--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spit upon the dancers painted by Degas…" description: "\"“I spit upon the dancers painted by Degas. I spit upon their short bodies, their stiff stays, their toes whereupon they spin like peg-tops, above all u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/w-b-yeats-8179_dance_i-spit-upon-the-dancers-painted-by-degas_135613.jpg" --- # I spit upon the dancers painted by Degas. I spit upon… ![“I spit upon the dancers painted by Degas. I spit upon their short bodies, their stiff stays, their toes whereupon they spin like peg-tops, above all upon that chambermaid face. They might have looked timeless, Remeses the Great, but not the chambermaid, that old maid history. I spit! I spit! I spit!” quote by W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/w-b-yeats-8179_dance_i-spit-upon-the-dancers-painted-by-degas_135613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/w-b-yeats-8179_dance_i-spit-upon-the-dancers-painted-by-degas_135613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/w-b-yeats-8179_dance_i-spit-upon-the-dancers-painted-by-degas_135613.jpg) > ““I spit upon the dancers painted by Degas. I spit upon their short bodies, their stiff stays, their toes whereupon they spin like peg-tops, above all upon that chambermaid face. They might have looked timeless, Remeses the Great, but not the chambermaid, that old maid history. I spit! I spit! I spit!”” [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet rejects the polished, idealized images of dancers, expressing frustration at their artificiality and the loss of authenticity. **In simple terms:** Spat criticizes idealized art that feels fake. Key Takeaway Question authenticity in artistic representation. Themes art criticism authenticity illusion historical perspective emotional intensity Mood critical defiant Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - visual art - literary critique - performance art Key Concepts idealization artistic integrity historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - What does authenticity mean in art? - How does idealization affect our perception of history? A Different Perspective The rant may overlook the cultural value of the works criticized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degas/) [Degas Spit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degas-spit-1545825/) [Spit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spit/) [Spit Dancers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spit-dancers-1545824/) [Spit Spit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spit-spit-890974/) ## Related quotes > [Spit on your own and you can't do anything, but if you all spit together you can drown the bastards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-crow/spit-on-your-own-and-you-can-t-do-anything-but-if-you-all-spit/) [Bob Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-crow/) > [If I spit, they will take my spit and frame it as great art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-spit-they-will-take-my-spit-and-frame-it-as-great-art/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Degas is one of the very few painters who have given the floor its true importance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/degas-is-one-of-the-very-few-painters-who-have-given-the-floor-its/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Degas was obsessed by the art of classical ballet, because to him it said something about the human condition. He was not a balletomane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/degas-was-obsessed-by-the-art-of-classical-ballet-because-to-him-it/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [What Degas called 'a way of seeing' must consequently bear a wide enough interpretation to include way of being, power, knowledge, and will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/what-degas-called-a-way-of-seeing-must-consequently-bear-a-wide/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“But to me, the argument is just semantics, an exercise in mental masturbation. True, Degas painted neither plein air nor spontaneously, but he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/but-to-me-the-argument-is-just-semantics-an-exercise-in-mental/) [Barbara A. 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Gone were the flat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/the-paintings-that-laughed-at-him-merrily-from-the-walls-were-like/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Just as a classical dancer repeats the same movements again and again, in order to achieve a greater perfection of line and balance, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/just-as-a-classical-dancer-repeats-the-same-movements-again-and-again/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Degas is a master of creating compositions that don't look composed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-liebermann/degas-is-a-master-of-creating-compositions-that-don-t-look-composed/) [Max Liebermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-liebermann/) > [Only the bad artists of the nineteenth century were frightened by the invention of photography; the good ones all welcomed it and used it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/only-the-bad-artists-of-the-nineteenth-century-were-frightened-by-the/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [The human quality Degas most admired was endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-human-quality-degas-most-admired-was-endurance/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [I don't belong to any school. I work in my corner. I admire Degas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/i-don-t-belong-to-any-school-i-work-in-my-corner-i-admire-degas/) [Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/) > [I really became convinced I wanted to tell the story of the real-life model for the Degas sculpture 'Little Dancer Aged 14,' which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-marie-buchanan/i-really-became-convinced-i-wanted-to-tell-the-story-of-the-real-life/) [Cathy Marie Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-marie-buchanan/) > [A nude by Degas is chaste. But his women wash in tubs!...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/a-nude-by-degas-is-chaste-but-his-women-wash-in-tubs/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) ## More by W.B. Yeats > [“The host is rushing 'twixt day and night, And where is there hope or deed as fair? 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Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“Its quarrel is not with the past, but with the present, where its elders are so obviously powerful, and no cause seems lost if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/its-quarrel-is-not-with-the-past-but-with-the-present-where-its/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“On November Eve they are at their gloomiest, for according to the old Gaelic reckoning, this is the first night of winter. This night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/on-november-eve-they-are-at-their-gloomiest-for-according-to-the-old/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“... Those masterful images because complete Grew in pure mind, but out of what began? A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/those-masterful-images-because-complete-grew-in-pure-mind-but-out-of/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“The portraits, of more historical than artistic interest, had gone; and tapestry, full of the blue and bronze of peacocks, fell over the doors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/the-portraits-of-more-historical-than-artistic-interest-had-gone-and/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“it's a long lane that has no turning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/it-s-a-long-lane-that-has-no-turning/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“In tombs of gold and lapis lazuli Bodies of holy men and women exude Miraculous oil, odour of violet. But under heavy loads of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/in-tombs-of-gold-and-lapis-lazuli-bodies-of-holy-men-and-women-exude/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“A man awaits his end Dreading and hoping all; Many times he died, Many times rose again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/a-man-awaits-his-end-dreading-and-hoping-all-many-times-he-died-many/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/and-i-shall-have-some-peace-there-for-peace-comes-dropping-slow/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) [Explore all 83 W.B. Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) ## More Dance quotes > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I make dance music because I love to dance. But I want to think at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-make-dance-music-because-i-love-to-dance-but-i-want-to-think-at-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [I studied all kinds of dance, all types of music. I got good grades. I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [I like Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. I love pop music, but I also like Sam Smith's slow songs. That would be more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-ziegler/i-like-sam-smith-and-taylor-swift-i-love-pop-music-but-i-also-like/) [Maddie Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-ziegler/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [My body was so instrumental to how I took pictures: it was practically a dance. 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