---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse…"
description: "\"It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy.\" — Aristophanes"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png"
---

#  It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy.

![“It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy.” quote by Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png)

> “It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy.”

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Poets should aim for elegance, not crudeness.

**In simple terms:** Poetry deserves refinement.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate refined expression.

Themes

art literature taste

Mood

playful critical

Type

literary humorous

When to use this quote

- writing
- public speaking
- creative work

Key Concepts

aesthetics craft

Questions to Reflect On

- Is coarseness ever effective?
- How does style affect impact?

A Different Perspective

Roughness can be purposeful in satire.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/)

## Related quotes

> [I have always considered The Merry Wives one of the worst plays, if not altogether the worst, that Shakespeare has left us. The wit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/i-have-always-considered-the-merry-wives-one-of-the-worst-plays-if/)

[George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/)

> [Behind Joy and Laughter there may be a temperament, coarse, hard and callous. But behind Sorrow there is always Sorrow. Pain, unlike Pleasure, wears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/behind-joy-and-laughter-there-may-be-a-temperament-coarse-hard-and/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/most-men-even-in-this-comparatively-free-country-through-mere/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [It didn’t and doesn’t turn out well. There is no happy ending to the story of sorrow if you are born with a predilection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/it-didn-t-and-doesn-t-turn-out-well-there-is-no-happy-ending-to-the/)

[Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/)

> [Music may appeal to crude and coarse feelings or to refined and noble ones; and in so far as it does the latter it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/music-may-appeal-to-crude-and-coarse-feelings-or-to-refined-and-noble/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [The Americans never use the word peasant, because they have no idea of the class which that term denotes; the ignorance of more remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-americans-never-use-the-word-peasant-because-they-have-no-idea-of/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [Taking food alone tends to make one hard and coarse. Those accustomed to it must lead a Spartan life if they are not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/taking-food-alone-tends-to-make-one-hard-and-coarse-those-accustomed/)

[Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/)

> [It had never occurred to him that the body of a woman of fifty, blown up to monstrous dimensions by childbearing, then hardened, roughened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-had-never-occurred-to-him-that-the-body-of-a-woman-of-fifty-blown/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-bosom-can-ache-beneath-diamond-brooches-and-many-a-blithe-heart/)

[Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/)

> [There is no country in which so absolute a homage is paid to wealth. In America there is a touch of shame when a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-country-in-which-so-absolute-a-homage-is-paid-to-wealth/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cloth. Their beauty is inseparable from their function. Handicrafts belong to a world existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/a-glass-pitcher-a-wicker-basket-a-tunic-of-coarse-cloth-their-beauty/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [It scored right away with me by being the smooth, fine-grained sort, not the coarse flaky, dry-on-the-outside rubbish full of chunds of gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-scored-right-away-with-me-by-being-the-smooth-fine-grained-sort/)

[Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/)

> [No man receives the full culture of a man in whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished; and there is no condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/no-man-receives-the-full-culture-of-a-man-in-whom-the-sensibility-to/)

[William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/)

> [Of what use is it to please the herd? They are simply coarse animals - for all that is admirable in man is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/of-what-use-is-it-to-please-the-herd-they-are-simply-coarse-animals/)

[H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/)

> [Before Luce could reply, a skinny, dark haired girl appeared in from of her, wagging her long fingers in Luce's face. "Ooooooh," the girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/before-luce-could-reply-a-skinny-dark-haired-girl-appeared-in-from-of/)

[Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/)

## More by Aristophanes

> [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“LYSISTRATA By the Goddesses, you'll find that here await you Four companies of most pugnacious women Armed cap-a-pie from the topmost louring curl To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-by-the-goddesses-you-ll-find-that-here-await-you-four/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Thou shouldst not decide until thou hast heard what both have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/thou-shouldst-not-decide-until-thou-hast-heard-what-both-have-to-say/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Old age is second childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/old-age-is-second-childhood/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/love-is-simply-the-name-for-the-desire-and-the-pursuit-of-the-whole/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Tis not for us to warn a wilful sinner; We stay him not, but let him run his course, Till by misfortunes rous'd, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/tis-not-for-us-to-warn-a-wilful-sinner-we-stay-him-not-but-let-him/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [Women, you overheated dipsomaniacs, never passing up a chance to wangle a drink, a great boon to bartenders but a bane to us--not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/women-you-overheated-dipsomaniacs-never-passing-up-a-chance-to-wangle/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“LYSISTRATA You know how to work. Play with him, lead him on, Seduce him to the cozening-point—kiss him, kiss him, Then slip your mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-you-know-how-to-work-play-with-him-lead-him-on-seduce-him/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [ \[Y\]ou \[man\] are fool enough, it seems, to dare to war with \[woman=\] me, when for your faithful ally you might win me easily. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/y-ou-man-are-fool-enough-it-seems-to-dare-to-war-with-woman-me-when/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-cannot-teach-a-crab-to-walk-straight/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [How can I study from below, that which is above?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/how-can-i-study-from-below-that-which-is-above/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [First listen, my friend, and then you may shriek and bluster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/first-listen-my-friend-and-then-you-may-shriek-and-bluster/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [If a man owes me money, I never seem to forget. But if I do the owing, I somehow never remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-a-man-owes-me-money-i-never-seem-to-forget-but-if-i-do-the-owing-i/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

[Explore all 132 Aristophanes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## More Bad taste quotes

> [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/)

[Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/)

> [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/)

[Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/)

> [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“Others praise ceremonial Magic, and are supposed to suffer much Ecstasy! Our asylums are crowded, the stage is over-run! Is it by symbolizing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare-2/others-praise-ceremonial-magic-and-are-supposed-to-suffer-much/)

[Austin Osman, Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare-2/)

> [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/)

[Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/)

> [“Bryan gaped, as though that was more than he'd been expecting. "Oh. Okay. Well, um, there's a silent film festival downtown next week. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/bryan-gaped-as-though-that-was-more-than-he-d-been-expecting-oh-okay/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [“lack, or loutish and crass kollective is a program dedicated to the proposition that vulgarity and bad taste are an inalienable right. the lackies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/lack-or-loutish-and-crass-kollective-is-a-program-dedicated-to-the/)

[Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/)

> [It's not about doing over the living room of someone who has bad taste in color. This is about restoring historic buildings and instilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/it-s-not-about-doing-over-the-living-room-of-someone-who-has-bad/)

[Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/)

> [The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste invariably have very bad taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-orton/the-kind-of-people-who-always-go-on-about-whether-a-thing-is-in-good/)

[Joe Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-orton/)

> [“Life is too short for bad taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-russell/life-is-too-short-for-bad-taste/)

Glenn Russell

> [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/)

[Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/)

> [The line between humor and bad taste is your audience, in which some people will find everything offensive, and some people will find nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/the-line-between-humor-and-bad-taste-is-your-audience-in-which-some/)

[Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/)

> [This is going to leave a bad taste in a lot of people's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-day-hicks/this-is-going-to-leave-a-bad-taste-in-a-lot-of-people-s-eyes/)

Louise Day Hicks

> [To use bad taste, you have to know the rules of good taste. I've always thanked my mother for that. She taught how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/to-use-bad-taste-you-have-to-know-the-rules-of-good-taste-i-ve-always/)

[John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/)

> ['Bad Taste' was - it was, in many respects, my sort of, my, I guess, my single-minded desire to want to break into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/bad-taste-was-it-was-in-many-respects-my-sort-of-my-i-guess-my-single/)

[Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/)

Browse all 230 Bad taste quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Aristophanes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse-and-hairy/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bad taste"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse-and-hairy/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/aristophanes-3340_bad-taste_it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse_2665181.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy.” — Aristophanes",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Aristophanes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is bad taste for a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse-and-hairy/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/it-is-bad-taste-for-a-poet-to-be-coarse-and-hairy/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
