We Talk So Abstractly About Poetry Because All Of

“All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling. To be natural is to be obvious, and to be obvious is to be inartistic.”

“Poets are shameless with their experiences: they exploit them.”

“Just as in the second part of a verse bad poets seek a thought to fit their rhyme, so in the second half of their lives people tend to become more anxious about finding actions, positions, relationships that fit those of their earlier lives, so that everything harmonizes quite well on the surface: but their lives are no longer ruled by a strong thought, and instead, in its place, comes the intention of finding a rhyme.”

“To have ruined one's self over poetry is an honor”

“There are two ways to dislike poetry: One is to dislike it; the other is to read Pope.”

“The poet knows that he speaks adequately, then, only when he speaks somewhat wildly.”