Churning teal waves and white foam fill a small square glass tank against a blue-gray background.

Original artwork, not a still

"Common Places," No. 60, The Literary Examiner (September - December 1823)

William Hazlitt

I hate to be near the sea, and to hear it roaring and raging like a wild beast in its den. It puts me in mind of the everlasting efforts of the human mind, struggling to be free, and ending just where it began.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Hazlitt finds the sea unsettling, hearing it roar like a caged animal. He sees in it the human mind's endless struggle to break free, only to end up back where it began. Those churning waves capture the restless effort that goes nowhere.

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