--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something essentially ridiculous…" description: "\"“There is something essentially ridiculous about critics, anyway: what is good is good without our saying so, and beneath all our majesty we know this...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png" --- # There is something essentially ridiculous about critics… ![“There is something essentially ridiculous about critics, anyway: what is good is good without our saying so, and beneath all our majesty we know this.” quote by Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png) > ““There is something essentially ridiculous about critics, anyway: what is good is good without our saying so, and beneath all our majesty we know this.”” [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics claim authority, yet true quality stands on its own, independent of their judgments. **In simple terms:** Goodness exists without critics’ approval. Key Takeaway Trust intrinsic value over external validation. Themes criticism authority truth Mood skeptical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - art evaluation - literary criticism - personal taste - media reviews Key Concepts aesthetics subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - Do you rely on critics for taste? - Can you recognize quality without external opinion? A Different Perspective Critics can shape perception, even if truth is independent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Critique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critique/) ## Related quotes > [Critics are good when it reasonable but it become absurd when people do it for fun or jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/critics-are-good-when-it-reasonable-but-it-become-absurd-when-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a lot of admirers and critics and it's been good to make my skin tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-plum/i-have-a-lot-of-admirers-and-critics-and-it-s-been-good-to-make-my/) [Kelsey Plum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-plum/) > [At art school you realize that in order to stay engaged you have to ignore the critics, good and bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/at-art-school-you-realize-that-in-order-to-stay-engaged-you-have-to/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never able to know ourselves fully as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-good-to-see-ourselves-as-others-see-us-try-as-we-may-we-are/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ I would have been a lot more nervous if I would had known that Matthew McConaughey was \[on 30th Annual Television Critics Association Awards\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-crews/i-would-have-been-a-lot-more-nervous-if-i-would-had-known-that/) [Terry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-crews/) > [People review my comic books. People review every article I write - 'The Atlantic' even publishes them. A great deal of the critique of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/people-review-my-comic-books-people-review-every-article-i-write-the/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [He thinks that Schiller and St Paul were just two Partisan Review editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/he-thinks-that-schiller-and-st-paul-were-just-two-partisan-review/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“You don’t want him to be miserable. It’s just . . . you were planning not to go away to college because he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-lazebnik/you-don-t-want-him-to-be-miserable-it-s-just-you-were-planning-not-to/) [Claire LaZebnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-lazebnik/) > ['Know thyself' is a good saying, but not in all situations. In many it is better to say 'know others.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menander/know-thyself-is-a-good-saying-but-not-in-all-situations-in-many-it-is/) [Menander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menander/) > [I'm really good at saying what other people are thinking and making it relatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iliza-shlesinger/i-m-really-good-at-saying-what-other-people-are-thinking-and-making/) [Iliza Shlesinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iliza-shlesinger/) > [Doesn't matter if you're sad or happy. I can be sad, you can be happy; it's all good. That's all I'm saying - let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle/doesn-t-matter-if-you-re-sad-or-happy-i-can-be-sad-you-can-be-happy/) [Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle/) > [I mean, I love to try and cook. I'm pretty good, but I'm not saying I'm great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-dobrev/i-mean-i-love-to-try-and-cook-i-m-pretty-good-but-i-m-not-saying-i-m/) [Nina Dobrev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-dobrev/) > [Let no person think lightly of good, saying in his or her heart, "it will not benefit me." As by the falling of raindrops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/let-no-person-think-lightly-of-good-saying-in-his-or-her-heart-it/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [There is a very good saying that if triangles invented a god, they would make him three-sided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/there-is-a-very-good-saying-that-if-triangles-invented-a-god-they/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Good things to say only and hear about the good are saying is not necessary/good things of those who have a good character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/good-things-to-say-only-and-hear-about-the-good-are-saying-is-not/) Mak\_786 ## More by Randall Jarrell > [“She helped the hunter with the cooking as a husband helps his wife: when he had gone out to hunt and left something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/she-helped-the-hunter-with-the-cooking-as-a-husband-helps-his-wife/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups, to a child, is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-of-the-most-obvious-facts-about-grown-ups-to-a-child-is-that-they/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Goethe said that the worst thing in art is technical facility accompanied by triteness. Many an artist, like God, has never needed to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/goethe-said-that-the-worst-thing-in-art-is-technical-facility/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Age could not wither nor custom stale her infinite monotony: in fact, neither Age nor Custom could do anything (as they said, their voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/age-could-not-wither-nor-custom-stale-her-infinite-monotony-in-fact/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A poet is a man who manages, in a lifetime of standing out in thunderstorms, to be struck by lightning five or six times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-poet-is-a-man-who-manages-in-a-lifetime-of-standing-out-in/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [More and more people think of the critic as an indispensable middle man between writer and reader, and would no more read a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/more-and-more-people-think-of-the-critic-as-an-indispensable-middle/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“The tags' chain stirs with the wind; and I sleep Paid, dead, and a soldier. Who fights for his own life Loses, loses: I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/the-tags-chain-stirs-with-the-wind-and-i-sleep-paid-dead-and-a/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [First one gets works of art, then criticism of them, then criticism of the criticism, and, finally, a book on The Literary Situation ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/first-one-gets-works-of-art-then-criticism-of-them-then-criticism-of/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [ Early in his life Mr. \[Ezra\] Pound met with strong, continued, and unintelligent opposition. If people keep opposing you when you are right, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/early-in-his-life-mr-ezra-pound-met-with-strong-continued-and/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Some of Mr. Gregory's poems have merely appeared in The New Yorker ; others are New Yorker poems: the inclusive topicality, the informed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/some-of-mr-gregory-s-poems-have-merely-appeared-in-the-new-yorker/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A successful poem says what a poet wants to say, and more, with particular finality. The remarks he makes about his poems are incidental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-successful-poem-says-what-a-poet-wants-to-say-and-more-with/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [One Whitman is miracle enough, and when he comes again it will be the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-whitman-is-miracle-enough-and-when-he-comes-again-it-will-be-the/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Robert Frost says in a piece of homely doggerel that he has hoped wisdom could be not only Attic but Laconic, Boeotian even -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/robert-frost-says-in-a-piece-of-homely-doggerel-that-he-has-hoped/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Most people don't listen to classical music at all, but to rock-and-roll or hillbilly songs or some album named Music To Listen To Music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/most-people-don-t-listen-to-classical-music-at-all-but-to-rock-and/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) [Explore all 121 Randall Jarrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) ## More Critic quotes > [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/) [Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) Whitney Balliett > [I am my biggest critic. Even in films where people said they liked me, I have disliked myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-akkineni/i-am-my-biggest-critic-even-in-films-where-people-said-they-liked-me/) [Samantha Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-akkineni/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/if-i-weren-t-an-actor-i-d-either-be-a-teacher-or-a-critic/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/the-television-critic-whatever-his-pretensions-does-not-labour-in-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [To be a critic, you have to have maybe three percent education, five percent intelligence, two percent style, and 90 percent gall and egomania…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/to-be-a-critic-you-have-to-have-maybe-three-percent-education-five/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) > [The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-critic-is-the-only-independent-source-of-information-the-rest-is/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [“A good judge is not one who is impartial, but one who has prejudice for good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/a-good-judge-is-not-one-who-is-impartial-but-one-who-has-prejudice/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [A critic who uses new quotations is making important changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-critic-who-uses-new-quotations-is-making-important-changes/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country, so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom, Zarela Martinez,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sanchez/my-mother-and-my-grandmother-are-pioneers-of-mexican-cuisine-in-this/) [Aaron Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sanchez/) Browse all 758 Critic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is something essentially ridiculous about critics, anyway: what is good is good without our saying so, and beneath all our majesty we know this.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Randall Jarrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/there-is-something-essentially-ridiculous-about-critics-anyway-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Critic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/there-is-something-essentially-ridiculous-about-critics-anyway-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/504/randall-jarrell-3811_critic_there-is-something-essentially-ridiculou_1107343.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something essentially ridiculous about critics, anyway: what is good is good without our saying so…” — Randall Jarrell", "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": "Randall Jarrell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is something essentially ridiculous about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/there-is-something-essentially-ridiculous-about-critics-anyway-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/there-is-something-essentially-ridiculous-about-critics-anyway-what/#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 } } ] } ```