Since the printing press came into being, poetry has ceased to be the delight of the whole community of man; it has become the amusement and delight of the few.
John MasefieldRead
Poetry is a mixture of common sense, which not all have, with an uncommon sense, which very few have.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry combines ordinary understanding with a unique and rare perspective that not everyone possesses.
The essence of poetry lies in its ability to blend everyday reasoning, which can often be overlooked, with an extraordinary insight that is not commonly found. This quote by John Masefield suggests that while poetry may seem simple and relatable on the surface, it also requires a depth of perception and sensitivity that is uncommon, making it a unique art form that few can truly appreciate or practice.
Themes
PoetryArtCommon SenseUncommon SenseInsight
In practice
Example use cases
In a literature class discussing the nuances of poetry, one might say, 'As John Masefield noted, poetry is a mixture of common sense and uncommon sense.'
More from John Masefield
All quotes βI must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
John MasefieldRead
Commonplace people dislike tragedy because they dare not suffer and cannot exult.
John MasefieldRead
What am I, Life? A thing of watery salt Held in cohesion by unresting cells, Which work they know not why, which never halt, Myself unwitting where their Master dwells?
John MasefieldRead
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
John MasefieldRead
Once in a century a man may be ruined or made insufferable by praise. But surely once in a minute something generous dies for want of it.
John MasefieldRead
Similar quotes
Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.
Gustave FlaubertRead
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Samuel R. DelanyRead
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Robert PinskyRead
Writing nonfiction is more like sculpture, a matter of shaping the research into the finished thing. Novels are like paintings, specifically watercolors. Every stroke you put down you have to go with. Of course you can rewrite, but the original strokes are still there in the texture of the thing.
Joan DidionRead
Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
David Foster WallaceRead
I have never heard a dancer asking for advice about how to stay focused on her footwork, or a painter complaining about the dull day-to-day task of painting. What task worth doing isn't worth daily effort? Do you think Michelangelo was having fun the whole time he was on his back painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling?
Ursula K. Le GuinRead