--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a man writes a brilliant enough play…" description: "\"If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of something that is universally loathed, the play, if it is good and well enough written, should not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png" --- # If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of… ![“If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of something that is universally loathed, the play, if it is good and well enough written, should not be knocked down because of its approach to its subject.” quote by Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png) > “If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of something that is universally loathed, the play, if it is good and well enough written, should not be knocked down because of its approach to its subject.” [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A well-crafted work should be judged on merit, not subject matter. **In simple terms:** Judge art by quality, not topic. Key Takeaway Assess works independently of bias. Themes art critique subjectivity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - theater reviews - literary analysis - academic debate Key Concepts aesthetic judgment ethical criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate form from content? - When is subject matter essential to evaluation? A Different Perspective Some subjects inherently provoke strong reactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I love to work anywhere, but because there is so much attention after 'The Square' my three agents wanted me to quit the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-bang/i-love-to-work-anywhere-but-because-there-is-so-much-attention-after/) [Claes Bang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-bang/) > [You may mess up 9 times out of 10,but you will mesmerise everyone with just one single brilliant play.The people that you have mesmerised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-may-mess-up-9-times-out-of-10-but-you-will-mesmerise-everyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the first roles I had on stage was with a brilliant director in a brilliant play with a brilliant cast, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/one-of-the-first-roles-i-had-on-stage-was-with-a-brilliant-director/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [A rather ugly thing starts happening: the playwright finds himself knocked down for works that quite often are just as good or better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/a-rather-ugly-thing-starts-happening-the-playwright-finds-himself/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Things may not be immediately discernible in what a man writes, and in this sometimes he is fortunate; but eventually they are quite clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/things-may-not-be-immediately-discernible-in-what-a-man-writes-and-in/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A man writes to throw off the poison which he has accumulated because of his false way of life. He is trying to recapture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/a-man-writes-to-throw-off-the-poison-which-he-has-accumulated-because/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Never trust a man who writes more than he reads.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/never-trust-a-man-who-writes-more-than-he-reads/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A man who writes for a living does not have to go anywhere in particular, and he could rarely afford to if he wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-forester/a-man-who-writes-for-a-living-does-not-have-to-go-anywhere-in/) [C. S. Forester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-forester/) > [It is safer to quote what is written than what is spoken. What a man writes it is fair to presume he believes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-safer-to-quote-what-is-written-than-what-is-spoken-what-a-man/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Nothing a man writes can please him as profoundly as something he does with his back, shoulders and hands. For writing is an artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/nothing-a-man-writes-can-please-him-as-profoundly-as-something-he/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [“How good a book is should be judged by the man who writes it by the excellence of the material that he eliminates.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/how-good-a-book-is-should-be-judged-by-the-man-who-writes-it-by-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [It is not difficult to conceive, however, that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives. For without entering into refined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-not-difficult-to-conceive-however-that-for-many-reasons-a-man/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [ “He \[Augustine\] admitted: 'I am the sort of man who writes because he has made progress, and who makes progress by writing.' ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/he-augustine-admitted-i-am-the-sort-of-man-who-writes-because-he-has/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Everything a man writes about himself is instructive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glassco/everything-a-man-writes-about-himself-is-instructive/) John Glassco > [“A man who writes a book, thinks himself wiser or wittier than the rest of mankind; he supposes that he can instruct or amuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-man-who-writes-a-book-thinks-himself-wiser-or-wittier-than-the-rest/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Edward Albee > [School curricula that ignore the arts produce highly educated Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/school-curricula-that-ignore-the-arts-produce-highly-educated/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When people don't like the way a play ends, they're likely to blame the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-don-t-like-the-way-a-play-ends-they-re-likely-to-blame/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [In a democracy you cannot stop public access to that art that will most misinform the people. You cannot stop people from being misinformed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/in-a-democracy-you-cannot-stop-public-access-to-that-art-that-will/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Creativity is magic. Don't examine it too closely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/creativity-is-magic-don-t-examine-it-too-closely/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When people can't abide things as they are, when they can't abide the present, they do one of two things ... either they ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-can-t-abide-things-as-they-are-when-they-can-t-abide-the/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [“Lady, you can’t fuck a metaphor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/lady-you-can-t-fuck-a-metaphor/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I write to find out what I'm talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-write-to-find-out-what-i-m-talking-about/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I know playwrights who like to kid themselves into saying that their characters are so well formed that they just take over. They determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-know-playwrights-who-like-to-kid-themselves-into-saying-that-their/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [The greatest problem with Irish Wolfhounds, though, is that they don't live very long: their great hearts give out. A good deal of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/the-greatest-problem-with-irish-wolfhounds-though-is-that-they-don-t/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/dashed-hopes-and-good-intentions-good-better-best-bested/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Writing has got to be an act of discovery…I write to find out what I'm thinking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/writing-has-got-to-be-an-act-of-discovery-i-write-to-find-out-what-i/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I'm back in fashion again for a while now. But I imagine that three or four years from now I'll be out again. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-m-back-in-fashion-again-for-a-while-now-but-i-imagine-that-three-or/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [What people really want in the theater is fantasy involvement and not reality involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/what-people-really-want-in-the-theater-is-fantasy-involvement-and-not/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Art should never try to be popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/art-should-never-try-to-be-popular/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) [Explore all 216 Edward Albee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of something that is universally loathed, the play, if it is good and well enough written, should not be knocked down because of its approach to its subject.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Albee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play-in-praise-of-something-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play-in-praise-of-something-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edward-albee-1684_actor_if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play_1069803.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of something that is universally loathed, the play, if it…” — Edward Albee", "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": "Edward Albee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a man writes a brilliant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play-in-praise-of-something-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/if-a-man-writes-a-brilliant-enough-play-in-praise-of-something-that/#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 } } ] } ```