--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, in our opinion no author should be…" description: "\"Now, in our opinion no author should be blamed for obscurity, nor should any pains be grudged in the effort to understand him, provided that he has don..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/alice-meynell-13352_books_now-in-our-opinion-no-author-should-be-b_2398424.png" --- # Now, in our opinion no author should be blamed for… ![“Now, in our opinion no author should be blamed for obscurity, nor should any pains be grudged in the effort to understand him, provided that he has done his best to be intelligible. Difficult thoughts are quite distinct from difficult words. Difficulty of thought is the very heart of poetry.” quote by Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/alice-meynell-13352_books_now-in-our-opinion-no-author-should-be-b_2398424.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/alice-meynell-13352_books_now-in-our-opinion-no-author-should-be-b_2398424.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/alice-meynell-13352_books_now-in-our-opinion-no-author-should-be-b_2398424.png) > “Now, in our opinion no author should be blamed for obscurity, nor should any pains be grudged in the effort to understand him, provided that he has done his best to be intelligible. Difficult thoughts are quite distinct from difficult words. Difficulty of thought is the very heart of poetry.” [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry should be clear; difficulty lies in ideas, not language, and true poetry embraces complex thought. **In simple terms:** Poetry is about deep ideas, not hard words. Key Takeaway Seek clarity in expression. Themes poetry communication intelligibility Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - teaching literature - writing workshops - reading poetry - literary analysis Key Concepts literary criticism philosophy of language Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance depth and clarity? - When does complexity become a barrier? A Different Perspective Even clear language can mask confusing ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“And while the body is confined to one planet, along which it creeps with pain and difficulty; the thought can in an instant transport…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-while-the-body-is-confined-to-one-planet-along-which-it-creeps/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“The more general difficulty with thought is that thought is very active, it's participatory. 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Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“I asked you to come because I need your help.” ... “Those last may be the most difficult four words I’ve ever uttered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/i-asked-you-to-come-because-i-need-your-help-those-last-may-be-the/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [In every language, every culture, the most difficult words you have to say are: 'I'm sorry. Forgive me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/in-every-language-every-culture-the-most-difficult-words-you-have-to/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) ## More by Alice Meynell > [Rome in the ages, dimmed with all her towers, / Floats in the mist, a little cloud at tether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/rome-in-the-ages-dimmed-with-all-her-towers-floats-in-the-mist-a/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [If there is a look of human eyes that tells of perpetual loneliness, so there is also the familiar look that is the sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/if-there-is-a-look-of-human-eyes-that-tells-of-perpetual-loneliness/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [Spirit of place! It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/spirit-of-place-it-is-for-this-we-travel-to-surprise-its-subtlety-and/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [Assuredly it would be a pity if laughter should ever become, like rhetoric and the arts, a habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/assuredly-it-would-be-a-pity-if-laughter-should-ever-become-like/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [In childhood we all have ... a far higher sensibility for April and April evenings - a heartache for them, which in riper years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/in-childhood-we-all-have-a-far-higher-sensibility-for-april-and-april/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [O spring, I know thee! Seek for sweet surprise / In the young children's eyes. / But I have learnt the years, and know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/o-spring-i-know-thee-seek-for-sweet-surprise-in-the-young-children-s/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [recurrence is sure. What the mind suffered last week, or last year, it does not suffer now; but it will suffer again next week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/recurrence-is-sure-what-the-mind-suffered-last-week-or-last-year-it/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [Play is not for every hour of the day, or for any hour taken at random. There is a tide in the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/play-is-not-for-every-hour-of-the-day-or-for-any-hour-taken-at-random/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [It is easy to replace man, and it will take no great time, when Nature has lapsed, to replace Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/it-is-easy-to-replace-man-and-it-will-take-no-great-time-when-nature/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [From the shaken tower A flock of bells take flight, And go with the hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/from-the-shaken-tower-a-flock-of-bells-take-flight-and-go-with-the/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [O daisy mine, what will it be to look / From God's side even of such a simple thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/o-daisy-mine-what-will-it-be-to-look-from-god-s-side-even-of-such-a/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [Children have a fastidiousness that time is slow to cure. It is to be wondered, for example, whether if the elderly were half as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/children-have-a-fastidiousness-that-time-is-slow-to-cure-it-is-to-be/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [The true color of life is the color of the body, the color of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/the-true-color-of-life-is-the-color-of-the-body-the-color-of-the/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [I come from nothing: but from where come the undying thoughts I bear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/i-come-from-nothing-but-from-where-come-the-undying-thoughts-i-bear/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [There is something very cheerful and courageous in the setting-out of a child on a journey of speech with so small baggage and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/there-is-something-very-cheerful-and-courageous-in-the-setting-out-of/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) [Explore all 50 Alice Meynell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Now, in our opinion no author should be blamed for obscurity, nor should any pains be grudged in the effort to understand him, provided that he has done his best to be intelligible. Difficult thoughts are quite distinct from difficult words. 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