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William Plomer Quotes (1903-1973)
Poet, Novelist
About William Plomer
William Charles Franklyn Plomer (10 December 1903 β 21 September 1973) was a South African poet, novelist and campaigner for racial equality. He also wrote the librettos for four of Benjamin Brittenβs operas. He wrote some of his poetry under the pseudonym Robert Pagan.
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βOut of that bungled, unwise war
An alp of unforgiveness grew.β
An alp of unforgiveness grew.β
βWho strolls so late, for mugs a bait,
In the mists of Maida Vale,
Sauntering past a stucco gate
Fallen, but hardly frail?β
In the mists of Maida Vale,
Sauntering past a stucco gate
Fallen, but hardly frail?β
βWith first-rate sherry flowing into second-rate whores,
And third-rate conversation without one single pause:
Just like a young couple
Between the wars.β
And third-rate conversation without one single pause:
Just like a young couple
Between the wars.β
βIt's so utterly out of the world!
So fearfully wide of the mark!
A Robinson Crusoe existence will pall
On that unexplored side of the Park β
Not a soul will be likely to call!β
So fearfully wide of the mark!
A Robinson Crusoe existence will pall
On that unexplored side of the Park β
Not a soul will be likely to call!β
βA pleasant old duffer, nephew to a lord,
Who believed that the bank was mightier than the sword,
And that an umbrella might pacify barbarians abroad:
Just like an old liberal
Between the wars.β
Who believed that the bank was mightier than the sword,
And that an umbrella might pacify barbarians abroad:
Just like an old liberal
Between the wars.β
βWhen her guests were awash with champagne and with gin
She was recklessly sober, as sharp as a pin:
An abstemious man would reel at her look
As she rolled a bright eye and praised his last book.β
She was recklessly sober, as sharp as a pin:
An abstemious man would reel at her look
As she rolled a bright eye and praised his last book.β
βWe hear a great deal about sex nowadays; it is possible to overestimate its importance, because there are always people who pay it little attention or who apparently manage, like Sir Isaac Newton, to get along, without giving it a thought.β
βA family portrait not too stale to record
Of a pleasant old buffer, nephew to a lord,
Who believed that the bank was mightier than the sword,
And that an umbrella might pacify barbarians abroad:
Just like an old liberal
Between the wars.β
Of a pleasant old buffer, nephew to a lord,
Who believed that the bank was mightier than the sword,
And that an umbrella might pacify barbarians abroad:
Just like an old liberal
Between the wars.β
βOh, the twenties and the thirties were not otherwise designed
Than other times when blind men into ditches led the blind,
When the rich mouse ate the cheese and the poor mouse got the rind,
And man, the self-destroyer, was not lucid in his mind.β
Than other times when blind men into ditches led the blind,
When the rich mouse ate the cheese and the poor mouse got the rind,
And man, the self-destroyer, was not lucid in his mind.β
βThe commonplace needs no defence,
Dullness is in the criticβs eyes,
Without a licence life evolves
From some dim phase its own surprise;Under these yellow-twinkling elms,
Behind these hedges trimly shorn,
As in a stable once, so here
It may be born, it may be born.β
Dullness is in the criticβs eyes,
Without a licence life evolves
From some dim phase its own surprise;Under these yellow-twinkling elms,
Behind these hedges trimly shorn,
As in a stable once, so here
It may be born, it may be born.β
William Plomer Quotes by Topic
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William Plomer on Human sexual activity
βOn a sofa upholstered in panther skin Mona did researches in original sin.β
What William Plomer Said About Others
Discover personal opinions William Plomer shared regarding contemporaries.
William Plomer on Women
βWhen her guests were awash with champagne and with gin She was recklessly sober, as sharp as a pin: An abstemious man would reel at her look As she rolled a bright eye and praised his last book.β
Quotes About William Plomer
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about William Plomer from others.
Philip Larkin on William Plomer
βHis most celebrated poems are, of course, the historical-satirical ballads (A or even X certificate) in which a person or period is "hit off", in the sense both of being preserved and hit for six.β
Martin Seymour-Smith on William Plomer
βHis poetry may be divided into comic extravaganza on the one hand, and more personal work on the other. There is no one like him in the world in the former genre; as a "light poet" he is preferable to John Betjeman β as fluent in traditional forms, his work is never vitiated by refuge in the poetical or high sentimental, and his choice of words is subtler, funnier and altogether sharper. In his other vein Plomer is fastidious, reticent, elegant and the author of some memorable and moving lines.β
About William Plomer
William Charles Franklyn Plomer (10 December 1903 β 21 September 1973) was a South African poet, novelist and campaigner for racial equality. He also wrote the librettos for four of Benjamin Brittenβs operas. He wrote some of his poetry under the pseudonym Robert Pagan.