--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Does a poet create, originate, initiate…" description: "\"Does a poet create, originate, initiate the thing called a poem, or is his behavior merely the product of his genetic and environmental histories?\" — B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_does-a-poet-create-originate-initiate-th_1899122.png" --- # Does a poet create, originate, initiate the thing called a… ![“Does a poet create, originate, initiate the thing called a poem, or is his behavior merely the product of his genetic and environmental histories?” quote by B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_does-a-poet-create-originate-initiate-th_1899122.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_does-a-poet-create-originate-initiate-th_1899122.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_does-a-poet-create-originate-initiate-th_1899122.png) > “Does a poet create, originate, initiate the thing called a poem, or is his behavior merely the product of his genetic and environmental histories?” [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions whether poetic creation is a free act or determined by biology and experience. **In simple terms:** It asks if poetry is original or just shaped by genetics and environment. Key Takeaway Consider how much freedom you have in creative work. Themes creativity determinism artistic identity Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - writing poetry - teaching literature - psychology research - personal artistic practice Key Concepts behaviorism free will cultural influence Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your art is shaped by your background? - Can free will coexist with determinism? A Different Perspective It may overlook the role of conscious intention and cultural tradition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Environmental history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-history/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The first task of the poet is to create the person who will write the poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kunitz/the-first-task-of-the-poet-is-to-create-the-person-who-will-write-the/) [Stanley Kunitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kunitz/) > [“With you as an inspiration, a painter will create his best painting, a writer will write his best literature and a poet will create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/with-you-as-an-inspiration-a-painter-will-create-his-best-painting-a/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I’m a poet. And then I put the poetry in the drama. I put it in short stories, and I put it in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-m-a-poet-and-then-i-put-the-poetry-in-the-drama-i-put-it-in-short/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“If we leave that general descriptive talk where everything which looks like a poem can be called a poem and turn instead to normative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-gustafsson/if-we-leave-that-general-descriptive-talk-where-everything-which/) [Lars Gustafsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-gustafsson/) > [The question "From where does the poet get it?" addresses only the what, nobody learns anything about the how when asking that question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-question-from-where-does-the-poet-get-it-addresses-only-the-what/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [How does the poet speak to men with power, but by being still more a man than they](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/how-does-the-poet-speak-to-men-with-power-but-by-being-still-more-a/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [For not by art does the poet sing, but by power divine. Had he learned by rules of art, he would have known how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-not-by-art-does-the-poet-sing-but-by-power-divine-had-he-learned/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“Nothing fills the world quite as poetry does. A poet need not dwell on the pagecount of his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-botta/nothing-fills-the-world-quite-as-poetry-does-a-poet-need-not-dwell-on/) [D.A. Botta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-botta/) > [“In the 1940s dams were synonymous with progress, and the rivers were to be conquered with the fervour of a pioneer wielding an axe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-palmer/in-the-1940s-dams-were-synonymous-with-progress-and-the-rivers-were/) Tim Palmer > [ Environmental history... refer\[s\] to the past contact of man with his total habitat. . . . 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Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The alphabet was a great invention, which enabled men to store and to learn with little effort what others had learned the hard way-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-alphabet-was-a-great-invention-which-enabled-men-to-store-and-to/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The people who control the condition in which we live have no reason to think beyond more than the next five or 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-people-who-control-the-condition-in-which-we-live-have-no-reason/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-am-opposed-to-the-military-use-of-animals-i-am-also-opposed-to-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A person's genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-person-s-genetic-endowment-a-product-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/if-you-re-old-don-t-try-to-change-yourself-change-your-environment/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) [Explore all 105 B. F. 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Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) Burne Hogarth > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! 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