I am very sure that any man of common understanding may, by culture, care, attention, and labor, make himself what- ever he pleases, except a great poet.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A man may be variously accomplished, and yet be a feeble poet.
Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself. He who has a contempt for poetry, cannot have much respect for himself, or for anything else.
Poets utter great and wise things which they do not themselves understand.
Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.
The poet enjoys the incomparable privilege of being able to be himself and others, as he wishes.
To this congress the poet speaks not of peculiar and personal things, but of what in himself is most common, most anonymous, most fundamental, most true of all men.
He that will write well in any tongue, must follow this counsel of Aristotle, to speak as the common people do, to think as wise men do: and so should every man understand him, and the judgment of wise men allow him.
He that knows himself, knows others; and he that is ignorant of himself, could not write a very profound lecture on other men's heads.
All poetry has to do is to make a strong communication. All the poet has to do is listen. The poet is not an important fellow. There will also be another poet.
No man was ever yet a great poet, without being at the same time a profound philosopher.