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Quote by W. H. Auden

“Adjectives are the potbelly of poetry.”

Author

W. H. Auden was a prominent 20th-century poet, celebrated for his innovative and influential poetry. His works frequently delve into themes of love, politics, and the human experience, and he is a pivotal figure in the literary movement known as New Criticism. Born on February 21, 1907, in York, England, Auden passed away on September 29, 1973. more

“Poetry, even that of the loftiest, and seemingly, that of the wildest odes, [has] a logic of its own as severe as that of science; and more difficult, because more subtle, more complex, and dependent on more and more fugitive causes. In the truly great poets... there is a reason assignable, not only for every word, but for the position of every word.”

Reason Poetry Causes Difficult Position Poet Logic Complexes Dependent Subtle Severe Great Poet Fugitive Odes

Book:Biographia Literaria, Or, Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions

Source: Biographia Literaria, Or, Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions

“Sir, what is poetry? Why, Sir, it is much easier to say what it is not. We all know what light is; but it is not easy to tell what it is.”

Knows Light Poetry Easy Easier What Is Poetry

Author:Samuel Johnson

“Poetry is so vital to us until school spoils it.”

School Poetry Poetry Is Spoil

Author:Russell Baker

“Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting. . . . Read it a hundred times; it will forever keep its freshness as a metal keeps its fragrance. It can never lose its sense of a meaning that once unfolded by surprise as it went.”

Poetry Loses Forever Pieces Hundred Hot Surprise Ice Metals Fragrance Melting Freshness Stoves