None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
No definition of poetry is adequate unless it be poetry itself. The most accurate analysis by the rarest wisdom is yet insufficient, and the poet will instantly prove it false by setting aside its requisitions. It is indeed all that we do not know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry can only be truly understood through its experience, not just through analysis or definitions.
This quote by Henry David Thoreau emphasizes that the essence of poetry cannot be captured solely by definitions or academic analysis. Instead, it is about the emotional and experiential nature of poetry, which transcends intellectual understanding. Thoreau suggests that poetry embodies the unknown and the ineffable aspects of human experience, highlighting a fundamental disconnect between analytical approaches and the intrinsic qualities of artistic expression.
Themes
PoetryDefinitionWisdomExperienceArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of art, this quote could remind us to value emotional experience over strict definitions.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes →Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
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Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
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As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
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That grand old poem called Winter
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