Home / Topics / Poetry Quotes

Poetry Quotes

Browse 12091 quotes about Poetry.

Poetry Quotes

“Poetry is essentially the antithesis of Metaphysics: Metaphysics purge the mind of the senses and cultivate the disembodiment of the spiritual; Poetry is all passionate and feeling and animates the inanimate; Metaphysics are most perfect when concerned with universals; Poetry, when most concerned with particulars.”

Mind Feelings Spiritual Poetry Perfect Poet Concerned Philosophical Passionate Senses Poetry Is Metaphysics Antithesis

Author:Samuel Beckett

“Poetry is the most direct and simple means of expressing oneself in words: the most primitive nations have poetry, but only quitewell developed civilizations can produce good prose. So don't think of poetry as a perverse and unnatural way of distorting ordinary prose statements: prose is a much less natural way of speaking than poetry is. If you listen to small children, and to the amount of chanting and singsong in their speech, you'll see what I mean.”

“A tailor can adapt to any medium, be it poetry, be it criticism. As a poet, he can mend, and with the scissors of criticism he candivide.”

Poetry Poet Criticism Mediums Poetry Is Tailors Scissors

Author:Franz Grillparzer

“German poetry is going in a very different direction from French poetry.... Its language has become more sober, more factual. It distrusts "beauty." It tries to be truthful.”

Trying Different Truth Poetry Language Beauty Poet Poetry Is Truthful Sober Distrust Factual Different Directions Being Truthful French Poetry

Book:Collected Prose

Source: Collected Prose

“Poetry is the Devil's wine.”

Poetry Devil Wine Poetry Is

Author:Saint Augustine

“The whole history of modern poetry is a continuous commentary on the short text of philosophy: every art should become science, and every science should become art; poetry and philosophy should be united.”

Should Art Philosophy Whole Poetry United Modern Poet Philosophical Poetry Is Commentary Modern Poetry

Author:Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

“Since poetry is infinitely valuable, I do not understand why it should be more valuable than this or that which is also infinitelyvaluable. There are artists who perhaps do not think art to be too great, for this is impossible, and yet they are not free enough to be able to rise above their own best accomplishments.”

Thinking Should Art Enough Able Poetry Artist Impossible Poet Valuable Accomplishment Poetry Is Rise Above

Author:Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

“Willmott, the English essayist, says poetry is the natural religion of literature.”

Poetry Literature Natural Poetry Is Essayists

Author:William Rounseville Alger

“Poetry is the sister of Sorrow. Every man that suffers and weeps is a poet; every tear is a verse, and every heart a poem.”

Men Heart Poetry Suffering Tears Poet Sorrow Every Man Poetry Is Verses

Author:Marc-Andre Fleury

“Poetry is a string of words that parades without a permit.”

Poetry Poetry Is Strings Permit Parades

Author:Linda Hogan

“Poetry is a sleep-maker for that which sits up late in us listening for the footfall of the future on to-day's doorstep.”

Poetry Sleep Listening Late Poetry Is Makers Doorstep

Author:Laura Riding

“I feel that the task of criticizing my poetry is best left to others (i.e. critics) and would much rather have it take place after I am dead. If at all.”

Ifs Feels Poetry Left Tasks Critics Poetry Is Criticize

Author:Margaret Atwood

“Poetry isn't an activity, it's a way life is lived.”

Way Life Life Is Poetry Activity Poetry Is

Author:Vanna Bonta

“Poetry is a subset of a Cosmos, which in itself, is a poem.”

Poetry Cosmos Poetry Is

Author:Vanna Bonta

“Poetry is our heart, our spirit, our soul. Call it whatever; without it, everything else is nothing but hardware.”

Heart Soul Spirit Poetry Poetry Is Hardware

Author:Vanna Bonta

“Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life.”

Remember Poetry Poetry Is

Book:Lectures on the English Poets

Source: Lectures on the English Poets

“Poetry is what Milton saw when he went blind.”

Poetry Saws Blind Poetry Is Milton

Author:Don Marquis

“Poetry is an art, the easiest to dabble in, but the hardest to reach true excellence.”

Art Poetry Excellence Hardest Poetry Is

Author:John Gabriel Stedman

“Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.”

Art Poetry Pleasure Poetry Is Uniting Great Poetry

Book:The Lives of the Most Eminent Poets: With Critical Observations on Their Works

Source: The Lives of the Most Eminent Poets: With Critical Observations on Their Works

“Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.”

Life Dream Poetry Vision Our Lives Inspire Foundation Lays Architecture Bridges Poetry Is Skeletons

Book:Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Source: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

“Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.”

Source: Selected letters of Don Marquis

“Poetry is like making a joke. If you get one word wrong at the end of a joke, you've lost the whole thing.”

Ifs Ends Whole Poetry Lost Jokes Poetry Is One Word

Author:W. S. Merwin

“Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.”

Life Inspirational Art Real Poetry Design Creating Garden Poetry Is Poetic Imaginary Toads

Author:Marianne Moore

“The courage of the poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness.”

Art Political Poetry Courage Doors Poet Madness Bravery Poetry Is Poetry By Poets

Book:Forty-four Essays by Christopher Morley

Source: Forty-four Essays by Christopher Morley

“Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks.”

Art Poetry Speak Painting Quiet Silent Painter Greek Poetry Is Ancient Greek Greek Philosopher Painting And Poetry

Author:Plutarch

“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.”

Poetry Beauty Creation Poet Thoughtful Poetry Is Poetic Great Poetry Poetry By Famous Poets

Author:Edgar Allan Poe

“A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.”

World Poetry Names Sides Sleep Courage Poet Shapes Argument Poetry Is Fraud Going To Sleep Great Poetry Poetry By Poets Satanic Verses

Author:Salman Rushdie

“He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.”

Poetry Lines Written Poet Draws Delight Noble Poetry Is Poetic Sentiments Writing Poetry Poetry By Famous Poets

Book:The Haunted Pool: (La Mare Au Diable).

Source: The Haunted Pool: (La Mare Au Diable).

“Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.”

Writing Poetry Literature Shadow Asking Dance Poetry Is Poetic Echoes Just Dance Inspirational Dance Short Dance Great Poetry

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during the moment.”

Looks Moments Poetry Literature Doors Leaving Opening Poetry Is Closing Closing Down Closing Up

Author:Carl Sandburg

“I've written some poetry I don't understand myself.”

Poetry Literature Written Poetry Is

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.”

Poetry Literature Language Poetry Is Poetic Synthesis Biscuits Hyacinths

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away.”

Made Poetry Poet Scripts Poetry Is Going Away Rainbow Phantoms Creating Beauty

Book:Harvest Poems: 1910-1960

Source: Harvest Poems: 1910-1960

“As for the usefulness of poetry, its uses are many. It is the deification of reality.”

Art Reality Poetry Poetry Is

Author:Edith Sitwell

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”

“Poetry is the language of intensity. Because we are going to die, an expression of intensity is justified.”

Death Poetry Dies Language Dying Expression Poetry Is Intensity Justified

Book:Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil

Source: Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil

“Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry.”

Has Beens Running Poetry Mines Eating Mouths Corners Poetry Is Ink

Author:Mark Strand

“Poetry is eternal graffiti written in the heart of everyone.”

Heart Poetry Written Eternal Poetry Is Graffiti

Author:Lawrence Ferlinghetti

“He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.”

“Poetry is life distilled.”

Life Poetry Poetry Is

Book:Young Poet's Primer

Source: Young Poet's Primer

“poetry is the breath and finer spirit of knowledge”

Spirit Poetry Breaths Poetry Is Impassioned

Author:William Wordsworth

“The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful.”

Men Littles Poetry Capacity Myth Meaningful Poetry Is Meaningful Life Great Poetry

Author:Robert Penn Warren

“Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations.”

Poetry Imagination Shadow Casts Poetry Is

Book:Poetry as Insurgent Art

Source: Poetry as Insurgent Art

“Poetry is the art of substantiating shadows, and of lending existence to nothing.”

Art Poetry Existence Shadow Poetry Is Borrowing Lending

Book:Memoir of the Life and Character of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke: With Specimens of His Poetry and Letters and an Estimate of His Genius and Talents, Compared with Those of His Great Contemporaries. Enlarged to Two Volumes

Source: Memoir of the Life and Character of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke: With Specimens of His Poetry and Letters and an Estimate of His Genius and Talents, Compared with Those of His Great Contemporaries. Enlarged to Two Volumes

“Poetry is man's rebellion against being what he is.”

Men Poetry Rebellion Poetry Is Uprising What Is Poetry

Author:James Branch Cabell

“Poetry is a game of loser-take-all.”

Poetry Games Poetry Is Loser

Author:Jean-Luc Godard

“Poetry can be dangerous, especially beautiful poetry, because it gives the illusion of having had the experience without actually going through it.”

Giving Beautiful Poetry Dangerous Illusion Poetry Is Beautiful Poetry

Author:Rumi

“Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away.”

Life Made Poetry Animal Air Sea Land Poet Scripts Barriers Poetry Is Going Away Rainbow Journal Living On Phantoms Syllables

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.”

Poetry Walks Journey Walking Dancing Dance Wander Prose Poetry Is Hiking Trekking Strolling Sauntering

Author:Paul Valery