--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who would write heroic poems should…" description: "\"He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.\" — Thomas Carlyle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png" --- # He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life… ![“He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png) > “He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A life lived with heroic intent should itself become a heroic narrative. **In simple terms:** Live heroically, become a hero. Key Takeaway Cultivate heroic daily actions. Themes heroism life philosophy literature Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal development - creative writing - public service - mentorship Key Concepts self‑actualization legacy purpose Questions to Reflect On - What does heroism mean to you? - How can ordinary actions be heroic? A Different Perspective Heroic ideals can be unrealistic for ordinary lives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic/) [Heroic Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic-poem-3859277/) [Heroic Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic-poems-1574317/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-heroic-913790/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Whole life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-life/) [Write Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-heroic-5994615/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There is no life of a man, faithfully recorded, but is a heroic poem of its sort, rhymed or unrhymed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/there-is-no-life-of-a-man-faithfully-recorded-but-is-a-heroic-poem-of/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [There is no heroic poem in the world but is at bottom a biography, the life of a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/there-is-no-heroic-poem-in-the-world-but-is-at-bottom-a-biography-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Having music in the schools, having art in the schools, having art in your life, should not be heroic. It should be every day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lang/having-music-in-the-schools-having-art-in-the-schools-having-art-in/) [David Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lang/) > [“life without heroic deed is no life at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/life-without-heroic-deed-is-no-life-at-all/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I wish my life was something heroic. Like I had an angel looking girlfriend, fighthing with demons and many more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yash-tiwari/i-wish-my-life-was-something-heroic-like-i-had-an-angel-looking/) [Yash Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yash-tiwari/) > [There are certain functions that a writer has to do. In a time of crisis, it is great to have heroic poems, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/there-are-certain-functions-that-a-writer-has-to-do-in-a-time-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The monotony of a long heroic poem may often be pleasantly relieved by judicious interruptions in the perfect succession of rhymes, just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-monotony-of-a-long-heroic-poem-may-often-be-pleasantly-relieved/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [To me I just thought of the tough guys as like these silly Muppets. But getting through life, the heroic thing is if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-reichardt/to-me-i-just-thought-of-the-tough-guys-as-like-these-silly-muppets/) [Kelly Reichardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-reichardt/) > [The tragic sense of life: our heroic acceptance of the suffering of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-tragic-sense-of-life-our-heroic-acceptance-of-the-suffering-of/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [In Puritan thinking, the Christian life was a heroic venture, requiring a full quota of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/in-puritan-thinking-the-christian-life-was-a-heroic-venture-requiring/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [He alone is great Who by a life heroic conquers fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-knowles-bolton/he-alone-is-great-who-by-a-life-heroic-conquers-fate/) [Sarah Knowles Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-knowles-bolton/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [The truth is always more heroic than the hype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lynch/the-truth-is-always-more-heroic-than-the-hype/) [Jessica Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-lynch/) > [Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/lack-of-confidence-sometimes-alternating-with-unrealistic-dreams-of/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Heroic quotes > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The truth is always more heroic than the hype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lynch/the-truth-is-always-more-heroic-than-the-hype/) [Jessica Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-lynch/) > [Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/lack-of-confidence-sometimes-alternating-with-unrealistic-dreams-of/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [“The Coward will run away from danger, only to strike in the dark. The Heroine will run through the dark, even though she knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-cleinman/the-coward-will-run-away-from-danger-only-to-strike-in-the-dark-the/) [David A. Cleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-cleinman/) > [All progress in literary style lies in the heroic resolve to cast aside accretions and exuberances, all the conventions of a past age that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-progress-in-literary-style-lies-in-the-heroic-resolve-to-cast/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [“Admitting we're not heroic is when we're the most heroic of all”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dorian-scrubs/admitting-we-re-not-heroic-is-when-we-re-the-most-heroic-of-all/) [John Dorian- scrubs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dorian-scrubs/) > [But despite their heroic acts, the Vietnam Veterans of America continued to struggle to establish a combat badge in honor of these brave pilots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-holden/but-despite-their-heroic-acts-the-vietnam-veterans-of-america/) [Tim Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-holden/) > [I was hugely impressed... was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/i-was-hugely-impressed-was-the-ultimate-example-of-a-man-who-knew/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [There's always something heroic and romantic about taking a stand against the powers that be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/there-s-always-something-heroic-and-romantic-about-taking-a-stand/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [In this watering-place I acted an heroic character, badly studied; and being a novice on such a stage, I forgot my part before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelbert-von-chamisso/in-this-watering-place-i-acted-an-heroic-character-badly-studied-and/) [Adelbert von Chamisso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelbert-von-chamisso/) > [She looked at me. "What? Is there something wrong with my idea?" "It's not very heroic," I said dismissively. "I was expecting something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/she-looked-at-me-what-is-there-something-wrong-with-my-idea-it-s-not/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Heroism feels and never reasons, and therefore is always right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/heroism-feels-and-never-reasons-and-therefore-is-always-right/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Find something useful to do with your morning,' she thought to him as she neared her chambers. 'Do something heroic in front of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/find-something-useful-to-do-with-your-morning-she-thought-to-him-as/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) [Browse all 871 Heroic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Carlyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-make-his-whole-life-a-heroic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heroic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-make-his-whole-life-a-heroic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/thomas-carlyle-207_heroic_he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-m_1585021.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.” — Thomas Carlyle", "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": "Thomas Carlyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who would write heroic poems...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-make-his-whole-life-a-heroic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/he-who-would-write-heroic-poems-should-make-his-whole-life-a-heroic/#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 } } ] } ```