John Drinkwater Quotes

That mighty orb of song, The divine Milton.

The more books we read, the clearer it becomes that the true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and that no other task is of any consequence.

A classic is a book that doesn't have to be written again.

O mighty-mouthed inventor of harmonies, O skilled to sing of Time or Eternity, God-gifted organ-voice of England, Milton, a name to resound for ages.

Genius is mainly an affair of energy, and poetry is mainly an affair of genius; therefore a nation whose spirit is characterized by energy may well be imminent in poetry - and we have Shakespeare.

Maybe there are three or four really good poets in a generation.

In the literature of France Moliere occupies the same kind of position as Cervantes in that of Spain, Dante in that of Italy, and Shakespeare in that of England. His glory is more than national - it is universal.

A great poet is the most precious jewel of a nation.

We hold that the most wonderful and splendid proof of genius is a great poem produced in a civilized age.

The sacred books of all the world are worthless dross and common stones compared with Shakespeare's glittering gold and gleaming gems.

Shakespeare, Dickens, Mark Twain, and so many others were my dearest friends and greatest teachers.

Shakespeare, who is probably the greatest writer and poet of the English language, lived in a time that was politically very conservative and it's reflected in his writings.

I remain loyal to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in music and to Shakespeare and Jane Austen in literature.

People are starting to refer to 'The Giver' as a classic, but I don't know how that is defined. But if it means that 10, 20, 50 years from now kids will still be reading it, that is kind of awe-inspiring.

Anyone aspiring to literary greatness should read 'New Grub Street' and weep.

Twentieth-century American poetry has been one of the glories of modern literature.

At my school, Shakespeare wasn't on the syllabus - at least not for me.

There is only one school of literature - that of talent.

Shakespeare is a permanent presence in the English letters.

I grew up reading Shakespeare and Mark Twain.

The true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and no other task is of any consequence.

I want to read Keats and Wordsworth, Hemingway, George Orwell.

Of poets I put Virgil first - he was greatest.

Jane Austen is the pinnacle to which all other authors aspire.

Shakespeare is, essentially, the emanation of the Renaissance. The overflow of his fame on the Continent in later years was but the sequel of the flood of the Renaissance in Western Europe. He was the child of that great movement, and marks its height as it penetrated the North with civilization.