--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: that there was no great literary…" description: "\"“that there was no great literary tradition; there was only the tradition of the eventful death of every literary tradition…. \"Then”\" — F. Scott Fitzge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_death_that-there-was-no-great-literary-traditi_787243.jpg" --- # that there was no great literary tradition; there was only… ![“that there was no great literary tradition; there was only the tradition of the eventful death of every literary tradition…. "Then” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_death_that-there-was-no-great-literary-traditi_787243.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_death_that-there-was-no-great-literary-traditi_787243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_death_that-there-was-no-great-literary-traditi_787243.jpg) > ““that there was no great literary tradition; there was only the tradition of the eventful death of every literary tradition…. "Then”” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique that literary history is defined by the loss of traditions rather than a continuous lineage. **In simple terms:** Literature is seen as ending with each tradition’s death. Key Takeaway Recognize the cyclical nature of cultural narratives. Themes literature history impermanence Mood melancholic analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - creative writing - archival work Key Concepts cultural theory nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What does this perspective suggest about preserving art? - How can we value both continuity and change? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on loss may ignore ongoing influences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) ## Related quotes > [I learned a little of beauty - enough to know that it had nothing to do with truth - and I found, moreover, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-learned-a-little-of-beauty-enough-to-know-that-it-had-nothing-to-do-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [It always seems to me that one of the saddest things about the death of a literary man is the fact that the breaking-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dodgson-collingwood/it-always-seems-to-me-that-one-of-the-saddest-things-about-the-death/) Stuart Dodgson Collingwood > [Know your literary tradition, savor it, steal from it, but when you sit down to write, forget about worshiping greatness and fetishizing masterpieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/know-your-literary-tradition-savor-it-steal-from-it-but-when-you-sit/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [I think that a lot of things are hard to read if you're not in the vocabulary flow of that particular discourse. I sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/i-think-that-a-lot-of-things-are-hard-to-read-if-you-re-not-in-the/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [As an American writer, the literary tradition that I draw on the most is the Anglo-American one, and when you are writing in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/as-an-american-writer-the-literary-tradition-that-i-draw-on-the-most/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I do not come out of a literary tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-do-not-come-out-of-a-literary-tradition/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [“The authors we classified as villains, detractors, and bad role models for our children are part of the educational curriculum. Freethinkers and the gutsy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ann-charpentier/the-authors-we-classified-as-villains-detractors-and-bad-role-models/) Julia Ann Charpentier > [One of the things that bugs me about the Western Literary Tradition is that the conventions of narrative in particular seem to confine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/one-of-the-things-that-bugs-me-about-the-western-literary-tradition/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Every country should have a strong literary tradition of its own at the center, but it should also have an interest in other countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/every-country-should-have-a-strong-literary-tradition-of-its-own-at/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [What is literary tradition? What is a classic? What is a canonical view of tradition? How are canons of accepted classics formed,and how are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/what-is-literary-tradition-what-is-a-classic-what-is-a-canonical-view/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [We have a great literary tradition in Australia. I think the book is very much alive and the more people who are encouraged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/we-have-a-great-literary-tradition-in-australia-i-think-the-book-is/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [Anytime an African-American writes an unconventional novel, the writer gets compared to Ellison. But that's O.K. I am working in the African-American literary tradition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/anytime-an-african-american-writes-an-unconventional-novel-the-writer/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Something is missing in our culture. We can't quite celebrate the scientific literary tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/something-is-missing-in-our-culture-we-can-t-quite-celebrate-the/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Does people not asking me about Asian American literature mean they don't see it as its own literary tradition? I certainly believe in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/does-people-not-asking-me-about-asian-american-literature-mean-they/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [Literature is conscious mythology: as society develops, its mythical stories become structural principles of story-telling, its mythical concepts, sun-gods and the like, become habits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-conscious-mythology-as-society-develops-its-mythical/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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