--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Epic poetry exhibits life in some great…" description: "\"Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude. It cannot strictly be said to symbolize life itself, but always some manner of life.\" — Lasc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/lascelles-abercrombie-25442_attitude_epic-poetry-exhibits-life-in-some-great_481208.png" --- # Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude… ![“Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude. It cannot strictly be said to symbolize life itself, but always some manner of life.” quote by Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/lascelles-abercrombie-25442_attitude_epic-poetry-exhibits-life-in-some-great_481208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/lascelles-abercrombie-25442_attitude_epic-poetry-exhibits-life-in-some-great_481208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/lascelles-abercrombie-25442_attitude_epic-poetry-exhibits-life-in-some-great_481208.png) > “Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude. It cannot strictly be said to symbolize life itself, but always some manner of life.” [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Epic poetry reflects life's varied symbolic forms rather than a direct representation. **In simple terms:** Poetry mirrors life's symbols. Key Takeaway Appreciate symbolic depth. Themes literature symbolism life Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading poetry - teaching literature - creative writing Key Concepts epic tradition interpretive analysis Questions to Reflect On - What symbols in epic poetry resonate with your life? - How does symbolism differ from literal storytelling? A Different Perspective Symbolic reading can be abstract and hard to relate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Epic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epic/) [Epic poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epic-poetry/) [Great Symbolic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-symbolic-4137661/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-great/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Symbolic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolic/) [Symbolic Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolic-attitude-4137660/) [Symbolize Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolize-life-4137659/) ## Related quotes > [In just the same way the thousands of successive positions of a runner are contracted into one sole symbolic attitude, which our eye perceives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/in-just-the-same-way-the-thousands-of-successive-positions-of-a/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [By the general process of epic poetry, I mean the way this form of art has constantly responded to the profound needs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/by-the-general-process-of-epic-poetry-i-mean-the-way-this-form-of-art/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [That is to say, epic poetry has been invented many times and independently; but, as the needs which prompted the invention have been broadly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/that-is-to-say-epic-poetry-has-been-invented-many-times-and/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [If epic poetry is a definite species, the sagas do not fall within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/if-epic-poetry-is-a-definite-species-the-sagas-do-not-fall-within-it/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [“Craftsman Ilmarinen wept Every evening for his woman, Weeping sleepless through the nights And fasting through the days; In the early hours complaining, Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-l-nnrot/craftsman-ilmarinen-wept-every-evening-for-his-woman-weeping/) [Elias Lönnrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-l-nnrot/) > [“th' unconquerable will,/ And study of revenge, immortal hate,/ And courage never to submit or yield/ And what is else not to be overcome?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/th-unconquerable-will-and-study-of-revenge-immortal-hate-and-courage/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [I'm partial to epic poetry, which might be surprising given that I don't write poetry at all. The combination of rollicking storytelling with musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-m-partial-to-epic-poetry-which-might-be-surprising-given-that-i-don/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“There’s a Heartrender at the Little Palace who can recite epic poetry for hours. Then you’d wish you had died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/there-s-a-heartrender-at-the-little-palace-who-can-recite-epic-poetry/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“Irony is the kid who steals music and is stolen by the music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/medvgno/irony-is-the-kid-who-steals-music-and-is-stolen-by-the-music/) [Medvgno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/medvgno/) > [Cut quarrels out of literature, and you will have very little history or drama or fiction or epic poetry left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-staughton-lynd/cut-quarrels-out-of-literature-and-you-will-have-very-little-history/) [Robert Staughton Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-staughton-lynd/) > [“I'm like a toy to her, a toy that someone has promised her. Maybe not her favorite, but still hers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gulla/i-m-like-a-toy-to-her-a-toy-that-someone-has-promised-her-maybe-not/) [Nicole Gulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gulla/) > [“Yet gold all is not, that doth gold seem, Nor all good knights, that shake well spear and shield: The worth of all men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/yet-gold-all-is-not-that-doth-gold-seem-nor-all-good-knights-that/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“Villicus Vadum: Soldier Of Fortune by Stewart Stafford I am the ghost of lupine Romulus, Founder of Rome, hear my tale, Of Villicus Vadum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/villicus-vadum-soldier-of-fortune-by-stewart-stafford-i-am-the-ghost/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [He passes from lyric to epic poetry in order to speak about the world and the torment in the world through man, rationally and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvatore-quasimodo/he-passes-from-lyric-to-epic-poetry-in-order-to-speak-about-the-world/) [Salvatore Quasimodo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvatore-quasimodo/) > [“Vera incessu patuit dea. (The goddess indubitable was revealed in her step.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/vera-incessu-patuit-dea-the-goddess-indubitable-was-revealed-in-her/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) ## More by Lascelles Abercrombie > [The epic poet has behind him a tradition of matter and a tradition of style; and that is what every other poet has behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/the-epic-poet-has-behind-him-a-tradition-of-matter-and-a-tradition-of/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [No poet will ever take the written word as a substitute for the spoken word; he knows that it is on the spoken word,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/no-poet-will-ever-take-the-written-word-as-a-substitute-for-the/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [The world knows of a vast stock of epic material scattered up and down the nations; sometimes its artistic value is as extraordinary as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/the-world-knows-of-a-vast-stock-of-epic-material-scattered-up-and/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [But the development of human society does not go straight forward; and the epic process will therefore be a recurring process, the series a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/but-the-development-of-human-society-does-not-go-straight-forward-and/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [An epic is not made by piecing together a set of heroic lays, adjusting their discrepancies and making them into a continuous narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/an-epic-is-not-made-by-piecing-together-a-set-of-heroic-lays/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [But the gravest difficulty, and perhaps the most important, in poetry meant solely for recitation, is the difficulty of achieving verbal beauty, or rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/but-the-gravest-difficulty-and-perhaps-the-most-important-in-poetry/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [The reason can only be this: heroic poetry depends on an heroic age, and an age is heroic because of what it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/the-reason-can-only-be-this-heroic-poetry-depends-on-an-heroic-age/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [The balance of private good and general welfare is at the bottom of civilized morals but the morals of the Heroic Age are founded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/the-balance-of-private-good-and-general-welfare-is-at-the-bottom-of/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [How to tell students what to look for without telling them what to see is the dilemma of teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/how-to-tell-students-what-to-look-for-without-telling-them-what-to/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [That is to say, epic poetry has been invented many times and independently; but, as the needs which prompted the invention have been broadly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/that-is-to-say-epic-poetry-has-been-invented-many-times-and/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [With several different kinds of poetry to choose from, a man would decide that he would like best to be an epic poet, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/with-several-different-kinds-of-poetry-to-choose-from-a-man-would/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [If epic poetry is a definite species, the sagas do not fall within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/if-epic-poetry-is-a-definite-species-the-sagas-do-not-fall-within-it/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [There is only one thing which can master the perplexed stuff of epic material into unity; and that is, an ability to see in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/there-is-only-one-thing-which-can-master-the-perplexed-stuff-of-epic/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [It is more difficult to keep the attention of hearers than of readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/it-is-more-difficult-to-keep-the-attention-of-hearers-than-of-readers/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [For the stage displays the first vigorous expression, as the natural thing and without conspicuous restraint, of private individuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/for-the-stage-displays-the-first-vigorous-expression-as-the-natural/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) [Explore all 23 Lascelles Abercrombie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) [Isaiah Harden (Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden-me/) > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) [Sheye Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheye-hassan/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! 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Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude. 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