"Literature is the orchestration of platitudes"

Thornton Wilder’s assertion that “literature is the orchestration of platitudes” challenges common assumptions about originality and depth in artistic creation. Platitudes are statements that, through repetition and common use, have lost their uniqueness or force; they are often thought of as clichés, overly familiar, or even empty. Yet, Wilder’s metaphor of “orchestration” elevates the act of arranging these very commonplace ideas, suggesting that what matters in literature is not necessarily the novelty of individual components, but the manner in which they are combined, layered, and presented.

Much of literature, at its core, engages with fundamental human experiences: love, loss, ambition, betrayal, hope. These are not new topics; they are the backbone of society’s shared wisdom and collective memory, repeated in infinite variations across cultures and centuries. The genius of literature lies in an author’s ability to take these universal themes, these “platitudes”, and weave them together in ways that resonate freshly with readers. Wilder hints that originality is less about inventing new truths and more about interpreting and expressing perennial truths with artistry and emotional resonance.

Just as a musical orchestra can take well-worn melodies and, through arrangement and performance, move an audience to tears or joy, so too does a writer marshal familiar statements, refined or “shopworn” by time, and compose them into something vibrant and meaningful. Tone, context, structure, and voice transform what could be banal into something profound. Repetition becomes revelation; predictability gives way to insight. Literature revitalizes the platitude, inviting readers to reconsider and feel anew the truths embedded in everyday language.

Ultimately, Wilder’s perspective is both humbling and liberating for writers and readers. It acknowledges that nothing is truly new and yet affirms the power of creative composition. The orchestration, the artful arrangement, not the raw materials, is what breathes new life into the familiar, allowing literature to endlessly mirror and renew the human experience.