It is not true that you must be crazy to be a creative genius. It happens, but is not necessary. But the crazy guys make for better biopics, so the notion spreads. Bach was probably GOAT, but he was very normal, industrious. And so there isn’t any ‘Amadeus’ about Bach.
Byron was supposedly ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know,’ which is why we know a lot about him. But Wordsworth was a better poet IMO, but fairly normal. Goethe kept his dangerous impulses under control in way Kleist couldn’t - and was a superior artist who didn’t kill himself.
There is some misunderstanding here in comments/QTs. Of course someone like Bach wasn’t ‘normal’ in sense of his creative abilities. But he was conventional enough that he could get on in society, live his life without angering or embarrassing friends and family.
There is tendency to permit creative people to behave very badly under notion that this is ‘the price of genius.’ That they simply can’t help it, or are crazy. This is often bullshit. Some creative people really are a little crazy, some are just spoiled children.
But the examples of Bach, Wordsworth and Goethe were aimed at showing that great geniuses can lead relatively normal lives and respect the people around them. It’s ok for the highly talented to live in society, make few demands on it, and ‘fit in.’ Basic manners.
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