Poetry Quotes — page 3

It is more dangerous to be a great prophet or poet than to promote twenty companies for swindling simple folk out of their savings.

A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company.

He that thinks himself capable of astonishing may write blank verse: but those that hope only to please must condescend to rhyme.

Every poet is partly creator and partly the creature of circumstances.

It is a better and a wiser thing to be a starved apothecary than a starved poet; so back to the shop Mr. John, back to "plasters, pills, and ointment boxes," &c. But, for Heaven's sake, young Sangrado, be a little more sparing of …

There were three great Virginia poets in the very beginning — George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson. "What!" you say. "We do not even know the names of their publishers. They were not poets!" Well, how do you know? Did you …

Take pains the genuine meaning to explore, There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar; Search every comment that your care can find, Some here, some there, may hit the poet's mind.

When Anacreon would fight, as the poets have said, A reverse he display'd in his vapour, For while all his poems were loaded with lead, His pistols were loaded with paper. For excuses, Anacreon old custom may thank, Such a salvo he should …

Are these the choice dishes the Doctor has sent us? Is this the great poet whose works so content us? This Goldsmith’s fine feast, who has written fine books? Heaven sends us good meat, but the Devil sends cooks?

He that goes to sea, must smel of the ship; and he that sayles into Poets wil savour of Pitch.

We may certainly, from the foregoing observations, conclude, that is impossible to do complete justice to any species of poetical compositin in a prose translation; in other words, that none but a poet can translate a poet.

The poet's business is not to save the soul of man but to make it worth saving.

The poet and the painter are only truly great by the mutual influences of their studies, and the jealousy of glory has only produced an idle contest.

to give a poem that might live in the English language

Consistent poetry is made of letters. Letters have no idea. Letters as such have no sound, they offer only tonal possibilities, to be valuated by the performer. The consistent poem weighs the value of both letters and groups.

An artistic atmosphere does not create artists a literary atmosphere does not create literators; poets and painters spring up where there was never a verse made or a picture seen. This suggests that God is no more idle now than He was at …

ONAELIA: What sort of poets are there? POET: Two sorts lady: The great poets and the small poets. ONAELIA: Great and small! Which do you call the great? The fat ones?

Shakespeare is not our poet, but the world's, Therefore on him no speech! and brief for thee, Browning! Since Chaucer was alive and hale, No man hath walked along our roads with step So active, so inquiring eye, or tongue So varied in …

Poetry must be simple, sensuous, or impassioned; this man is neither simple, sensuous, nor impassioned; therefore he is not a poet.

The commonest utterances of the commonest citizens in the time of the Colour Revolt seem to have been suffused with a richer tinge of word or thought; and to that era we are even now indebted for our finest poetry and for whatever rhythm …

Poets lose half the praise they should have got, Could it be known what they discreetly blot.

Old-fashioned poetry, but choicely good.

I hold with the old-fashioned criticism that Browning is not really a poet, that he has all the gifts but the one needful and the pearls without the string; rather one should say raw nuggets and rough diamonds.

Wise poets, that wrapt Truth in tales, Knew her themselves through all her veils.