"Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination"
- e. e. cummings
About this Quote
The quote "Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination" by e. e. cummings provides a provocative reflection on the relationship between understanding, creativity, and the methods they manifest in human understanding. At its core, this declaration challenges the standard assessment of understanding as an unequivocal great, suggesting instead that understanding, when not actively engaged with creativity, can end up being stagnant and lifeless.
In describing knowledge as "dead but not buried creativity," cummings indicates that knowledge is derived from creativity, but may ultimately ossify into something inert when separated from the vigor of creative thought. Creativity is the engine of discovery and innovation; it is the capacity to imagine possibilities beyond the constraints of the existing reality. However, when creativity concretizes into understanding, it risks losing its transformative potential. In this view, knowledge is the fossilized kind of what was as soon as dynamic and fluid-- creativity.
The phrase "courteous word" suggests that society typically venerates knowledge without acknowledging this element. By preferring "understanding" over "imagination," society may accidentally suppress the innovative processes that cause brand-new insights and advancements. The quote encourages a crucial evaluation of how understanding is employed and valued. It alerts against complacency where knowledge is taken as the endpoint instead of a stepping stone to more exploration.
Moreover, cummings's option of words stimulates the idea that understanding, unless cultivated by imagination, can become redundant. The image of something "dead however not buried" recommends an unsolved procedure, something incomplete or disregarded. Thus, he invites readers to constantly reanimate their knowledge with creativity. This vibrant interplay avoids understanding from ending up being a fixed entity and rather ensures it stays appropriate, dynamic, and capable of promoting ongoing learning and growth.
Ultimately, cummings's quote calls for a balance between understanding and imagination, valuing their interaction as essential to maintaining a progressive and adaptive understanding of the world. It is a suggestion that while knowledge is important, it ought to always remain in dialogue with the imaginative capacities from which it sprang.
This quote is written / told by e. e. cummings between October 14, 1894 and September 3, 1962. He/she was a famous Poet from USA.
The author also have 28 other quotes.
"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"
