--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In an age when the difference between…" description: "\"“In an age when the difference between prince and peasant was thought to be in the stars, Mr Tzara, art was naturally an affirmation for the one and a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png" --- # In an age when the difference between prince and peasant… ![“In an age when the difference between prince and peasant was thought to be in the stars, Mr Tzara, art was naturally an affirmation for the one and a consolation to the other; but we live in an age when the social order is seen to be the work of material forces and we have been given an entirely…” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png) > ““In an age when the difference between prince and peasant was thought to be in the stars, Mr Tzara, art was naturally an affirmation for the one and a consolation to the other; but we live in an age when the social order is seen to be the work of material forces and we have been given an entirely new kind of responsibility, the responsibility of changing society.”” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must recognize their role in shaping society, moving beyond passive reflection to active transformation. **In simple terms:** Artists should change society. Key Takeaway Use art to challenge and reshape social structures. Themes art responsibility society Mood inspirational critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - public installations - community workshops - political theater - media campaigns Key Concepts cultural criticism social activism creative agency Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do artists hold? - How can art inspire concrete change? A Different Perspective Art alone cannot overhaul systemic forces without broader movements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Changing Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-society-233876/) [Peasant Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peasant-thought-3025234/) [Prince Peasant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prince-peasant-3025235/) [Social change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-change/) [Social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-order/) [Tzara Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tzara-art-3025236/) ## Related quotes > [“THERE IS A LOVELY LITTLE horror story about the peasant who started through the haunted wood—the wood that was, people said, inhabited by devils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-brown/there-is-a-lovely-little-horror-story-about-the-peasant-who-started/) [Fredric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-brown/) > [The prince and the peasant will not be equalized by cutting off the prince's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-prince-and-the-peasant-will-not-be-equalized-by-cutting-off-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Those who would attain to any marked degree of excellence in a chosen pursuit must work, and work hard for it, prince or peasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/those-who-would-attain-to-any-marked-degree-of-excellence-in-a-chosen/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Schools should take an active part in directing social change, and share in the construction of a new social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/schools-should-take-an-active-part-in-directing-social-change-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Privileged people can feel the way these identities threaten their privileged status and the benefits that they receive as a result. For this reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiri-eisner/privileged-people-can-feel-the-way-these-identities-threaten-their/) [Shiri Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiri-eisner/) > [Dissonance between family and school, therefore, is not only inevitable in a changing society; it also helps to make children moremalleable and responsive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-lawrence-lightfoot/dissonance-between-family-and-school-therefore-is-not-only-inevitable/) [Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-lawrence-lightfoot/) > [Rather than recognising the challenges of a fast-changing society require sometimes complex responses, that we live in a world of trade-offs, that easy answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gauke/rather-than-recognising-the-challenges-of-a-fast-changing-society/) [David Gauke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gauke/) > [I'm not in this just to change the law. It's about changing society. I want gay kids to grow up believing that they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-wolfson/i-m-not-in-this-just-to-change-the-law-it-s-about-changing-society-i/) [Evan Wolfson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-wolfson/) > [If you're going to have any kind of political opposition in the 21st century, then it has to be as fundamentally liquid as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-re-going-to-have-any-kind-of-political-opposition-in-the-21st/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“ A CHANGING SOCIETY What does today’s high incidence of social anxiety tell us about modern society? As we’ve seen, social anxiety is connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-berent/a-changing-society-what-does-today-s-high-incidence-of-social-anxiety/) [Jonathan Berent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-berent/) > [The most powerful force changing our society is the information revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/the-most-powerful-force-changing-our-society-is-the-information/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [Our best efforts at changing society will fall short unless the church can teach the world how to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/our-best-efforts-at-changing-society-will-fall-short-unless-the/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [I do think the glitz of reality stars and social media is changing our society. At 20, I barely wore make-up and rarely visited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-reid/i-do-think-the-glitz-of-reality-stars-and-social-media-is-changing/) [Susanna Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-reid/) > [Those who genuinely want to change the world for betterment must know that transforming our own lives at the most fundamental level actually holds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/those-who-genuinely-want-to-change-the-world-for-betterment-must-know/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [I have a strong feeling about this quick movement and changing of society and populations growing - something scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/i-have-a-strong-feeling-about-this-quick-movement-and-changing-of/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In an age when the difference between prince and peasant was thought to be in the stars, Mr Tzara, art was naturally an affirmation for the one and a consolation to the other; but we live in an age when the social order is seen to be the work of material forces and we have been given an entirely new kind of responsibility, the responsibility of changing society.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Stoppard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-prince-and-peasant-was-thought/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-prince-and-peasant-was-thought/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/tom-stoppard-437_art_in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-pr_2740697.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In an age when the difference between prince and peasant was thought to be in the stars, Mr Tzara, art was…” — Tom Stoppard", "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": "Tom Stoppard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In an age when the difference...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-prince-and-peasant-was-thought/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/in-an-age-when-the-difference-between-prince-and-peasant-was-thought/#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 } } ] } ```