Top 20 Poetry Quotations

Explore the meaning of poetry and the motivation of poets with this special collection of evocative quotations...

  • "A poet is someone who is astonished by everything."
    -- Anonymous

  • "Reality only reveals itself when it is illuminated by a ray of poetry."
    -- Georges Brague

  • "The poet doesn't invent. He listens. "
    --Jean Cocteau

  • " In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite."
    -- Paul Dirac

  • " Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood."
    -- T. S. Eliot

  • "The adventitious beauty of poetry may be felt in the greater delight with a verse given in a happy quotation than in the poem."
    -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

  • " There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it."
    -- Gustave Flaubert

  • "A poem begins with a lump in the throat. "
    --Robert Frost

  • " Poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement."
    -- Christopher Fry

  • " There's no money in poetry, but there's no poetry in money, either."
    -- Robert Ranke Graves

  • " Poetry is to hold judgment on your soul."
    -- Henrik Ibsen

  • " When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."
    -- John F. Kennedy

  • "Perhaps no person can be a poet, or can even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind."
    --Thomas Babington Macaulay

  • "The poem is the point at which our strength gave out. "
    --Richard Rosen

  • " Science is for those who learn; poetry, for those who know."
    -- Joseph Roux

  • "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. "
    --Percy Byshe Shelley

  • "Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket. "
    --Charles Simic

  • "A poem is never finished, only abandoned. "
    --Paul Valéry

  • " Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls."
    -- Voltaire

  • "Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge."
    -- William Wordsworth

    Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.a sp

    In The News:

    • pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    The Crusader: A Search for the Virtue Inside (an excerpt of an Epic Poem)

    On through the darkness she searches the bones Seeking the... Read More

    Joined

    JOINEDHeart beat of man pounding - yet unheard joined... Read More

    Lord Byrons She Walks in Beauty

    Lord Byron's opening couplet to "She Walks In Beauty" is... Read More

    Walt Whitman, Romance With a Stranger

    The concept of brief encounters, even romantic encounters, with a... Read More

    Publishing Your Poetry

    If you are serious about seeing your work published by... Read More

    The Power of Eating Disorders

    I want to get closeI am afraid.Afraid of what... Read More

    Barriers

    There are many times I set up barriers and walls,... Read More

    Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog

    Emlyn Williams Theatre, Mold, North Wales: 20th February 2003Clwyd Theatr... Read More

    The Treasure of Catalina Huanca (In English and Spanish)

    Note: written after seeing the little adobe 16th century church... Read More

    Two Poems Written During Recovery

    Since my wife and I are moving, or preparing to... Read More

    Kens Poem

    How wonderfully sweet to be a dweller dwelling... Read More

    Banana Republic

    Like a cat I slumber, blissfully unencumbered, Through eighty per... Read More

    Two Poems, with Figurative Language

    Says Mr. Dennis Siluk, when asked to review his poetry... Read More

    The Man Who Could Not Say Sorry For His Sins

    Sorry would be a start.Though you cant take back your... Read More

    I Shall Wait...

    I Shall Wait..On all the new mornings, and every singking... Read More

    Testimony to the Night [In English and Spanish]

    In the quiet of the arctic night- In its deep... Read More

    The Game of Life

    When your life becomes unbearable And the light of... Read More

    Tsunami Day

    A Poem - By Lorraine KemberIt was a day like... Read More

    Superman

    So many looked to you for inspiration,Unlikely hero for the... Read More

    Grandpas House & From Iraq with Love [Two Poems]

    Grandpa's House [The ole Real House]The house needed painting Sun-blistered... Read More

    Four Poems: Two for the Devil, Two for Peru

    Here is some witty poetry (not sure if that is... Read More

    The Valley Of Pain

    We were exiled from the Garden of Eden. Its... Read More

    In the Mountans of Haiti [A Poem: in English and Spanish]

    In the Mountains of Haiti(In the City)-July is a hot... Read More

    The Poets Corner [Three Poems with a review]

    The Poet's Corner [Three poem/ see review of poetry under... Read More

    How to Write Bad Poetry

    "All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar WildePeople write poetry... Read More

    Three Poems: Dona Leonors Revenge; The Old Moon; Common Sides [All in Spanish/all in English]

    1) Doña Leonor's Revenge [1627 AD]Rafael Ortiz's fate Was... Read More

    The Art of Receiving Poetic Critique

    You can show your poem to your mom, your spouse,... Read More

    Motiff

    Have you ever experienced infatuation with someone you know is... Read More

    Daybreak at Pikes Creek [a Poem]

    Daybreak at Pikes Creek [Summer of 2005]Daybreak by Lake Superior... Read More

    Preserving Dignity

    No one should have to beg or crawl before humanity.... Read More

    Here And There

    My eyes opened. I am still alive; Living on... Read More

    Antidotes for an Alibi

    Amy King's first full-length collection, Antidotes for an Alibi, insists... Read More

    Robert Burns Love Poem: A Red, Red Rose

    Robert Burns, a poor man, an educated man, and a... Read More