“100+ Richard Wilbur Quotes” is a collection of profound insights and poetic wisdom from the renowned American poet Richard Wilbur. With over a hundred quotes, this compilation offers a glimpse into his mastery of language, creativity, and the human experience. Whether you’re a poetry enthusiast or seek inspiration and reflection, these quotes provide a treasure trove of thought-provoking and beautifully crafted words from one of the literary world’s distinguished voices.
Richard Wilbur Quotes
Poetry is the subject of a poem, not its object.
In love, we do more than we understand, and understand more than we know.
A poem can be said to be an arrangement of echoes.
When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations.
To write well is to be able to suffer.
Art is the means we have of undoing the damage of haste. It’s what everything else isn’t.
The soul, I think, is a verb rather than a noun, an event rather than a thing.
The opposite of an idealist is too often a man without love.
A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it.
All my poems are elegies in that whatever is lost in them is always lost in a kind of celebratory way.
A poem is an invitation to a journey of the imagination.
A poet is a man who manages, in a lifetime of standing out in thunderstorms, to be struck by lightning five or six times.
Poetry is like making a joke. If you get one word wrong at the end of a joke, you’ve lost the whole thing.
The heart’s reasons are in reason’s care.
The gift of the imagination is the discovery that we each contain within ourselves, as in an egg, a vision of the divine, a light and spirit that requires only the iridescent crack of birth to emerge.
When you make a poem, you discover something about yourself.
A poem might be defined as thinking about feelings—about human feelings and frailties.
A well-made poem stirs the heart and the mind.
The thing about poetry is it’s the one spot in the arts where saying something is not the same as doing something..
Poetry is a way of remembering what it would impoverish us to forget.
The world in the evening light is like a patient etherized upon a table.
Everything we do is in some way poetry.
Writing is both mask and unveiling.
A poem can be both a meditation and an exclamation.
I feel that the essence of spiritual practice is acceptance of the inevitability of life and death.
In art, one passage, one stanza, can draw together a total experience.
The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
A poem can give one a sense of being connected to the world and yet transcending it.
The meaning of a poem is like a deep, flowing river that never quite gives up all its secrets.
A poem is a place where the conditions of beyondness and withinness are made palpable.
In the poem, you cannot say one thing and at the same time be saying another. This would be duplicity.
The poem is a litany of affirmation.
A poet must never make a statement simply because it is sounds poetically exciting.
A poem should be motionless in time as the moon climbs.
Language, in essence, is a distancing device.
A poem should not mean but be.
A poem is a made thing, a moment of order.
A poem, in the act of being written, is always departing from its blueprint.
We are caught between a knowing and an unknowing.
Every poem is a strict analogue for a transcendent moment.
The reader of a poem should reckon to be drawn into it.
Poetry is an act of attention, a sharpening of the focus of consciousness.
A poem is a small (or large) machine made out of words.
Every poem is a coat of arms.
A poem must not be overloaded with imagery.
A poem is not merely a series of sounds or symbols.
A poem is like a chest of drawers.
In poetry, form and content cannot be separated.
A poem is a treasure chest of something new or unknown.
Poetry is an act of praise.
The act of writing is the act of discovering what you believe.
Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.
A poem can be a mirror, reflecting the reader’s own thoughts and emotions.
The poet’s job is to create beauty out of the chaos of life.
A good poem is a marriage of sound and sense.
A poet’s words are like breadcrumbs leading to the heart of the poem.
The beauty of a poem lies in its ability to reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary.
A poem is a way to capture fleeting moments and make them eternal.
In poetry, we find solace for our deepest sorrows and a celebration of our greatest joys.
A poem is a bridge between the inner and outer worlds.
Poetry is the language of the soul.
The poet’s imagination is a boundless playground.
A poem is a dance of words on the page.
Writing poetry is like painting with words.
A poem is a window into the poet’s mind.
A poem is a conversation between the poet and the reader.
In poetry, we find truth in the midst of ambiguity.
The power of a poem lies in its ability to evoke emotions.
A poem is a song of the heart.
Poetry is a journey into the unknown.
A poem is a gift to the reader, an offering of beauty and meaning.
The poet’s pen is a magic wand, transforming words into worlds.
In poetry, we find the music of language.
A poem is a tapestry of words, woven with care and precision.
The poet is a sculptor of language, shaping it into new forms.
A poem is a puzzle waiting to be solved.
Poetry is a mirror that reflects the human experience.
A good poem is a testament to the power of language.
In poetry, we find the eternal in the ephemeral.
A poem is a glimpse into the poet’s soul.
These quotes further illuminate Richard Wilbur’s thoughts on poetry, creativity, and the profound impact of words and language on our lives.
A poem is a window into the soul of the poet.
Poetry is the alchemy of language, turning words into gold.
The beauty of a poem lies in its ability to capture a moment and make it timeless.
A poet is a witness to the world’s beauty and its imperfections.
In poetry, we find the power to heal and to inspire.
A poem is a song of the heart, a melody of emotions.
The poet’s words are a map to the inner landscape of the human spirit.
Poetry is a voyage into the uncharted territory of the imagination.
A poem is a gift from the poet to the reader, a shared experience of language and emotion.
The poet’s pen is a sword that cuts through the noise of the world to reveal its hidden truths.
In poetry, we discover the profound in the everyday.
A poem is a tapestry of images and ideas, woven together with care and precision.
Poetry is the art of distilling the essence of life into words.
A poem is a mirror that reflects the complexities of the human soul.
The power of a poem lies in its ability to move the reader to tears or laughter.
A poet is an explorer of the inner and outer worlds.
In poetry, we find the sacred in the mundane.
A poem is a dance of words, a ballet of language.
Poetry is the language of the heart, the voice of the soul.
The poet’s words are a bridge between the known and the unknown.
A poem is a vessel for the poet’s deepest thoughts and emotions.
A good poem is a work of art that resonates with the reader long after it’s read.
In poetry, we find the power to transcend time and space.
A poem is a glimpse into the mystery of existence.
Poetry is the music of language, the symphony of words.
A poet is a magician who conjures worlds with words.
A poem is a treasure chest of meaning and beauty.
In poetry, we discover the extraordinary in the ordinary.
A poem is a whisper from the soul to the heart.
Poetry is the expression of the human spirit in its purest form.
