In This Post
Introduction
Poetry is a form of art in which we express our emotions, feelings, and thoughts through words.
People are drawn to poetry because it connects them to their emotions and to other people. It also allows us to express the inexpressible.
Now, many famous writers, poets, and thinkers have spoken about the power of poetry and how poetry makes a difference in people’s lives.
So in this blog post, I’ve shared 30 quotes about poetry from famous poets relating to life, music, and art along with some funny poetry quotes.
8 Quotes About Poetry from Famous Poets
A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.
Robert Frost
Poetry is like standing on the edge of a lake on a moonlit night and the light of the moon is always pointing straight at you.
Billy Collins
The spirit of poetry, like all other living powers, must of necessity circumscribe itself by rules, were it only to unite power with beauty.
ST Coleridge
Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words.
Robert Frost
Brief Analysis
Emotions on their own are raw and unfiltered, but when they find a thought, they become clearer. This moment of clarity is when we understand not just what we’re feeling, but why we’re feeling it.
Once we’ve taken that emotion and shaped it into a thought, the next step is giving it language. This is where poetry works its magic.
Plus, poetry captures the intangible and makes it real. It turns what might otherwise remain hidden inside us into something beautiful, meaningful, and relatable.
So, this quote about poetry reminds us poetry has the power to make sense of our inner world and connect with the world around us. It takes what’s deeply personal and turns it into something others can feel too.
Also Read: 27 Lyrical John Keats Quotes That Will Delight Your Senses (Explained)
Poetry is emotion put into measure. The emotion must come by nature, but the measure can be acquired by art.
Thomas Hardy
Write till your ink be dry, and with your tears
Shakespeare
Moist it again, and frame some feeling line
That may discover such integrity.
The trouble with poetry is that it encourages the writing of more poetry…
Unknown
Poetry: the best words in the best order.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Brief Analysis
This famous quote shows that poetry, at its core, is about craftsmanship. It’s about the work of arranging language so that it evokes something deep within us, something that ordinary speech might miss.
Moreover, behind every great poem is a poet who has labored over each word and its position. He seeks to craft something that feels inevitable and timeless.
So, when we encounter poetry, we should remember to look closely. Every word has been chosen for a reason, and its place in the poem is no accident.
In short, this poetry quote challenges us to appreciate this art form for its discipline, and its elegance. Poetry is the best words in the best order—and when we experience it fully, we feel the truth of that in every line.
6 Quotes About Poetry & Life
Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.
Lucille Clifton
Brief Analysis
Poetry is born from life and returns to it, which is why we feel so connected to it. It’s the embodiment of our joys, struggles, dreams, and fears as this quote about poetry and life shows.
If we take a moment to think about the poetry, we realize it’s not always the language or the perfect rhyme scheme that captures us. It’s the truth in it, the resonance it creates within our own experiences.
This poetry quote invites us to see that life itself is poetic. Every moment, no matter how small or mundane, carries within it the potential for poetry, because every moment is part of the human experience.
In the end, we just have to live fully and authentically, and poetry will naturally arise from the life we are living. It’s a matter of life first, and only secondarily, a matter of language.
Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.
T. S. Eliot
If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.
Emily Dickinson
Poems are moments’ monuments.
Sylvia Plath
Real poetry, is to lead a beautiful life. To live poetry is better than to write it.
Matsuo Basho
Brief Analysis
Life itself can be the ultimate form of poetry. It’s about how we move through the world, and how we appreciate the small, quiet moments that often go unnoticed.
We don’t need to be poets in the traditional sense to live poetically. In fact, this quote about poetry encourages us to make our daily lives a kind of art—something filled with compassion, and attention to beauty.
Plus, living with the same depth and intentionality that poetry represents is even more important than putting pen to paper. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that How we live is even more significant.
In short, we can all strive to lead lives that are rich in meaning, just like a beautifully crafted poem. That’s what it means to “live poetry.” It’s not about what we produce, but how we exist in the world.
Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn’t know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.
Deind Whyte
6 Quotes About Poetry & Music
Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls.
Voltaire
Brief Analysis
When we read a beautiful poem, it’s like our soul is responding to the deep emotions that the poem evokes. In this way, poetry really is a kind of music for the heart and mind.
When we think of great poets throughout history, they have a special way of seeing the world. They don’t just observe life from the outside; they immerse themselves in it, exploring its depths, its complexities, its beauty, and its pain.
The “feeling souls” refers to the ones who aren’t afraid to express their feelings through words. Whether we write poetry or read it, we’re engaging in an act of emotional honesty.
In essence, poetry is a way of giving a voice to our innermost thoughts and emotions as this saying about poetry shows. It’s something that lives inside all of us, waiting to be heard, felt, and shared.
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
Victor Hugo
Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.
Pablo Casals
If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.
Charles Darwin
Poetry is music written for the human voice.
Maya Angelou
Brief Analysis
This quote about poetry and music shows that poetry is designed to be heard, not just read. It comes alive in the act of speaking or listening, the same way a song does when we hear it played aloud.
Sometimes it’s the sound of the words that captivates us, other times it’s the meaning behind them. Either way, both music and poetry have this incredible power to make us feel something deep and real.
Maya Angelou herself was a poet who understood this deeply. Her own works, often rich with emotion and rhythm, are perfect examples of poetry as music.
So, when we think of poetry as music for the human voice, we can understand it as more than just a form of writing. When we experience it fully, we can hear the song that lies within the words.
The loss of these tastes [for poetry and music] is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature.
Charles Darwin
5 Quotes About Poetry & Art
Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.
Leonardo da Vinci
Brief Analysis
This quote by Leonardo da Vinci beautifully captures the essence of both art forms by highlighting their unique ways of expression.
Just as poetry uses words to evoke feelings and imagery, painting uses colors, shapes, and forms to create a visual narrative that can be immediately perceived by the eyes.
Poetry also evokes emotions and imagery that are “seen” internally, in the mind’s eye, and felt deeply within the heart.
In essence, da Vinci draws a parallel between the two art forms and suggests that both painting and poetry aim to convey profound experiences and emotions, but they do so through different senses—one through sight and the other through feeling.
Poetry is one of the ancient arts, and it begins as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.
Mary Oliver
Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
Thomas Gray
Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks.
Plutarch
Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Brief Analysis
A good poem can make something as simple as a tree, a bird, or a moment of silence feel fresh and new, as if we’re experiencing it for the first time. It has the power to transform everyday things into something extraordinary.
Plus, this quote about poetry and art tell us that the world is full of hidden beauty that we often miss simply because we’re used to it. And poetry is the art that unlocks that beauty.
Moreover, Poetry helps us reawaken our sense of wonder. It shakes us out of the dullness of routine and lets us experience the familiar as if we’re encountering it for the first time.
To conclude, this poetry quote tells that art can change how we see the world. It allows us to rediscover the world, to appreciate its richness, and to be constantly reminded of the wonder that exists all around us.
5 Funny Quotes About Poetry
Poetry is the art of saying the same thing in seventeen different ways, none of which actually make sense.
Unknown
Brief Analysis
Poetry can sometimes seem a little extra, right? it transforms everyday thoughts into wild, colorful expressions that can make you pause and think, “Wait, what does that actually mean?”
The funny part here is that, sometimes, after all those fancy words, we might be left wondering if we even understood what the poet was trying to say. It’s like they took the scenic route, but forgot to tell us where we’re going.
Moreover, poets can say something in a bunch of different ways, but by the end of it, we’re sometimes left confused. It might not always make perfect sense as this funny poetry quote shows.
So, the poetry quote suggests that poetry can also be hard to pin down sometimes. And that’s what makes it both frustrating and kind of delightful at the same time.
Poetry is the art of arranging words into something that looks impressive but still leaves everyone confused.
Unknown
Poetry is like a good cup of coffee – it wakes you up, but sometimes it’s too bitter to swallow.
Unknown
Reading poetry is like trying to solve a riddle, but no one is sure if there’s actually an answer.
Unknown
Poetry: the art of saying what you don’t mean in words you don’t understand.
Unknown
Brief Analysis
Poetry is like talking in a really complicated way about things that might not even need to be complicated. The poets often use fancy words that we don’t always understand.
The funny part is that poetry can make simple things sound deep and confusing. We often find ourselves trying to figure out what they mean, but we’re not always sure if we’re right as this funny quote about poetry suggests.
And that’s okay! Poetry doesn’t have to be super clear or easy to understand. It’s like an abstract painting where one person sees a tree, and someone else sees a cloud. Everyone has their own interpretation.
In the end, poetry is more about feeling than understanding. We don’t always have to know what every line means to enjoy it. Sometimes it’s just about going with the flow and letting the words take us on a journey!
