--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Auden, who asked two things of an…" description: "\"Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it be somehow like ours and somehow unlike-would be Ben Marcus's ideal reader, yet even without t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png" --- # Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it… ![“Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it be somehow like ours and somehow unlike-would be Ben Marcus's ideal reader, yet even without the poet's dire program, I am altogether taken by this hilarious and sexy alternative universe. Just imagine! it is all done with words instead of…” quote by Richard Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png) > “Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it be somehow like ours and somehow unlike-would be Ben Marcus's ideal reader, yet even without the poet's dire program, I am altogether taken by this hilarious and sexy alternative universe. Just imagine! it is all done with words instead of mirrors, so much more reliable and so much more heartbreaking. Thus Prospero enthralls his crew.” [Richard Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) ## 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 praises a fantastical, word‑driven alternate universe that mirrors reality yet diverges, highlighting its humor, sensuality, and emotional impact, likening it to Prospero's enchantment. **In simple terms:** A vivid, word‑crafted world that feels both familiar and alien, evoking humor and heartbreak. Key Takeaway Embrace imaginative storytelling that reshapes perception. Themes imagination literature mirrors emotion humor Mood wonderful reflective playful Type critical analytical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary analysis - book clubs - teaching comparative literature - personal reflection Key Concepts postmodernism narrative construction reader response Questions to Reflect On - How does language reshape reality? - What makes a world both familiar and alien? A Different Perspective The complexity may alienate readers seeking straightforward narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auden/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Heartbreaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreaking/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prospero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospero/) [Sexy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexy/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not a visionary, but I've spent half my life drawing things Imagined, Remembered, and Observed, comparing the differences between them, and my study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-blegvad/i-m-not-a-visionary-but-i-ve-spent-half-my-life-drawing-things/) [Peter Blegvad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-blegvad/) > [If I wrote down all the things I imagined that would happen in my life, I would've been an amazing author..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/if-i-wrote-down-all-the-things-i-imagined-that-would-happen-in-my/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [“It seemed to him that the hand was not able to attain to the perfection of art in carrying out the things which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/it-seemed-to-him-that-the-hand-was-not-able-to-attain-to-the/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Do I do as false prophets do and puff air into simulacra? Am I a Sorcerer--like Macbeth's witches--mixing truth and lies in incandescent shapes?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-i-do-as-false-prophets-do-and-puff-air-into-simulacra-am-i-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes, of course, the artist does give up, saying, in effect, "I've done enough". Prospero declares that the revels are ended, and breaks his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/sometimes-of-course-the-artist-does-give-up-saying-in-effect-i-ve/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [“Thou most lying slave, Whom stripes may move, not kindness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-most-lying-slave-whom-stripes-may-move-not-kindness/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“There are many things which cannot be imagined,” the Chinese say, “but there is nothing which may not happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/there-are-many-things-which-cannot-be-imagined-the-chinese-say-but/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [I find that in the process of making a film you're constantly discovering things that you never even imagined would work at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/i-find-that-in-the-process-of-making-a-film-you-re-constantly-2/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [Who are we, who is each one of us, if not a combinatoria of experiences, information, books we have read, things imagined?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/who-are-we-who-is-each-one-of-us-if-not-a-combinatoria-of-experiences/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“My history is the history of things imagined and not-happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-pink/my-history-is-the-history-of-things-imagined-and-not-happened/) [Sam Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-pink/) > [All the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/all-the-things-we-achieve-are-things-we-have-first-of-all-imagined/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [ One of the reasons \[William\] Shakespeare is so endlessly fascinating is that you can look at that figure from about 10 different angles: Caliban… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/one-of-the-reasons-william-shakespeare-is-so-endlessly-fascinating-is/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [On stage I did things I never imagined possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/on-stage-i-did-things-i-never-imagined-possible/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [“Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself Upon thy wicked dam”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-poisonous-slave-got-by-the-devil-himself-upon-thy-wicked-dam/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [My best ideas almost always come from winding up in unexpected places and stumbling across things I never could have imagined in advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-kulash/my-best-ideas-almost-always-come-from-winding-up-in-unexpected-places/) [Damian Kulash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-kulash/) ## More by Richard Howard > [“Folly is so human that it has common roots with poetry and tragedy; it is revealed as much in the insane asylum as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/folly-is-so-human-that-it-has-common-roots-with-poetry-and-tragedy-it/) [RICHARD HOWARD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) > [Prose proposes, verse reverses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/prose-proposes-verse-reverses/) [Richard Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) > [Time reveals all translation to be paraphrase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/time-reveals-all-translation-to-be-paraphrase/) [Richard Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) > [Give your teachers the respect they deserve, because they are the ones who can help you get where you need to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/give-your-teachers-the-respect-they-deserve-because-they-are-the-ones/) [Richard Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) [Explore all 5 Richard Howard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) ## More Alternatives quotes > [I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-am-very-sad-that-some-designers-are-still-using-real-fur-when-the/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Conventional agriculture has never succeeded in feeding the world, and it's never produced anything good to eat. For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [ \[When asked how it felt to be a female prime minister:\] I don't know: I've never experienced the alternative. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-asked-how-it-felt-to-be-a-female-prime-minister-i-don-t-know-i/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [If one could have a wish, or an alternative life, I would've liked to have been John Lennon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/if-one-could-have-a-wish-or-an-alternative-life-i-would-ve-liked-to/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [THE REAL PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST REVISIONISM IS TO MAKE NATIONAL SOCIALISM AN ACCEPTABLE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE AGAIN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-covington/the-real-purpose-of-holocaust-revisionism-is-to-make-national/) Harold Covington > [Men since the beginning of time have sought peace...military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/men-since-the-beginning-of-time-have-sought-peace-military-alliances/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Maximise the alternative forms in which a user might receive a service, and the alternative sources of supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-chipp/maximise-the-alternative-forms-in-which-a-user-might-receive-a/) Don Chipp > [In the last few years, the very idea of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is dredged up only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-musto/in-the-last-few-years-the-very-idea-of-telling-the-truth-the-whole/) [Michael Musto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-musto/) > [Altermodern is an in-progress redefinition of modernity in the era of globalisation, stressing the experience of wandering in time, space and mediums. The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-bourriaud/altermodern-is-an-in-progress-redefinition-of-modernity-in-the-era-of/) Nicolas Bourriaud > [If the system exhibits a structure which can be represented by a mathematical equivalent, called a mathematical model, and if the objective can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dantzig/if-the-system-exhibits-a-structure-which-can-be-represented-by-a/) [George Dantzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dantzig/) > [We must commit ourselves to an 'all of the above' energy approach, with a major focus on increasing domestic production and expanding alternatives fuels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-roskam/we-must-commit-ourselves-to-an-all-of-the-above-energy-approach-with/) [Peter Roskam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-roskam/) Browse all 1,463 Alternatives quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it be somehow like ours and somehow unlike-would be Ben Marcus's ideal reader, yet even without the poet's dire program, I am altogether taken by this hilarious and sexy alternative universe. Just imagine! it is all done with words instead of mirrors, so much more reliable and so much more heartbreaking. Thus Prospero enthralls his crew.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Howard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagined-world-that-it-be-somehow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alternatives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagined-world-that-it-be-somehow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/richard-howard-51966_alternatives_auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagine_208261.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it be somehow like ours and somehow unlike-would be…” — Richard Howard", "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": "Richard Howard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Auden, who asked two things of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagined-world-that-it-be-somehow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagined-world-that-it-be-somehow/#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 } } ] } ```