--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Composing mortals with immortal fire." description: "\"Composing mortals with immortal fire.\" — W. H. Auden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png" --- # Composing mortals with immortal fire. ![“Composing mortals with immortal fire.” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png) > “Composing mortals with immortal fire.” [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line juxtaposes human frailty with divine spark, suggesting art can elevate ordinary lives to timeless significance. **In simple terms:** Human frailty meets divine spark in art. Key Takeaway Create works that transcend mortality. Themes art immortality humanity Mood reflective hopeful Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - writing - teaching - public speaking - personal reflection Key Concepts poetry transcendence mythology Questions to Reflect On - How can your work capture enduring truth? - What ordinary moments feel immortal to you? A Different Perspective Art may not always achieve lasting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composing/) [Composing Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composing-mortals-2727677/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Immortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortal/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Mortals Immortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals-immortal-2727678/) ## Related quotes > [We mortals with immortal minds are only born for sufferings and joys, and one could almost say that the most excellent receive joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/we-mortals-with-immortal-minds-are-only-born-for-sufferings-and-joys/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-aim-of-every-artist-is-to-arrest-motion-which-is-life-by/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“You are empty,” I said, my throat working, “and cruel.” “Ah. Yes, now that is true. Would you like to know the greatest secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-rogerson/you-are-empty-i-said-my-throat-working-and-cruel-ah-yes-now-that-is/) [Margaret Rogerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-rogerson/) > [Faith induces one to pray.Prayer purifies the heart.In the purified heart is reflected the light of Lord.When the Light sighns the mortal becomes immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/faith-induces-one-to-pray-prayer-purifies-the-heart-in-the-purified/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Can mortal prayers ensure immortal happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-lee/can-mortal-prayers-ensure-immortal-happiness/) [Sophia Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-lee/) > [It maketh God man, and man God; things temporal, eternal; mortal, immortal; it maketh an enemy a friend, a servant a son, vile things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonaventure/it-maketh-god-man-and-man-god-things-temporal-eternal-mortal-immortal/) [Bonaventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonaventure/) > [Among whom the gods bless, high on the list are the music people, who tune into celestial vibe-brations and give mortals a taste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-dee/among-whom-the-gods-bless-high-on-the-list-are-the-music-people-who/) [Ruby Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-dee/) > [Men are mortal, but ideas are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/men-are-mortal-but-ideas-are-immortal/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [Christ was Begotten by an immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-r-mcconkie/christ-was-begotten-by-an-immortal-father-in-the-same-way-that-mortal/) [Bruce R. McConkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-r-mcconkie/) > [The score of Pelleas and Melisande by Debussy, heralds that which will lift man from the earthly to the celestial, from the mortal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-heline/the-score-of-pelleas-and-melisande-by-debussy-heralds-that-which-will/) [Corinne Heline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-heline/) > [A person who chooses to die or to risk death demonstrates that there are values, principles, maxims, that are more valuable to him than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-person-who-chooses-to-die-or-to-risk-death-demonstrates-that-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We are the only alive creatures that are mortals; the animals are immortal, which is why they live stupidly. We are the only creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/we-are-the-only-alive-creatures-that-are-mortals-the-animals-are/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Remember how in that communion only, beholding beauty with the eye of the mind, he will be enabled to bring forth, not images of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/remember-how-in-that-communion-only-beholding-beauty-with-the-eye-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [There is an old saying which, from its truth, has become proverbial, that friendships should be immortal, enmities mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/there-is-an-old-saying-which-from-its-truth-has-become-proverbial/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [When I started this song I was still thirty-three The age that Mozart died and sweet Jesus was set free Keats and Shelley too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/when-i-started-this-song-i-was-still-thirty-three-the-age-that-mozart/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) ## More by W. H. Auden > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The commonest ivory tower is that of the average man, the state of passivity towards experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-commonest-ivory-tower-is-that-of-the-average-man-the-state-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Harrow the house of the dead; look shining at New styles of architecture, a change of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/harrow-the-house-of-the-dead-look-shining-at-new-styles-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [If age, which is certainly Just as wicked as youth, look any wiser, It is only that youth is still able to believe It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/if-age-which-is-certainly-just-as-wicked-as-youth-look-any-wiser-it/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [“Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/those-to-whom-evil-is-done-do-evil-in-return/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-and-the-public-know-what-all-schoolchildren-learn-those-to-whom/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [How happy the lot of the mathematician. He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/how-happy-the-lot-of-the-mathematician-he-is-judged-solely-by-his/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/perhaps-there-is-only-one-cardinal-sin-impatience-because-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The windiest militant trash Important Persons shout Is not so crude as our wish: What mad Nijinsky wrote About Diaghilev Is true of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-windiest-militant-trash-important-persons-shout-is-not-so-crude/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/time-and-fevers-burn-away-individual-beauty-from-thoughtful-children/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-hunt-for-symbols-in-a-fairy-tale-is-absolutely-fatal/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) [Explore all 344 W. H. Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## More Composing quotes > [Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [As human beings, we are the only organisms that create for the sheer stupid pleasure of doing so. Whether it's laying out a garden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/as-human-beings-we-are-the-only-organisms-that-create-for-the-sheer/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Composing a piece of music is very feminine. It is sensitive, emotional, contemplative. By comparison, doing housework is positively masculine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kolb/composing-a-piece-of-music-is-very-feminine-it-is-sensitive-emotional/) [Barbara Kolb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kolb/) > [I'm the only actor who has done everything, right from anchoring shows to composing and singing songs to theatre to movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/i-m-the-only-actor-who-has-done-everything-right-from-anchoring-shows/) [Javed Jaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-jaffrey/) > [Even though, theoretically, being a composer and being a songwriter are the same thing, in my brain, they are completely different. When I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bacon/even-though-theoretically-being-a-composer-and-being-a-songwriter-are/) [Michael Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bacon/) > [I was really into the music of Cream after I finished composing the music for 'BTTB.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryuichi-sakamoto/i-was-really-into-the-music-of-cream-after-i-finished-composing-the/) [Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryuichi-sakamoto/) > [I don't meditate before I play or compose, but I see playing and composing as meditative acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-swallow/i-don-t-meditate-before-i-play-or-compose-but-i-see-playing-and/) [Steve Swallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-swallow/) > [Every day I lugged my backpack through the halls, waiting for the final bell. Then I'd race home and hole up in my room,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-groban/every-day-i-lugged-my-backpack-through-the-halls-waiting-for-the/) [Josh Groban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-groban/) > [I'd always loved poetry and I'd always loved writing music and composing music, but I hadn't thought of putting the two together until around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/i-d-always-loved-poetry-and-i-d-always-loved-writing-music-and/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [It is hard work composing a song for a film and showing it to makers: 50% of the tune remains the same, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-chauhan/it-is-hard-work-composing-a-song-for-a-film-and-showing-it-to-makers/) [Mohit Chauhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-chauhan/) > [Every orchestra I know, every opera house I know, is desperately looking around trying to find new talent, new composing talent, supporting young composers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/every-orchestra-i-know-every-opera-house-i-know-is-desperately/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [The material of music is sound and silence. Integrating these is composing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-material-of-music-is-sound-and-silence-integrating-these-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“To be in the middle of composing a book is almost always to feel oneself in a state of confusion, doubt and mental imprisonment…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/to-be-in-the-middle-of-composing-a-book-is-almost-always-to-feel/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [For musical compositions to reach a high level and to derive from spontaneity, of course, one has to do the necessary steps to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/for-musical-compositions-to-reach-a-high-level-and-to-derive-from/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) > [The process of preparing programs for a digital computer is especially attractive, not only because it can economically and scientifically rewarding, but also because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-knuth/the-process-of-preparing-programs-for-a-digital-computer-is/) [Donald Knuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-knuth/) [Browse all 334 Composing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Composing mortals with immortal fire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. H. Auden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/w-h-auden-856_composing_composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire-107_1078854.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Composing mortals with immortal fire.” — W. H. Auden", "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": "W. H. Auden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Composing mortals with immortal fire.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/composing-mortals-with-immortal-fire/#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 } } ] } ```