--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the Second World War broke out, I…" description: "\"When the Second World War broke out, I felt that everyone must do his share, and I began composing songs and marches for the front. But soon events ass..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/sergei-prokofiev-33620_broke_when-the-second-world-war-broke-out-i-fe_986215.jpg" --- # When the Second World War broke out, I felt that everyone… ![“When the Second World War broke out, I felt that everyone must do his share, and I began composing songs and marches for the front. But soon events assumed such gigantic and far-reaching scope as to demand larger canvasses.” quote by Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/sergei-prokofiev-33620_broke_when-the-second-world-war-broke-out-i-fe_986215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/sergei-prokofiev-33620_broke_when-the-second-world-war-broke-out-i-fe_986215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/sergei-prokofiev-33620_broke_when-the-second-world-war-broke-out-i-fe_986215.jpg) > “When the Second World War broke out, I felt that everyone must do his share, and I began composing songs and marches for the front. But soon events assumed such gigantic and far-reaching scope as to demand larger canvasses.” [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He felt compelled to contribute artistically to the war effort, expanding his work from small songs to larger compositions as the conflict grew. **In simple terms:** He wanted to help the war by making music, starting small then scaling up. Key Takeaway Use your talents to meet growing challenges. Themes patriotism creativity war effort Mood determined reflective Type inspirational historical When to use this quote - military morale campaigns - public concerts - propaganda - cultural diplomacy Key Concepts artistic contribution scale public morale Questions to Reflect On - How can artists balance personal expression with national duty? - What limits exist for cultural influence in war? A Different Perspective His music may not directly affect battlefield outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Marches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marches/) [Scope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scope/) [Second world war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-world-war/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ## Related quotes > [However, I began composing as soon as I started taking piano lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyorgy-ligeti/however-i-began-composing-as-soon-as-i-started-taking-piano-lessons/) [Gyorgy Ligeti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyorgy-ligeti/) > [I began composing the next poem, the one that was to be written next. Not the last poem of those I had read, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-began-composing-the-next-poem-the-one-that-was-to-be-written-next/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [I was in Paris at an English-language bookstore. I picked up a volume of Dickinson's poetry. I came back to my hotel, read 2,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-getty/i-was-in-paris-at-an-english-language-bookstore-i-picked-up-a-volume/) [Gordon Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-getty/) > [Since I first fell in love with choral music when I was 18 and began composing at 21, I've been listening to these recordings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/since-i-first-fell-in-love-with-choral-music-when-i-was-18-and-began/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [I began composing works which were imitative of the music I was being told about. I was also very interested in translating the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/i-began-composing-works-which-were-imitative-of-the-music-i-was-being/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [I was 7 years old when I began composing. I began composing, improvising at the piano, the usual story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barber/i-was-7-years-old-when-i-began-composing-i-began-composing/) [Samuel Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barber/) > [“I mentally began composing a list of words that began with F: Frey. Father. False. Friend. Frick. Frack. And some others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-mentally-began-composing-a-list-of-words-that-began-with-f-frey/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [How many cities have revealed themselves to me in the marches I undertook in the pursuit of books!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/how-many-cities-have-revealed-themselves-to-me-in-the-marches-i/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [The right don't have time off to go join protest marches as a career. The left has turned that into a bought-and-paid-for, rent-a-mob type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-right-don-t-have-time-off-to-go-join-protest-marches-as-a-career/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The pope is an intelligent man and realizes that time marches on. 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You've got to show up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/people-have-got-to-show-up-showing-up-at-meetings-rallies-marches/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Our lives are but our marches to the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beaumont/our-lives-are-but-our-marches-to-the-grave/) [Francis Beaumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beaumont/) ## More by Sergei Prokofiev > [At home we didnt talk about religion. So gradually the question faded away by itself and disappeared from the agenda. When I was nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/at-home-we-didnt-talk-about-religion-so-gradually-the-question-faded/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [Formalism is music that people don't understand at first hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/formalism-is-music-that-people-don-t-understand-at-first-hearing/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [My chief virtue (or if you like, defect) has been a tireless lifelong search for an original, individual musical idiom. I detest imitation, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/my-chief-virtue-or-if-you-like-defect-has-been-a-tireless-lifelong/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [In my view, the composer, just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter, is in duty bound to serve Man, the people. 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