E. M. Forster’s words invite reflection:
Just as words have two functions - information and creation - so each human mind has two personalities, one on the surface, one deeper down. The upper personality has a name. It is called S. T. Coleridge, or William Shakespeare, or Mrs. Humphry Ward. It is conscious and alert, it does things like dining out, answering letters, etc., and it differs vividly and amusingly from other personalities. The lower personality is a very queer affair. In many ways it is a perfect fool, but without it there is no literature, because, unless a man dips a bucket down into it occasionally he cannot produce first-class work. There is something general about it. Although it is inside S. T. Coleridge, it cannot be labeled with his name. It has something in common with all other deeper personalities. . . .
(Quoted from "Anonymity: An Inquiry," by E. M. Forster. The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 136, 1925.)
For a brief biography of E. M. Forster, click here. For images of and relating to E. M. Forster, click here.
Just as words have two functions - information and creation - so each human mind has two personalities, one on the surface, one deeper down. The upper personality has a name. It is called S. T. Coleridge, or William Shakespeare, or Mrs. Humphry Ward. It is conscious and alert, it does things like dining out, answering letters, etc., and it differs vividly and amusingly from other personalities. The lower personality is a very queer affair. In many ways it is a perfect fool, but without it there is no literature, because, unless a man dips a bucket down into it occasionally he cannot produce first-class work. There is something general about it. Although it is inside S. T. Coleridge, it cannot be labeled with his name. It has something in common with all other deeper personalities. . . .
(Quoted from "Anonymity: An Inquiry," by E. M. Forster. The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 136, 1925.)
For a brief biography of E. M. Forster, click here. For images of and relating to E. M. Forster, click here.
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