The essence of poetry is invention; such invention as, by producing something unexpected, surprises and delights.
Interpretation
Poetry is about creating original and surprising ideas that engage and amuse people.
Samuel Johnson emphasizes that the core of poetry lies in its ability to invent and create novel ideas. This act of invention should produce unexpected outcomes that not only surprise the audience but also bring them joy, showcasing the power of creativity in the art of poetry.
In practice
In a literature class, to inspire students about the creative process of writing poetry.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
As for the usefulness of poetry, its uses are many. It is the deification of reality.
Careers don't interest me. The only thing that interests me is continuing to be a poet on one level or another, whether acting or writing or directing.
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap And seeing that it was a soft October night Curled once about the house, and fell asleep
When I was a child, I used to paint intently. The older I become, and the closer death approaches, the brighter my life gets day by day.
Every man, and for stronger reasons, every artist, wants to be recognized. So do I.
You want to make money, remake 'Cinderella.' You want to move people, remake the Hippolytus and Phaedra myth.
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