Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

36 Inspiring Quotes By A. E. Housman For The Verse-Makers

Famous As: Poet
Born On: March 26, 1859
Died On: April 30, 1936
Born In: Fockbury, England
Died At Age: 77

A. E. Housman was a distinguished English classical poet and scholar famous for his cycle of poems, ‘A Shropshire Lad’. His poems were epigrammatic and lyrical in form and revealed the dooms and disappointments of youth in the English countryside. Many early 20th century English composers were intrigued by the distinctive imaginary appeal, beauty and simplicity of Housman’s thoughts, words and writings. He is considered as one of the august scholars who ever lived and is considered to be the foremost classicists of his age. He was also appointed the Professor Of Latin at ‘University College London’ and then at Cambridge for his quality of work. He established himself as an eminent private scholar. Following is a compilation of thoughts, sayings, opinions and views by A. E. Housman which he expressed through his work, poems and writings on subjects close to his heart. Go through the quotes and sayings by A. E. Housman.

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Give me a land of boughs in leaf
A land of trees that stand;
Where trees are fallen there is grief;
I love no leafless land.

Give me a land of boughs in leaf A land of trees that stand; Where trees are fallen there is grief; I love no leafless land.

A. E. Housman
All knots that lovers tie
Are tied to sever.
Here shall your sweetheart lie,
Untrue for ever.

All knots that lovers tie Are tied to sever. Here shall your sweetheart lie, Untrue for ever.

A. E. Housman
The thoughts of others
Were light and fleeting,
Of lovers' meeting
Or luck or fame.
Mine were of trouble,
And mine were steady;
So I was ready
When trouble came.

The thoughts of others Were light and fleeting, Of lovers' meeting Or luck or fame. Mine were of trouble, And mine were steady; So I was ready When trouble came.

A. E. Housman
Who made the world I cannot tell;
'Tis made, and here I am in hell.

Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here I am in hell.

A. E. Housman
I, a stranger and afraid
In a world I never made.

I, a stranger and afraid In a world I never made.

A. E. Housman
June suns, you cannot store them
To warm the winter's cold,
The lad that hopes for heaven
Shall fill his mouth with mould.

June suns, you cannot store them To warm the winter's cold, The lad that hopes for heaven Shall fill his mouth with mould.

A. E. Housman
Stone, steel, dominions pass,
Faith too, no wonder;
So leave alone the grass
That I am under.

Stone, steel, dominions pass, Faith too, no wonder; So leave alone the grass That I am under.

A. E. Housman
I do not choose the right word, I get rid of the wrong one.

I do not choose the right word, I get rid of the wrong one.

A. E. Housman
Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose,
But young men think it is, and we were young.

Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose, But young men think it is, and we were young.

A. E. Housman
Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

A. E. Housman
Here dead lie we because we did not choose
To live and shame the land from which we sprung.
Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose;
But young men think it is, and we were young.

Here dead lie we because we did not choose To live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; But young men think it is, and we were young.

A. E. Housman
To stand up straight and tread the turning mill,
To lie flat and know nothing and be still,
Are the two trades of man; and which is worse
I know not, but I know that both are ill.

To stand up straight and tread the turning mill, To lie flat and know nothing and be still, Are the two trades of man; and which is worse I know not, but I know that both are ill.

A. E. Housman
Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out. Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out. Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

A. E. Housman
Lie you easy, dream you light,
And sleep you fast for aye;
And luckier may you find the night
Than ever you found the day.

Lie you easy, dream you light, And sleep you fast for aye; And luckier may you find the night Than ever you found the day.

A. E. Housman
In every American there is an air of incorrigible innocence, which seems to conceal a diabolical cunning.

In every American there is an air of incorrigible innocence, which seems to conceal a diabolical cunning.

A. E. Housman
Halt by the headstone naming
The heart no longer stirred,
And say the lad that loved you
Was one that kept his word.

Halt by the headstone naming The heart no longer stirred, And say the lad that loved you Was one that kept his word.

A. E. Housman
The tree of man was never quiet:
 Then 'twas the Roman, now 'tis I.

The tree of man was never quiet: Then 'twas the Roman, now 'tis I.

A. E. Housman
He would not stay for me, and who can wonder?
    He would not stay for me to stand and gaze.
I shook his hand, and tore my heart in sunder,
    And went with half my life about my ways.

He would not stay for me, and who can wonder?     He would not stay for me to stand and gaze. I shook his hand, and tore my heart in sunder,     And went with half my life about my ways.

A. E. Housman
Nature, not content with denying him the ability to think, has endowed him with the ability to write.

Nature, not content with denying him the ability to think, has endowed him with the ability to write.

A. E. Housman
The Grizzly Bear is huge and wild;
He has devoured the infant child.
The infant child is not aware
It has been eaten by a bear.

The Grizzly Bear is huge and wild; He has devoured the infant child. The infant child is not aware It has been eaten by a bear." "Infant Innocence

A. E. Housman
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than the rose.

A. E. Housman
Some men are more interesting than their books but my book is more interesting than its man.

Some men are more interesting than their books but my book is more interesting than its man.

A. E. Housman
Terence, this is stupid stuff:
You eat your victuals fast enough;
There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear,
To see the rate you drink your beer.

Terence, this is stupid stuff: You eat your victuals fast enough; There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear, To see the rate you drink your beer.

A. E. Housman
Great literature should do some good to the reader: must quicken his perception though dull, and sharpen his discrimination though blunt, and mellow the rawness of his personal opinions.

Great literature should do some good to the reader: must quicken his perception though dull, and sharpen his discrimination though blunt, and mellow the rawness of his personal opinions.

A. E. Housman
The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity, and shall not fail.

The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity, and shall not fail.

A. E. Housman
First don: O cuckoo, shall I call thee bird, 
Or but a wandering voice? 
Second don: State the alternative preferred, 
With reasons for your choice.

First don: O cuckoo, shall I call thee bird, Or but a wandering voice? Second don: State the alternative preferred, With reasons for your choice.

A. E. Housman
And malt does more than Milton can/ To justify God's ways to man.

And malt does more than Milton can/ To justify God's ways to man." - "Terence, This is Stupid Stuff

A. E. Housman
And while the sun and moon endure Luck's a chance but trouble's sure, I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good.

And while the sun and moon endure Luck's a chance but trouble's sure, I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good.

A. E. Housman
Ale, man, Ale's the stuff to drink,
for fellows whom it hurts to think.

Ale, man, Ale's the stuff to drink, for fellows whom it hurts to think.

A. E. Housman
...down in lovely muck I’ve lain,
Happy till I woke again.

...down in lovely muck I’ve lain, Happy till I woke again.

A. E. Housman