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Poetry Quotes

Browse 12091 quotes about Poetry.

Poetry Quotes

“Men of real talents in Arms have commonly approved themselves patrons of the liberal arts and friends to the poets, of their own as well as former times. In some instances by acting reciprocally, heroes have made poets, and poets heroes.”

Men Wells Art Made Real Poetry Acting Talent Poet Arms Hero Instance Former Approved Patron Liberal Arts Real Talent

Book:George Washington Remembers: Reflections on the French and Indian War

Source: George Washington Remembers: Reflections on the French and Indian War

“I approach poetry and spirituality like literary nitroglycerin -- a little can do a lot and you better damn well be careful with it.”

Wells Littles Poetry Spirituality Can Do Approach Careful Damn Be Careful

Book:The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery

Source: The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery

“Cause I might be naked and lonely Shaking branches for bones But I'm still time zones away From who I was the day before we met You were the first mile Where my heart broke a sweat And I wish you were here I wish you'd never left But mostly I wish you well I wish you my very very best.”

Source: Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns

“Poetry, with all its obscurity, has a more general as well as a more powerful dominion over the passions than the art of painting.”

Wells Art Poetry Passion Powerful Painting Dominion Obscurity

Book:The Portable Edmund Burke

Source: The Portable Edmund Burke

“Poetry, I thought then, and still do, is a matter of space on the page interrupted by a few well-chosen words, to give them importance. Prose is a less grand affair which has to stretch to the edges of the page to be convincing.”

Giving Wells Stills Matter Poetry Literature Space Pages Importance Affair Edges Chosen Prose Convincing Interrupted

Book:Auto da Fay: A Memoir

Source: Auto da Fay: A Memoir

“Poetry and preaching do not go well together; when the preacher mounts the pulpit the poet usually goes away.”

Wells Together Poetry Poet Preacher Preaching Pulpit

Book:The Roman Way to Western Civilization

Source: The Roman Way to Western Civilization

“Poetic language features an iconic rather than a predominantly conventional relationship of form and content in which all language (and cultural) elements, variant as well as invariant, may be involved in the expression of the content.", "Analysis of the Poetic Text.”

Wells May Art Form Poetry Language Expression Involved Elements Features Analysis Poetic Conventional Iconic

Author:Yuri Lotman

“What poet would not grieve to see His brother write as well as he? But rather than they should excel, He'd wish his rivals all in Hell.”

Should Writing Wells Poetry Wish Hell Poet Brother Grieving Rivals

Book:The Works. Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published. With Memoir of the Author, by Thomas Roscoe. -London, Washbourne 1841

Source: The Works. Containing Interesting and Valuable Papers, Not Hitherto Published. With Memoir of the Author, by Thomas Roscoe. -London, Washbourne 1841

“One can be well-bred and write bad poetry”

Writing Wells Poetry Poet Criticism

Author:Moliere

“As we speak of poetical beauty, so ought we to speak of mathematical beauty and medical beauty. But we do not do so; and that reason is that we know well what is the object of mathematics, and that it consists in proofs, and what is the object of medicine, and that it consists in healing. But we do not know in what grace consists, which is the object of poetry.”

Knows Wells Reason Poetry Speak Healing Beauty Grace Objects Poet Ought Mathematics Medicine Proof Medical Mathematical Poetry Is Mathematical Beauty

Book:Thoughts, Letters & Minor Works

Source: Thoughts, Letters & Minor Works

“Printed prose is historically a most peculiar, almost an aberrant way of telling stories, and by far the most inherently anesthetic: It is the only medium of art I can think of which appeals directly to none of our five senses. The oral and folk tradition in narrative made use of verse or live-voice dynamics, embellished by gesture and expression--a kind of rudimentary theater--as do the best raconteurs of all times. Commonly there was musical accompaniment as well: a kind of one-man theater-of-mixed-means.”

Source: The Friday Book: Essays and Other Nonfiction

“The way in which modern German poetry follows theories reminds me of pupils who, scolded by their teacher for their insubordination, justify themselves by saying that they invented new rules of propriety according to which they are quite well- behaved.”

Way Wells Poetry Teacher Modern Poet Theory Justify Aesthetics Pupils Propriety Scolded Insubordination

Author:Franz Grillparzer

“We have more poets than judges and interpreters of poetry. It is easier to write an indifferent poem than to understand a good one. There is, indeed, a certain low and moderate sort of poetry, that a man may well enough judge by certain rules of art; but the true, supreme, and divine poesy is equally above all rules and reason. And whoever discerns the beauty of it with the most assured and most steady sight sees no more than the quick reflection of a flash of lightning.”

Source: Works, Comprising His Essays, Letters, and Journey Through Germany and Italy: With Notes from All the Commentators, Biographical and Bibliographical Notices &c., &c

“Well, write poetry, for God's sake, it's the only thing that matters.”

Writing Wells Matter Poetry Sake Things That Matter Only Thing That Matters

Author:e. e. cummings

“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”

Ifs Writing Wells Life Is Poetry Poet Evidence Burning Poetry Is Poetic Ashes Great Poet Great Poetry Best Poetry Poetry By Poets Best Poet

Author:Leonard Cohen

“He who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things ought himself to be a true poem.”

Writing Wells Poetry Hope Ought Frustration Hereafter

Author:John Milton

“You're walking by the tomb of Battiades, Who knew well how to write poetry, and enjoy Laughter at the right moment, over the wine.”

Writing Wells Moments Poetry Enjoy Walking Laughter Wine Tombs Right Moment

Author:Callimachus

“"I know perfectly well that at this moment the whole universe is listening to us," Jean Giraudoux wrote in The Madwoman of Chaillot, "and that every word we say echoes to the remotest star."That poetic paranoia is a perfect description of what the Sun, as a gravitational lens, could do for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.”

Knows Wells Whole Moments Poetry Universe Stars Perfect Sun Listening Description Poetic Echoes Lenses Paranoia Extraterrestrial

Author:Frank Drake

“One day while studying a Yeats poem I decided to write poetry the rest of my life. I recognized that a single short poem has room for history, music, psychology, religious thought, mood, occult speculation, character, and events of one's own life. I still feel surprised that such various substances can find shelter and nourishment in a poem. A poem in fact may be a sort of nourishing liquid, such as one uses to keep an amoeba alive. If prepared right, a poem can keep an image or a thought or insights on history or the psyche alive for years, as well as our desires and airy impulses.”

“'Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?' 'I read it in a book,' said Alice. 'But I had some poetry repeated to me, much easier than that, by - Tweedledee, I think it was.' 'As to poetry, you know,' said Humpty Dumpty, stretching out one of his great hands, 'I can repeat poetry as well as other folk, if it comes to that - ' 'Oh, it needn't come to that!' Alice hastily said, hoping to keep him from beginning.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Wells Said I Can Book Hard Hands Poetry Stuff Easier Folks Repeats Stretching Humpty Dumpty

Author:Lewis Carroll

“Poetry must be as well written as prose.”

Wells Poetry Written Prose Well Written

Author:Ezra Pound

“I don't see how poetry can ever be easy... Real poetry, the thick, dense, intense, complicated stuff that lives and endures, requires blood sweat; blood and sweat are essential elements in poetry as well as behind it.”

Wells Real Poetry Easy Stuff Behinds Blood Essentials Elements Endure Complicated Intense Sweat Thick Dense Blood And Sweat

Book:Confessions of a Barbarian: Selections from the Journals of Edward Abbey

Source: Confessions of a Barbarian: Selections from the Journals of Edward Abbey

“If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty, he sinks into oblivion. Society, on the other hand, has no obligation toward the poet. A majority by definition, society thinks of itself as having other options than reading verses, no matter how well written. Its failure to do so results in its sinking to that level of locution at which society falls easy prey to a demagogue or a tyrant. This is society's own equivalent of oblivion.”

“They say poets write mostly for themselves; if anyone else likes it, well and good, if not, it doesn't matter; certainly, not to me.”

Ifs Writing Wells Matter Poetry Poet Likes

Author:Tom Glazer