A.E. Housman Quotes

A collection of quotes by A.E. Housman.

A.E. Housman was a renowned English poet and classicist, best known for his collection of poems titled "A Shropshire Lad." He was born on March 26, 1859, in Worcestershire, England. Housman received his education at St John's College, Oxford, where he studied classics and excelled in the subject. After completing his degrees, he worked as a professor of Latin at University College London and later took up a position as a professor of Latin at the University of Cambridge.

Housman's poetry reflects themes of melancholy, mortality, and unrequited love, often drawing inspiration from his rural upbringing and the natural beauty of rural England. His most famous work, "A Shropshire Lad," was published in 1896 and became immensely popular, making Housman a widely recognized poet. His verses, characterized by their simplicity and poignant emotion, struck a chord with readers and earned him critical acclaim.

Despite his literary success, Housman lived a largely solitary life and remained a private individual. He never married and maintained close relationships with only a few colleagues and friends. Housman continued to write poetry throughout his life, producing several more collections, including "Last Poems" published posthumously in 1922.

A.E. Housman's literary contribution, particularly "A Shropshire Lad," continues to captivate readers with its evocative language and timeless themes. His impact on English poetry remains significant, cementing his status as a prominent figure in the late 19th and early 20th-century literary landscape. Housman passed away on April 30, 1936, leaving behind a treasured body of work that still resonates with audiences today.

When I was one-and-twenty I heard a wise man say,The heart o

When I was one-and-twenty I heard a wise man say,The heart out of the bosom Was never given in vain;'Tis paid with sighs a plenty And sold for endless rue.'And I am two-and-twenty And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

A.E. Housman


On occasions, after drinking a pint of beer at luncheon, the

On occasions, after drinking a pint of beer at luncheon, there would be a flow into my mind with sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes a line or two of verse, sometimes a whole stanza, accompanied, not preceded by a vague notion of the poem which they were destined to form a part of.... I say bubble up because, so far as I could make out, the source of the suggestions thus proffered to the brain was the pit of the stomach.

A.E. Housman


Give me a land of boughs in leafA land of trees that stand;W

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

A.E. Housman

Inspirational Autumn Fall

All knots that lovers tieAre tied to sever.Here shall your s

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

A.E. Housman

Love Lovers Sweetheart Untrue

We for a certainty are not the first have sat in taverns whi

We for a certainty are not the first have sat in taverns while the tempest hurled their hopeful plans to emptiness, and cursed whatever brute and blackguard made the world.

A.E. Housman

Idealism

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, th

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, the happy highways where I went and cannot come again.

A.E. Housman

Remembrance

The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity,

The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity, and shall not fail. Bear them we can, and if we can we must. Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.

A.E. Housman

Persistence

Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame

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

War

Malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.

Malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.

A.E. Housman

Alcohol/alcoholism

In every American there is an air of incorrigible innocence,

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

A.E. Housman

America

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

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

A.E. Housman

Alcohol/alcoholism