--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly…" description: "\"We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly, or even 'Little Red Riding Hood.' The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/ralph-ellison-2676_art_we-don-t-all-dig-shakespeare-uniformly-o_309352.jpg" --- # We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly, or even 'Little… ![“We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly, or even 'Little Red Riding Hood.' The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity and one's knowledge of human life.” quote by Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/ralph-ellison-2676_art_we-don-t-all-dig-shakespeare-uniformly-o_309352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/ralph-ellison-2676_art_we-don-t-all-dig-shakespeare-uniformly-o_309352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/ralph-ellison-2676_art_we-don-t-all-dig-shakespeare-uniformly-o_309352.jpg) > “We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly, or even 'Little Red Riding Hood.' The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity and one's knowledge of human life.” [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Appreciating art requires expanding empathy and understanding of human experience beyond familiar works. **In simple terms:** Understanding art needs empathy and broader knowledge. Key Takeaway Broaden your cultural horizons. Themes empathy art appreciation humanity education Mood inquisitive open‑minded Type reflective educational When to use this quote - literary study - personal growth - cross‑cultural dialogue Key Concepts cultural literacy interpretive openness Questions to Reflect On - What art has expanded your empathy? - How do you approach unfamiliar works? A Different Perspective Not everyone will connect with every work; personal taste varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Little red riding hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-red-riding-hood/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Red riding hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-riding-hood/) [Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riding/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) ## Related quotes > [The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity and one's knowledge of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/the-understanding-of-art-depends-finally-upon-one-s-willingness-to/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/the-understanding-of-art-depends-finally-upon-one-s-willingness-to-2/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [It would positively be a relief to me to dig Shakespeare up and throw stones at him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-would-positively-be-a-relief-to-me-to-dig-shakespeare-up-and-throw/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/fear-isn-t-so-difficult-to-understand-after-all-weren-t-we-all/) [Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/) > [When we come back to fantasy, I think we're actually coming back to the real bedrock of storytelling. Our national or international genre really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/when-we-come-back-to-fantasy-i-think-we-re-actually-coming-back-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“As I said, it wasn't even a gay thing. But it made me think how hard some kids have it with their families. Me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-konigsberg/as-i-said-it-wasn-t-even-a-gay-thing-but-it-made-me-think-how-hard/) [Bill Konigsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-konigsberg/) > [“Don't walk home by yourself if it's late," Levi said. He and Reagan had class notes spread all over Reagan's side of the room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/don-t-walk-home-by-yourself-if-it-s-late-levi-said-he-and-reagan-had/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Little Red Riding Hood was my first love. I felt that if I could have married Little Red Riding Hood, I should have known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/little-red-riding-hood-was-my-first-love-i-felt-that-if-i-could-have/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [ “\[She wished\] that once, just once, the fairy tale fantasy would come true. Not the prince in shining armor . . . But the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-dafoe/she-wished-that-once-just-once-the-fairy-tale-fantasy-would-come-true/) Sierra Dafoe > [Since I was a little kid, I did like fairy tale. I did dress up like Little Red Riding Hood. My mom had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-hardwicke/since-i-was-a-little-kid-i-did-like-fairy-tale-i-did-dress-up-like/) [Catherine Hardwicke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-hardwicke/) > [“The little girl in the red cloak who had taken her parents was Little Red Riding Hood!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/the-little-girl-in-the-red-cloak-who-had-taken-her-parents-was-little/) [Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/) > [The wolf said, "You know, my dear, it isn't safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone." Red Riding Hood said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-finn-garner/the-wolf-said-you-know-my-dear-it-isn-t-safe-for-a-little-girl-to/) [James Finn Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-finn-garner/) > [“Little Red Riding Hood” eat a sickly,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-tocher/little-red-riding-hood-eat-a-sickly/) [Timothy Tocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-tocher/) > [“What is gained by the transcendence of the object is the identifiability of the object in a plurality of acts and the identifiability of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/what-is-gained-by-the-transcendence-of-the-object-is-the/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [Oh, well, I wouldn't worry about Pip. He is very brave. I remember this one time, when the poor wolf was being chased by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enchanted/oh-well-i-wouldn-t-worry-about-pip-he-is-very-brave-i-remember-this/) [Enchanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enchanted/) ## More by Ralph Ellison > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I suspect that all the agony that goes into writing is borne precisely because the writer longs for acceptance-but it must be acceptance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-suspect-that-all-the-agony-that-goes-into-writing-is-borne/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Everywhere I've turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my own good—only /they/ were the ones who benefited. And now we start on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/everywhere-i-ve-turned-somebody-has-wanted-to-sacrifice-me-for-my-own/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Power, for the writer…lies in his ability to reveal if only a little bit more about the complexity of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/power-for-the-writer-lies-in-his-ability-to-reveal-if-only-a-little/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [...and yet I am what they think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-yet-i-am-what-they-think-i-am/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And while the ice was melting to form a flood in which I threatened to drown I awoke one afternoon to find that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-while-the-ice-was-melting-to-form-a-flood-in-which-i-threatened/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Do they come to bury the others or to be entombed to give life or to receive it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/do-they-come-to-bury-the-others-or-to-be-entombed-to-give-life-or-to/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“They could laugh at him but they couldn't ignore him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/they-could-laugh-at-him-but-they-couldn-t-ignore-him/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Commercial rock 'n' roll music is a brutalization of the stream of contemporary Negro church music an obscene looting of a cultural expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/commercial-rock-n-roll-music-is-a-brutalization-of-the-stream-of/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“All dreamers and sleepwalkers must pay the price, and even the invisible victim is responsible for the fate of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/all-dreamers-and-sleepwalkers-must-pay-the-price-and-even-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Those two spots are among the darkest of our whole civilization--pardon me, our whole culture (an important distinction, I've heard)--which might sound like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/those-two-spots-are-among-the-darkest-of-our-whole-civilization/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Above the decorous walking around me, sounds of footsteps leaving the verandas of far-flung buildings and moving toward the walks and over the walks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/above-the-decorous-walking-around-me-sounds-of-footsteps-leaving-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-my-problem-was-that-i-always-tried-to-go-in-everyone-s-way-but-my/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is part of my invisibility; any way you face it, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-am-one-of-the-most-irresponsible-beings-that-ever-lived/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) [Explore all 154 Ralph Ellison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly, or even 'Little Red Riding Hood.' 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