Advantage Quote by T. S. Eliot
“I think it was rather an advantage not having any living poets in England or America in whom one took any particular interest. I don't know what it would be like but I think it would be a rather troublesome distraction to have such a lot of dominating presences, as you call them, about. Fortunately we weren't bothered by each other.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Sacred Wood, 1920
The author suggests that lacking contemporary poets frees one from competing literary influences, allowing clearer creative focus.
In simple terms: No living poets means fewer distractions for writers.
Key Takeaway
Embrace originality without comparing to peers.
Themes
creativity
literary influence
focus
Mood
contemplative
analytical
Type
literary
critical
When to use this quote
- writing
- academic research
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
individualism
artistic autonomy
Questions to Reflect On
- How does absence of peers affect your work?
- Do you miss contemporary dialogue?
A Different Perspective
Even without peers, isolation can limit feedback and growth.
![“the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. [He] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with each other, or with the noise of the typewriter, or the smell of cooking; in the mind of the poet these experiences are always forming new wholes” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/18e/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic_93688.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
