A. E. Housman Quotes

A collection of quotes by A. E. Housman.

Alfred Edward Housman, commonly known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet. He was born on March 26, 1859, in Worcestershire, England. Housman had a relatively humble background, but he showed exceptional academic abilities from an early age. He attended King Edward's School in Birmingham and later won a scholarship to study at St. John's College, Oxford.

Housman is best known for his lyrical poetry collection published in 1896, titled "A Shropshire Lad." The collection reflected themes of unrequited love, fleeting beauty, and the transience of life. These melancholic and nostalgic poems resonated with readers and became popular in both England and the United States.

Aside from his poetry, Housman was a renowned classical scholar. He devoted himself to the study of Latin and Greek literature, earning his place as a professor of Latin at University College London and later at the University of Cambridge. Housman's contributions to classical scholarship were significant, particularly in the field of textual criticism, and his editions of Roman poets are still highly regarded.

Despite his literary success, Housman led a rather reclusive and solitary life. His reserved nature, combined with personal tragedies, including the unrequited love for a fellow student and the untimely death of his younger brother, contributed to his desolate poetic voice.

A. E. Housman passed away on April 30, 1936, leaving behind a lasting legacy of poignant poetry and academic contributions to the study of classical literature.

The difference between an icicle and a red-hot poker is real

The difference between an icicle and a red-hot poker is really much slighter than the difference between truth and falsehood or sense and nonsense; yet it is much more immediately noticeable and much more universally noticed, because the body is more sensitive than the mind.

A. E. Housman


There, like the wind through woods in riot, Through him the

There, like the wind through woods in riot, Through him the gale of life blew high; The tree of man was never quiet: Then 'twas the Roman, now 'tis I.

A. E. Housman

Life Man

Could man be drunk for ever With liquor, love, or fights, Li

Could man be drunk for ever With liquor, love, or fights, Lief should I rouse at mornings And lief lie down of nights. But men at whiles are sober And think by fits and starts, And if they think, they fasten Their hands upon their hearts.

A. E. Housman

Men Love Man

The most important truth which has ever been uttered, and th

The most important truth which has ever been uttered, and the greatest discovery ever made in the moral world.

A. E. Housman

Truth

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be

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

Poetry

If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles

If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act.

A. E. Housman

Poetry

Experience has taught me, when I am shaving of a morning, to

Experience has taught me, when I am shaving of a morning, to keep watch over my thoughts, because, if a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act.

A. E. Housman

Experience