--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems that I must bid the Muse to…" description: "\"It seems that I must bid the Muse to pack, / Choose Plato and Plotinus for a friend / Until imagination, ear and eye, / Can be content with argument an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/william-butler-yeats-350_abstract_it-seems-that-i-must-bid-the-muse-to-pac_1044919.png" --- # It seems that I must bid the Muse to pack, / Choose Plato… ![“It seems that I must bid the Muse to pack, / Choose Plato and Plotinus for a friend / Until imagination, ear and eye, / Can be content with argument and deal / In abstract things; or be derided by / A sort of battered kettle at the heel.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/william-butler-yeats-350_abstract_it-seems-that-i-must-bid-the-muse-to-pac_1044919.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/william-butler-yeats-350_abstract_it-seems-that-i-must-bid-the-muse-to-pac_1044919.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/william-butler-yeats-350_abstract_it-seems-that-i-must-bid-the-muse-to-pac_1044919.png) > “It seems that I must bid the Muse to pack, / Choose Plato and Plotinus for a friend / Until imagination, ear and eye, / Can be content with argument and deal / In abstract things; or be derided by / A sort of battered kettle at the heel.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-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 feels compelled to seek inspiration from classical thinkers to satisfy imagination, fearing abstract thought may be mocked or become burdensome. **In simple terms:** Seeking deep inspiration to avoid empty abstraction. Key Takeaway Embrace classical ideas to enrich imagination. Themes creativity philosophy artistic struggle Mood contemplative introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - academic research - creative brainstorming - philosophical debate Key Concepts classical influence imagination intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - How can modern insights complement classical wisdom? - What balances imagination with practical argument? A Different Perspective Relying solely on ancient sources may limit contemporary relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Battered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battered/) [Bid Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bid-muse-2465036/) [Choose Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-plato-2465034/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Friend Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend-imagination-2465035/) [Heels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heels/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Kettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kettles/) [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muse/) [Packs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/packs/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Plato Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato-plotinus-2465032/) [Plotinus Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plotinus-friend-2465033/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) ## Related quotes > [The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [When you look in the mirror and despair and none of your clothes seem appropriate, relax, put the kettle on. 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No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. 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Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. 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