--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The powerful play goes on and you may…" description: "\"The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.\" — Walt Whitman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png" --- # The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. ![“The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” quote by Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png) > “The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is an ongoing performance; each person adds their unique verse to the collective story. **In simple terms:** Everyone contributes to the larger narrative. Key Takeaway Add your voice to the shared human story. Themes art community expression Mood inspirational philosophical Type poetic thoughtful When to use this quote - team projects - public art - collaborative writing - social movements Key Concepts collective creativity individual contribution shared narrative Questions to Reflect On - What unique perspective can you share? - How to amplify marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Individual verses may be overlooked; collective voice can drown out minorities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Contribute Verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contribute-verse-3652602/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-goes-1016897/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Powerful Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-play-837257/) [Verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verse/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) ## Related quotes > [“That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-h-kleinbaum/that-the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-contribute-a-verse/) [N.H. Kleinbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-h-kleinbaum/) > [The question, O me! so sad, recurring - What good amid these, O me, O life? That you are here - that life exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-question-o-me-so-sad-recurring-what-good-amid-these-o-me-o-life/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Usually for the last play, everyone goes helter-skelter. They go to the wrong spots. They don't do the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/usually-for-the-last-play-everyone-goes-helter-skelter-they-go-to-the/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) > [We don't often get to see women be powerful and not play the victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/we-don-t-often-get-to-see-women-be-powerful-and-not-play-the-victim/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > ['The Miracle Worker' is just such an incredibly powerful play on stage, and is so kinetic, and athletic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/the-miracle-worker-is-just-such-an-incredibly-powerful-play-on-stage/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [As for literature It gives no man a sinecure. And no one knows, at sight, a masterpiece. And give up verse, my boy, There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/as-for-literature-it-gives-no-man-a-sinecure-and-no-one-knows-at/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Rhime being no necessary Adjunct or true Ornament of Poem or good Verse, in longer Works especially, but the Invention of a barbarous Age,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/rhime-being-no-necessary-adjunct-or-true-ornament-of-poem-or-good/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [I think everything should be in verse. 'The New York Times' should be in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ives/i-think-everything-should-be-in-verse-the-new-york-times-should-be-in/) [David Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ives/) > [I then carefully searched through the pages until I was able to find the verse that was crystal clear... It read: "Rejoice always."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-neal/i-then-carefully-searched-through-the-pages-until-i-was-able-to-find/) [Mary C. Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-neal/) > [No more pronouncements on lousy verse. No more hidden competition. No more struggling not to be a square.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/no-more-pronouncements-on-lousy-verse-no-more-hidden-competition-no/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [Writing fiction, for me, is a more indirect form of self-exploration than writing verse. When I'm working on a novel I'm moving characters around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/writing-fiction-for-me-is-a-more-indirect-form-of-self-exploration/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Let's be off before he gets his great horsey teeth into my poor lines of verse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/let-s-be-off-before-he-gets-his-great-horsey-teeth-into-my-poor-lines/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I ought to warn you that my verse is of no interest to people who can think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/i-ought-to-warn-you-that-my-verse-is-of-no-interest-to-people-who-can/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [ELEGY, n. A composition in verse, in which, without employing any of the methods of humor, the writer aims to produce in the reader's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/elegy-n-a-composition-in-verse-in-which-without-employing-any-of-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Anyone may be an honorable man, and yet write verse badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/anyone-may-be-an-honorable-man-and-yet-write-verse-badly/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) ## More by Walt Whitman > [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Each of us inevitable, Each of us limitless—each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allow'd the eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“it makes such difference where you read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/it-makes-such-difference-where-you-read/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it, Wisdom is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/wisdom-is-not-finally-tested-in-the-schools-wisdom-cannot-be-pass-d/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I think I could always live with animals. The more you're around people, the more you love animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-always-live-with-animals-the-more-you-re-around/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-the-poet-of-the-body-and-i-am-the-poet-of-the-soul-the-pleasures/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [So here I sit in the early candle-light of old age-I and my book-casting backward glances over out travel'd road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/so-here-i-sit-in-the-early-candle-light-of-old-age-i-and-my-book/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-dismiss-what-insults-your-soul/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/this-is-what-you-shall-do-love-the-earth-and-sun-and-animals-despise/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless-each of us with his or her right upon the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her-2/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) [Explore all 775 Walt Whitman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. 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In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walt Whitman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-contribute-a-verse/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-contribute-a-verse/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/walt-whitman-265_actor_the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-co_1614660.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” — Walt Whitman", "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": "Walt Whitman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The powerful play goes on and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-contribute-a-verse/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-powerful-play-goes-on-and-you-may-contribute-a-verse/#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 } } ] } ```