--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The composer does not want the…" description: "\"The composer does not want the self-sufficiency of a richly complex text: he or she wants to feel that the text is something in need of musical setting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png" --- # The composer does not want the self-sufficiency of a… ![“The composer does not want the self-sufficiency of a richly complex text: he or she wants to feel that the text is something in need of musical setting.” quote by James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png) > “The composer does not want the self-sufficiency of a richly complex text: he or she wants to feel that the text is something in need of musical setting.” [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A composer seeks a text that invites musical interpretation, not a self-contained masterpiece. **In simple terms:** Composers want texts that need music. Key Takeaway Choose texts that inspire collaboration. Themes creativity collaboration artistic intent Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting - film scoring - theatre productions Key Concepts music theory literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What qualities make a text musically inspiring? - How can you adapt a dense text for music? A Different Perspective Not all texts are suitable for musical setting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self sufficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-sufficiency/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sufficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficiency/) ## Related quotes > [Development of character consists solely in moving toward self-sufficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/development-of-character-consists-solely-in-moving-toward-self/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/absence-of-gratitude-is-the-mark-of-the-narrow-uneducated-mind-it/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [It must not be supposed that happiness will demand many or great possessions; for self-sufficiency does not depend on excessive abundance, nor does moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-must-not-be-supposed-that-happiness-will-demand-many-or-great/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Indeed, the keynote of government is injustice. With the arrogance and self-sufficiency of the King who could do no wrong, governments ordain, judge, condemn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/indeed-the-keynote-of-government-is-injustice-with-the-arrogance-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [A lot of people say there is no happiness in this life and certainly there's no permanent happiness. But self-sufficiency creates happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/a-lot-of-people-say-there-is-no-happiness-in-this-life-and-certainly/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Surrounded by the self -sufficiency of American culture, we can convince ourselves that we have what it takes to achieve something great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/surrounded-by-the-self-sufficiency-of-american-culture-we-can/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [America has a history of political isolation and economic self-sufficiency; its citizens have tended to regard the rest of the world as a disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/america-has-a-history-of-political-isolation-and-economic-self/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [A very real barrier to faith is this feeling of self-sufficiency, this unrealistic idea that one can accomplish everything by his or her own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/a-very-real-barrier-to-faith-is-this-feeling-of-self-sufficiency-this/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“The flat is small, with only a sliver of ocean view from the bedroom window, but I pay for it myself—not from the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-chase/the-flat-is-small-with-only-a-sliver-of-ocean-view-from-the-bedroom/) [Emma Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-chase/) > [The myth of the self-sufficient individual and of the self-sufficient, protected, and protective familytells us that those who need help are ultimately inadequate. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/the-myth-of-the-self-sufficient-individual-and-of-the-self-sufficient/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [We in the West seem to have made a fetish out of complete individual self-sufficiency, of not needing help, of being completely private except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/we-in-the-west-seem-to-have-made-a-fetish-out-of-complete-individual/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [In many cases, mathematics is an escape from reality. The mathematician finds his own monastic niche and happiness in pursuits that are disconnected from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-ulam/in-many-cases-mathematics-is-an-escape-from-reality-the-mathematician/) [Stanislaw Ulam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-ulam/) > [Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/self-sufficiency-is-the-enemy-of-salvation-if-you-are-self-sufficient/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [Annual earnings in the fast-food industry are well below the income needed for self-sufficiency, and fast-food industry jobs are also much less likely than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rolf/annual-earnings-in-the-fast-food-industry-are-well-below-the-income/) [David Rolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rolf/) > [In its flawless grace and superior self-sufficiency I have seen a symbol of the perfect beauty and bland impersonality of the universe itself, objectively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/in-its-flawless-grace-and-superior-self-sufficiency-i-have-seen-a/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## More by James Fenton > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral. Its transmission today is still in part oral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [A glance at the history of European poetry is enough to inform us that rhyme itself is not indispensable. Latin poetry in the classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/a-glance-at-the-history-of-european-poetry-is-enough-to-inform-us/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-song-the-same-rule-applies-as-in-dramatic-verse-the-meaning-must/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Great poetry does not have to be technically intricate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/great-poetry-does-not-have-to-be-technically-intricate/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > ['Love' is so short of perfect rhymes that convention allows half-rhymes like 'move.' The alternative is a plague of doves, or a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/love-is-so-short-of-perfect-rhymes-that-convention-allows-half-rhymes/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Lyric poetry is, of course, musical in origin. I do know that what happened to poetry in the twentieth century was that it began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/lyric-poetry-is-of-course-musical-in-origin-i-do-know-that-what/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [At somewhere around 10 syllables, the English poetic line is at its most relaxed and manageable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/at-somewhere-around-10-syllables-the-english-poetic-line-is-at-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-rap-as-in-most-popular-lyrics-a-very-low-standard-is-set-for-rhyme/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [The Italian word 'stanza' means 'a room', and a room is a good way to conceive of a stanza. A room, generally speaking, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-italian-word-stanza-means-a-room-and-a-room-is-a-good-way-to/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Some people think that English poetry begins with the Anglo-Saxons. I don't, because I can't accept that there is any continuity between the traditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/some-people-think-that-english-poetry-begins-with-the-anglo-saxons-i/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/nobody-really-knows-whether-they-are-a-poet-i-knew-i-was-interested/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) [Explore all 72 James Fenton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. The hero in each of us is required to answer the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/the-act-of-consciousness-is-central-otherwise-we-are-overrun-by-the/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [As the number of unexplained, irreducibly complex biological systems increases, our confidence that Darwin's criterion of failure has been met skyrockets toward the maximum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/as-the-number-of-unexplained-irreducibly-complex-biological-systems/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Browse all 1,635 Complexes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The composer does not want the self-sufficiency of a richly complex text: he or she wants to feel that the text is something in need of musical setting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Fenton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-sufficiency-of-a-richly-complex/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complexes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-sufficiency-of-a-richly-complex/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/james-fenton-9438_complexes_the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-suff_1568707.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The composer does not want the self-sufficiency of a richly complex text: he or she wants to feel that the…” — James Fenton", "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": "James Fenton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The composer does not want the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-sufficiency-of-a-richly-complex/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-composer-does-not-want-the-self-sufficiency-of-a-richly-complex/#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 } } ] } ```