All experiment is made on a basis of tradition; all tradition is the crystallization of experiment.
Louis MacneiceRead
The rules or 'laws' of poetry are only tentative devices, an approximate scheme. There is no Sinaitic recipe for poetry, for the individual poem is the norm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry is not bound by strict rules; it evolves through individual expression.
In this quote, Louis Macneice emphasizes that the conventions and rules of poetry are merely guidelines rather than absolute laws. He suggests that true poetry arises from personal creativity and expression, indicating that each poem should be seen as a unique work that transcends generalized rules.
Themes
PoetryCreativityExpressionIndividualityArt
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the nature of poetry in a writing workshop.
More from Louis Macneice
All quotes βI am not yet born; O fill me with strength against those who would freeze my humanity.
Louis MacneiceRead
Everyone is not able, or inclined, to write poetry in the narrower sense any more than everyone is qualified to take part in a walking race. But just as all of us can and do walk, so all of us can and do use language poetically.
Louis MacneiceRead
I am not yet born; Forgive me For the sins that in me the world shall commit, my words When they speak me, my thoughts when they think me, My treason engendered by traitors beyound me, My life when they murder by means of my hands, my death when they live me.
Louis MacneiceRead
All that I would like to be is human, having a share_x000D_ in a civilized, articulate and well-adjusted_x000D_ community where the mind is given its due_x000D_ but the body is not distrusted
Louis MacneiceRead
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