# The Mutability of Literature explained — The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. > Chapter companion for The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving. ## What happens In a half-dreaming mood, Geoffrey Crayon wanders through Westminster Abbey and gains access to the library, where he muses on the transience of literary fame. While toying with an old quarto, the book magically awakens and engages him in a debate about the durability of authors and languages. Crayon argues that true poets like Shakespeare endure because they write from the heart, while the quarto scoffs at the notion that a 'vagabond deer-stealer' could achieve lasting fame. The colloquy ends abruptly when the verger closes the library, leaving the quarto silent once more. ## Themes in this chapter ### Literary Creation and Plagiarism The chapter explores the nature of literary fame, the mutability of language, and the enduring power of poetry versus prose. ### Memory and Monuments The library is described as a 'literary catacomb' where authors are entombed in dusty oblivion, contrasting with the hope of lasting remembrance through true genius. ## Character check-ins ### Geoffrey Crayon Narrator who visits Westminster Abbey library, muses on literary immortality, and converses with a talking quarto. ### Shakespeare Discussed as a poet whose works endure due to their foundation in human nature, despite the quarto's dismissive remarks. ### Sir Philip Sidney Mentioned as an author whose 'Arcadia' was once predicted to be immortal but is now scarcely read. ## Key lines > I could not but consider the library a kind of literary catacomb, where authors, like mummies, are piously entombed and left to blacken and moulder in dusty oblivion. Crayon thinks of the library as a tomb for forgotten writers, whose works decay in obscurity. _Reflects the theme of literary mortality and the fleeting nature of fame._ > There rise authors now and then who seem proof against the mutability of language because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of human nature. Some writers achieve lasting relevance by connecting with universal human truths. _Crayon's argument for why poets like Shakespeare endure._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/the-mutability-of-literature - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters