All poetry is supposed to be instructive but in an unnoticeable manner; it is supposed to make us aware of what it would be valuable to instruct ourselves in; we must deduce the lesson on our own, just as with life.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Poetry should teach subtly, letting readers discover lessons themselves, much like life.
- In plain terms
- Poetry teaches quietly, requiring personal discovery.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek meaning in art rather than explicit instruction.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you know when a poem has taught you?
- Can subtlety hinder learning?
Another view
Some may miss the lesson without guidance.
More from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Should I not be proud, when for twenty years I have had to admit to myself that the great Newton and all the mathematicians and noble calculators along with hi…
Permalink to quote #19 One must be something in order to do something.
Permalink to quote #21 For I have been a man, and that means to have been a fighter.
Permalink to quote #18
Related quotes
The poet presents the imagination with images from life and human characters and situations, sets them all in motion and leaves it to the beholder to let these…
Arthur SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer quote #64 Without books, God is silent, justice dormant, natural science at a stand, philosophy lame, letters dumb, and all things involved in darkness.
Thomas V. BartholinThomas V. Bartholin quote #1 Persian Sufi poetry is animated by a vision of divine beauty-that beauty which is in the words of Keats, 'a joy forever.' This beauty is also, in the theologic…
Hossein Elahi GhomsheiHossein Elahi Ghomshei quote #2