--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imaginative poetry produces a far greater…" description: "\"“Imaginative poetry produces a far greater mental strain than novels. It produces probably the severest strain of any form of literature. It is the hig..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png" --- # Imaginative poetry produces a far greater mental strain… ![“Imaginative poetry produces a far greater mental strain than novels. It produces probably the severest strain of any form of literature. It is the highest form of literature. It yields the highest form of pleasure, and teaches the highest form of wisdom. In a word, there is nothing to compare with…” quote by Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png) > ““Imaginative poetry produces a far greater mental strain than novels. It produces probably the severest strain of any form of literature. It is the highest form of literature. It yields the highest form of pleasure, and teaches the highest form of wisdom. In a word, there is nothing to compare with it. I say this with sad consciousness of the fact that the majority of people do not read poetry.”” [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry demands intense mental effort, offering profound pleasure and wisdom, yet few read it. **In simple terms:** Poetry is demanding but rewarding, andRare people read it. Key Takeaway Read poetry to gain deep insight. Themes literature creativity intellectual challenge Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal reflection - creative writing - literary discussion Key Concepts cognitive load aesthetic pleasure wisdom acquisition Questions to Reflect On - Why do people avoid poetry? - How can poetry be made more approachable? A Different Perspective Many find poetry inaccessible or overly abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [When writing poetry, it is not that produces a bright idea, but the bright idea that kindles the fire of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/when-writing-poetry-it-is-not-that-produces-a-bright-idea-but-the/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Literature is the best thing humanity has. Poetry is the heart of literature, the highest concentration of everything that is the best in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyudmila-ulitskaya/literature-is-the-best-thing-humanity-has-poetry-is-the-heart-of/) Lyudmila Ulitskaya > [Prabhupada's definitely affected the world in an absolute way. What he was giving us was the highest literature, the highest knowledge. I mean there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/prabhupada-s-definitely-affected-the-world-in-an-absolute-way-what-he/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [In the garden of literature, the highest and the most charismatic flowers are always the quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-the-garden-of-literature-the-highest-and-the-most-charismatic/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I will never cease advising my friends and enemies to read poetry before anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/i-will-never-cease-advising-my-friends-and-enemies-to-read-poetry/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“Do lawyers read poetry?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kestral-m-gaian/do-lawyers-read-poetry/) Kestral M. Gaian > [One doesn't read poetry while thinking of other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/one-doesn-t-read-poetry-while-thinking-of-other-things/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [When I really want to be soothed and reminded of why people bother to fiddle with sentences, I often read poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/when-i-really-want-to-be-soothed-and-reminded-of-why-people-bother-to/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Reading, at the deepest level, is a physical experience. Most people are not attuned to this, most people don't learn how to read -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/reading-at-the-deepest-level-is-a-physical-experience-most-people-are/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Often poetry, especially the sort of poetry I write, is concerned with looking at the borders between the sensual and the spiritual and seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/often-poetry-especially-the-sort-of-poetry-i-write-is-concerned-with/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [Poetry can save the world. I'm a real believer in its power of healing and transforming. I wish more people read it ... Poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-muske-dukes/poetry-can-save-the-world-i-m-a-real-believer-in-its-power-of-healing/) Carol Muske-Dukes > [Nobody ever told me what to read, or ever put poetry in my way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-rosenberg/nobody-ever-told-me-what-to-read-or-ever-put-poetry-in-my-way/) [Isaac Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-rosenberg/) > [“Read it to me.” “Seriously?” he said quietly. “You want me to read you poetry? Like saving your life ten times wasn’t enough?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynn-kelly/read-it-to-me-seriously-he-said-quietly-you-want-me-to-read-you/) [Brynn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynn-kelly/) > [I love to read poetry but I haven't written anything that I'm willing to show anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-love-to-read-poetry-but-i-haven-t-written-anything-that-i-m-willing/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [We don't get groupies.We get teenagers who want to read us their poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/we-don-t-get-groupies-we-get-teenagers-who-want-to-read-us-their/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) ## More by Arnold Bennett > [The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. But men have attained it. And they have attained it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-chances-are-that-you-have-already-come-to-believe-that-happiness/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [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/) > [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [The parents exist to teach the child, but also they must learn what the child has to teach them; and the child has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-parents-exist-to-teach-the-child-but-also-they-must-learn-what/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years in eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/a-man-of-sixty-has-spent-twenty-years-in-bed-and-over-three-years-in/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“What then? Are we only to buy the books that we read? The question has merely to be thus bluntly put, and it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/what-then-are-we-only-to-buy-the-books-that-we-read-the-question-has/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [The most important preliminary to the task of arranging one's life so that one may live fully and comfortably within one's daily budget of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-most-important-preliminary-to-the-task-of-arranging-one-s-life-so/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [You are not in charge of the universe; you are in charge of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/you-are-not-in-charge-of-the-universe-you-are-in-charge-of-yourself/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“When one has thoroughly got imbued into one's head the leading truth that nothing happens without a cause, one grows not only large-minded, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/when-one-has-thoroughly-got-imbued-into-one-s-head-the-leading-truth/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/any-change-even-a-change-for-the-better-is-always-accompanied-by/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“The public is a great actuality, like war. If you are a creative and creating artist, you cannot ignore it, though it can ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-public-is-a-great-actuality-like-war-if-you-are-a-creative-and/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“Good clothes, when put to the test, survive a change in fortune, as a Roman arch survives the luxury of departed empire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-clothes-when-put-to-the-test-survive-a-change-in-fortune-as-a/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Ninety percent of the friction of daily life is caused by tone of voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/ninety-percent-of-the-friction-of-daily-life-is-caused-by-tone-of/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [During a long and varied career as a bachelor, I have noticed that marriage is the death of politeness between a man and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/during-a-long-and-varied-career-as-a-bachelor-i-have-noticed-that/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) [Explore all 133 Arnold Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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": "“Imaginative poetry produces a far greater mental strain than novels. It produces probably the severest strain of any form of literature. It is the highest form of literature. It yields the highest form of pleasure, and teaches the highest form of wisdom. In a word, there is nothing to compare with it. I say this with sad consciousness of the fact that the majority of people do not read poetry.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arnold Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greater-mental-strain-than-novels/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greater-mental-strain-than-novels/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/arnold-bennett-3325_books_imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greate_2944509.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imaginative poetry produces a far greater mental strain than novels. It produces probably the severest…” — Arnold Bennett", "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": "Arnold Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Imaginative poetry produces a far greater...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greater-mental-strain-than-novels/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/imaginative-poetry-produces-a-far-greater-mental-strain-than-novels/#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 } } ] } ```