It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
William Butler YeatsRead
If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A poet's interpretation of their own work can restrict its broader meanings and interpretations.
William Butler Yeats suggests that when a poet explains their own poem, they confine its potential meanings and the myriad interpretations that readers might find. Poetry is meant to evoke personal responses; by providing a definitive interpretation, the poet inadvertently limits the poem's suggestibility and the diverse understanding it could inspire in different individuals.
Themes
PoetryInterpretationMeaningArtSuggestibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a literature class, when discussing the importance of open interpretation, one might use this quote to emphasize the personal nature of poetry.
More from William Butler Yeats
All quotes βBut I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
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How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
William Butler YeatsRead
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Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
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I believe when I am in the mood that all nature is full of people whom we cannot see, and that some of these are ugly or grotesque, and some wicked or foolish, but very many beautiful beyond any one we have ever seen, and that these are not far away... and the simple of all times and the wise men of ancient times have seen them and even spoken to them.
William Butler YeatsRead
Similar quotes
Truly fine poetry must be read aloud. A good poem does not allow itself to be read in a low voice or silently. If we can read it silently, it is not a valid poem: a poem demands pronunciation. Poetry always remembers that it was an oral art before it was a written art. It remembers that it was first song.
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You see, I am a poet, and not quite right in the head, darling. Itβs only that.
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I think what gets a poem going is an initiating line. Sometimes a first line will occur, and it goes nowhere; but other times - and this, I think, is a sense you develop - I can tell that the line wants to continue. If it does, I can feel a sense of momentum - the poem finds a reason for continuing.
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