---
title: "1 Acquainted Quotes By James Fenton"
description: "1 Acquainted quotes by James Fenton. Plus more from James Fenton and more Acquainted sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/james-fenton-9438_acquainted_poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and_230570.png"
---

> [Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral. Its transmission today is still in part oral, because we become acquainted with poetry through nursery rhymes, which we hear before we can read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/james-fenton-9438_acquainted_poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and_230570.png)

## More by James Fenton

> [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral. Its transmission today is still in part oral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [A glance at the history of European poetry is enough to inform us that rhyme itself is not indispensable. Latin poetry in the classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/a-glance-at-the-history-of-european-poetry-is-enough-to-inform-us/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-song-the-same-rule-applies-as-in-dramatic-verse-the-meaning-must/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Great poetry does not have to be technically intricate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/great-poetry-does-not-have-to-be-technically-intricate/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> ['Love' is so short of perfect rhymes that convention allows half-rhymes like 'move.' The alternative is a plague of doves, or a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/love-is-so-short-of-perfect-rhymes-that-convention-allows-half-rhymes/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Lyric poetry is, of course, musical in origin. I do know that what happened to poetry in the twentieth century was that it began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/lyric-poetry-is-of-course-musical-in-origin-i-do-know-that-what/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [At somewhere around 10 syllables, the English poetic line is at its most relaxed and manageable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/at-somewhere-around-10-syllables-the-english-poetic-line-is-at-its/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-rap-as-in-most-popular-lyrics-a-very-low-standard-is-set-for-rhyme/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [The Italian word 'stanza' means 'a room', and a room is a good way to conceive of a stanza. A room, generally speaking, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-italian-word-stanza-means-a-room-and-a-room-is-a-good-way-to/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Some people think that English poetry begins with the Anglo-Saxons. I don't, because I can't accept that there is any continuity between the traditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/some-people-think-that-english-poetry-begins-with-the-anglo-saxons-i/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/nobody-really-knows-whether-they-are-a-poet-i-knew-i-was-interested/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

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