I need scarcely observe that a poem deserves its title only inasmuch as it excites, by elevating the soul. The value of the poem is in the ratio of this elevating excitement.
Interpretation
A poem is valuable if it elevates and excites the soul of the reader.
Edgar Allan Poe emphasizes that the true worth of a poem lies in its ability to uplift and inspire the soul of its audience. He suggests that the emotional and spiritual resonance a poem creates is the measure of its significance, indicating that poetry must evoke a deeper response to be considered truly worthy.
In practice
In a poetry workshop, I shared Poe's quote to inspire participants to focus on the emotional impact of their writing.
But evil things, in robes of sorrow, Assailed the monarch's high estate; (Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow Shall dawn upon him desolate!) And round about his home the glory That blushed and bloomed, Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed.
Most writers - poets in especial - prefer having it understood that they compose by a species of fine frenzy - an ecstatic intuition - and would positively shudder at letting the public take a peep behind the scenes.
...the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair.
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best have gone to their eternal rest.
I could have clasped the red walls to my bosom as a garment of eternal peace. "Death," I said, "any death but that of the pit!" Fool! might I have not known that into the pit it was the object of the burning iron to urge me?
In our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very verge of remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember.
I really, really enjoy fitting words together - but I only enjoy it when it's easy, when it sort of rolls along by itself. I never erase anything [and] I hardly ever write anything down... The song will be finished before I write it down... I won't write a song unless it serves me in some way, unless I feel I have to write the song to make myself feel better. If you're not overflowing with something, there's nothing to give.
We have that illusion that we are 'deciding' what to make a character do, in order to 'convey our message' or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who's been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water.
The thing I love about music is that you can take things that are painful, deep things that hurt you, and you can turn them into something beautiful.
This award is meaningful because it comes from my fellow dealers in celluloid.
There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another.
There’s a lot for screenwriters to steal from songwriters, in terms of getting to the point.
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