowd-of-people-singing-and-gesticulating-all/#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 } } ] } ```