--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Russian dramatist is one who, walking…" description: "\"The Russian dramatist is one who, walking through a cemetery, does not see the flowers on the graves. The American dramatist . . . Does not see the gra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/george-jean-nathan-10206_cemetery_the-russian-dramatist-is-one-who-walking_472749.jpg" --- # The Russian dramatist is one who, walking through a… ![“The Russian dramatist is one who, walking through a cemetery, does not see the flowers on the graves. The American dramatist . . . Does not see the graves under the flowers.” quote by George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/george-jean-nathan-10206_cemetery_the-russian-dramatist-is-one-who-walking_472749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/george-jean-nathan-10206_cemetery_the-russian-dramatist-is-one-who-walking_472749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/george-jean-nathan-10206_cemetery_the-russian-dramatist-is-one-who-walking_472749.jpg) > “The Russian dramatist is one who, walking through a cemetery, does not see the flowers on the graves. The American dramatist . . . Does not see the graves under the flowers.” [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts Russian and American dramatists' focus, suggesting Russian writers see death, while Americans see life. **In simple terms:** Russian dramatists notice graves, Americans notice flowers. Key Takeaway Balance awareness of both loss and beauty. Themes art perception culture Mood analytical thoughtful Type critical observational When to use this quote - theatre criticism - creative writing - cultural analysis - education Key Concepts existentialism aesthetic theory Questions to Reflect On - How does your cultural lens shape what you notice? - Can you find works that blend both viewpoints? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex artistic perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cemetery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [Whether you're writing a horror show or a James Bond film, I think what bubbles beneath is interesting characterization. The colors that emerge through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-logan/whether-you-re-writing-a-horror-show-or-a-james-bond-film-i-think/) [John Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-logan/) > [“Is that why we give flowers? To express admiration? Sometimes. But there are other reasons. A symbol of love or of commiseration. A way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/is-that-why-we-give-flowers-to-express-admiration-sometimes-but-there/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [And so, they wait. Mothers, wives and daughters wait to place flowers at those graves -- and to start life over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-johnson/and-so-they-wait-mothers-wives-and-daughters-wait-to-place-flowers-at/) Brad Johnson > [The cat is, above all things, a dramatist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-benson/the-cat-is-above-all-things-a-dramatist/) [Margaret Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-benson/) > [It's insulting to ask a dramatist what his view of his play is. I have no opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/it-s-insulting-to-ask-a-dramatist-what-his-view-of-his-play-is-i-have/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [Shakespeare was a dramatist of note who lived by writing things to quote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-c-bunner/shakespeare-was-a-dramatist-of-note-who-lived-by-writing-things-to/) H. C. Bunner > [Shake was a dramatist of note; He lived by writing things to quote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-c-bunner/shake-was-a-dramatist-of-note-he-lived-by-writing-things-to-quote/) H. C. Bunner > [I'm a dramatist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/i-m-a-dramatist/) [Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/) > [The art of the dramatist is very like the art of the architect. A plot has to be built up just as a house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brander-matthews/the-art-of-the-dramatist-is-very-like-the-art-of-the-architect-a-plot/) [Brander Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brander-matthews/) > [The history of screenwriting - of what we do - is more than 100 years old. It's thousands of years old, going back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-logan/the-history-of-screenwriting-of-what-we-do-is-more-than-100-years-old/) [John Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-logan/) > [I can't really define myself as a dramatist or as an actor or as someone who is interested in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lepage/i-can-t-really-define-myself-as-a-dramatist-or-as-an-actor-or-as/) [Robert Lepage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lepage/) > [“Holmes laughed. "Watson insists that I am the dramatist in real life," said he. "Some touch of the artist wells up within me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holmes-laughed-watson-insists-that-i-am-the-dramatist-in-real-life/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I'm a dramatist. Dramatists have a right to look at history and interpret it the way they see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/i-m-a-dramatist-dramatists-have-a-right-to-look-at-history-and/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [I am, it seems, an avant-garde dramatist. It would even seem obvious since I am present here at discussions on the avant-garde theatre. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-am-it-seems-an-avant-garde-dramatist-it-would-even-seem-obvious/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I had never thought of myself as a dramatist, and, for really good technical results, the thought came too late: a man of letters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-housman/i-had-never-thought-of-myself-as-a-dramatist-and-for-really-good/) [Laurence Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-housman/) ## More by George Jean Nathan > [A man's wife is his compromise with the illusion of his first sweetheart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/a-man-s-wife-is-his-compromise-with-the-illusion-of-his-first/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [What passes for woman's intuition is more often intrinsically nothing more than man's transparency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/what-passes-for-woman-s-intuition-is-more-often-intrinsically-nothing/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [Common sense, in so far as it exists, is all for the bourgeoisie. Nonsense is the privilege of the aristocracy. The worries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/common-sense-in-so-far-as-it-exists-is-all-for-the-bourgeoisie/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [An optimist is a fellow who believes a housefly is looking for a way to get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/an-optimist-is-a-fellow-who-believes-a-housefly-is-looking-for-a-way/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [In the theatre, a hero is one who believes that all women are ladies, a villain one who believes that all ladies are women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/in-the-theatre-a-hero-is-one-who-believes-that-all-women-are-ladies-a/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [A life spent in constant labor is a life wasted, save a man be such a fool as to regard a fulsome obituary notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/a-life-spent-in-constant-labor-is-a-life-wasted-save-a-man-be-such-a/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [Hollywood is ten million dollars worth of intricate and high ingenious machinery functioning elaborately to put skin on baloney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/hollywood-is-ten-million-dollars-worth-of-intricate-and-high/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [The notion that as a man grows older his illusions leave him is not quite true. What is true is that his early illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/the-notion-that-as-a-man-grows-older-his-illusions-leave-him-is-not/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [I drink to make other people interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/i-drink-to-make-other-people-interesting/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [A man may be said to love most truly that woman in whose company he can feel drowsy in comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/a-man-may-be-said-to-love-most-truly-that-woman-in-whose-company-he/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/bad-officials-are-elected-by-good-citizens-who-do-not-vote/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [Drama - what literature does at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/drama-what-literature-does-at-night/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [The triumph of sugar over diabetes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/the-triumph-of-sugar-over-diabetes/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [The sweetest memory is that which involves something which one should not have done; the bitterest, that which involves something which one should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/the-sweetest-memory-is-that-which-involves-something-which-one-should/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [Great drama is the souvenir of the adventure of a master among the pieces of his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/great-drama-is-the-souvenir-of-the-adventure-of-a-master-among-the/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) [Explore all 67 George Jean Nathan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) ## More Cemetery quotes > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [If it wasn't for baseball, I'd be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/if-it-wasn-t-for-baseball-i-d-be-in-either-the-penitentiary-or-the/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“I visited my old haunt, but somehow without all my old friends there with me, the cemetery just wasn’t the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-visited-my-old-haunt-but-somehow-without-all-my-old-friends-there/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-yudof/being-president-of-the-university-of-california-is-like-being-manager/) Mark Yudof > [We think that a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences - "true conformity" is possible only in the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/we-think-that-a-powerful-and-vigorous-movement-is-impossible-without/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-cemetery-of-the-victims-of-human-cruelty-in-our-century-is/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [In old grimy streets, in isolated and decaying houses, sometimes far from the Vieux Carre, in little used and secluded cemeteries, there still sluggishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-john-laughlin/in-old-grimy-streets-in-isolated-and-decaying-houses-sometimes-far/) [Clarence John Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-john-laughlin/) > [Cats and dogs believe politicians are like cemetery caregivers; they are on top of everyone, but nobody listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/cats-and-dogs-believe-politicians-are-like-cemetery-caregivers-they/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“The atmosphere is always very grave when I walk into a cemetery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-atmosphere-is-always-very-grave-when-i-walk-into-a-cemetery/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Nothing exists except by virtue of a disequilibrium, an injustice. All existence is a theft paid for by other existences; no life flowers except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/nothing-exists-except-by-virtue-of-a-disequilibrium-an-injustice-all/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [ Our agreements on creating the conditions for preparing a peace treaty \[with Japan\] should be rooted in this trust. This may be achieved, for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/our-agreements-on-creating-the-conditions-for-preparing-a-peace/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [A cemetery saddens us because it is the only place of the world in which we do not meet our dead again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/a-cemetery-saddens-us-because-it-is-the-only-place-of-the-world-in/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) [Browse all 309 Cemetery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Russian dramatist is one who, walking through a cemetery, does not see the flowers on the graves. The American dramatist . . . 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