--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is very crafted. You can't have…" description: "\"Poetry is very crafted. You can't have too many words. It needs compression. It has to be spare, just the right number of words.\" — Barbara Feldon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/barbara-feldon-45471_compression_poetry-is-very-crafted-you-can-t-have-to_2799557.png" --- # Poetry is very crafted. You can't have too many words. It… ![“Poetry is very crafted. You can't have too many words. It needs compression. It has to be spare, just the right number of words.” quote by Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/barbara-feldon-45471_compression_poetry-is-very-crafted-you-can-t-have-to_2799557.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/barbara-feldon-45471_compression_poetry-is-very-crafted-you-can-t-have-to_2799557.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/barbara-feldon-45471_compression_poetry-is-very-crafted-you-can-t-have-to_2799557.png) > “Poetry is very crafted. You can't have too many words. It needs compression. It has to be spare, just the right number of words.” [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry requires compression; spare, precise language. **In simple terms:** Poetry is concise. Key Takeaway Use precise, minimal words. Themes poetry conciseness craft Mood analytical instructive Type educational creative When to use this quote - creative writing - public speaking Key Concepts editing economy of language Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to omit? - What words carry the most weight? A Different Perspective Over‑compression may lose nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/so-the-writer-who-breeds-more-words-than-he-needs-is-making-a-chore/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [“My hope is that each and every reader will enter the world I've crafted with my words and come out the other side touched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-denby/my-hope-is-that-each-and-every-reader-will-enter-the-world-i-ve/) Megan Denby > [I dream of writing a book like LOVERS some day. It is so spare but so rich. It is history made intimate, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/i-dream-of-writing-a-book-like-lovers-some-day-it-is-so-spare-but-so/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [My words mean nothing to me only if it was a plea I know I ain't no fool I know what I talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-cloud-eagle/my-words-mean-nothing-to-me-only-if-it-was-a-plea-i-know-i-ain-t-no/) [Alva Cloud Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-cloud-eagle/) > [The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-to-learn-to-write-is-to-force-yourself-to-produce-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most people write the same sentence over and over again. The same number of words-say, 8-10, or 10-12. The same sentence structure. Try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/most-people-write-the-same-sentence-over-and-over-again-the-same/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I like bringing poetry's focus on figurative language and compression into the essay. Of course, the musical properties of language, the cadence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-like-bringing-poetry-s-focus-on-figurative-language-and-compression/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [ Only when the kulak refused to deliver grain to the State did \[Joseph\] Stalin, under the pressure of the Left Opposition, accomplish a sharp… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/only-when-the-kulak-refused-to-deliver-grain-to-the-state-did-joseph/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Compression is a necessary evil. The artists I know want to sound competitive. 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It's lacking in air, and it's lacking in majesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-faithfull/i-don-t-like-the-compression-on-compact-discs-it-s-lacking-in-air-and/) [Marianne Faithfull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-faithfull/) > [The thing I see happening is that there's a real compression between generations. There used to be about 20 years difference (in technology use).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/the-thing-i-see-happening-is-that-there-s-a-real-compression-between/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [We were interested in this notion of compression- a lot of the songs were really short so that you'd absorb them in memory rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arto-lindsay/we-were-interested-in-this-notion-of-compression-a-lot-of-the-songs/) [Arto Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arto-lindsay/) ## More by Barbara Feldon > [If people are watching television by themselves, it makes them part of a community of people laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/if-people-are-watching-television-by-themselves-it-makes-them-part-of/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [The secret of living a full life is to be fully engaged, moment to moment, to have something in your life that engages you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/the-secret-of-living-a-full-life-is-to-be-fully-engaged-moment-to/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [I love writing. I've always written journals. I loved writing the book on living alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/i-love-writing-i-ve-always-written-journals-i-loved-writing-the-book/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [I'm not saying that there's anything better than mated bliss at its best, but I'm saying that living alone is as good in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/i-m-not-saying-that-there-s-anything-better-than-mated-bliss-at-its/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [I've always supported myself. I like the sense of knowing exactly where I stand financially, but there is a side of me that longs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/i-ve-always-supported-myself-i-like-the-sense-of-knowing-exactly/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [For 50 percent of Americans marriage is forever, for the rest of us there is another adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/for-50-percent-of-americans-marriage-is-forever-for-the-rest-of-us/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [The thing I love about television is that people watch you in their pajamas, and when they're eating dinner. You're part of the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/the-thing-i-love-about-television-is-that-people-watch-you-in-their/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [I'd like to meet a lovely man who shares my interests. On the other hand, I possibly will not. It's part of the hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/i-d-like-to-meet-a-lovely-man-who-shares-my-interests-on-the-other/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) [Explore all 9 Barbara Feldon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) ## More Compression quotes > [We were interested in this notion of compression- a lot of the songs were really short so that you'd absorb them in memory rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arto-lindsay/we-were-interested-in-this-notion-of-compression-a-lot-of-the-songs/) [Arto Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arto-lindsay/) > [The thing I see happening is that there's a real compression between generations. 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It's lacking in air, and it's lacking in majesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-faithfull/i-don-t-like-the-compression-on-compact-discs-it-s-lacking-in-air-and/) [Marianne Faithfull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-faithfull/) > [Visualizing information is a form of knowledge compression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/visualizing-information-is-a-form-of-knowledge-compression/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [You’re trying to take something that can be described in many, many sentences and pages of prose, but you can convert it into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/you-re-trying-to-take-something-that-can-be-described-in-many-many/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [ At that time \[90th in Lagos\], if you drove through the city, you drove through a foreground that always seemed to be incredibly dramatic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/at-that-time-90th-in-lagos-if-you-drove-through-the-city-you-drove/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Compression is a necessary evil. The artists I know want to sound competitive. You don't want your track to sound quieter or wimpier by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-vig/compression-is-a-necessary-evil-the-artists-i-know-want-to-sound/) [Butch Vig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-vig/) > [ Only when the kulak refused to deliver grain to the State did \[Joseph\] Stalin, under the pressure of the Left Opposition, accomplish a sharp… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/only-when-the-kulak-refused-to-deliver-grain-to-the-state-did-joseph/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [I like bringing poetry's focus on figurative language and compression into the essay. Of course, the musical properties of language, the cadence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-like-bringing-poetry-s-focus-on-figurative-language-and-compression/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [“I was fitted with a specially designed compression filter that allows excessive information to lie dormant until I need to access it. It’s only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-park/i-was-fitted-with-a-specially-designed-compression-filter-that-allows/) [Jessica Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-park/) > [She once complained that her stories were like 'birds bred in cages,' but that concentrated atmosphere, that claustrophobic hothouse of emotion, was her talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-roiphe/she-once-complained-that-her-stories-were-like-birds-bred-in-cages/) [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) > [ Do they \[the publishers of Murphy\] not understand that if the book is slightly obscure it is because it is a compression and thatto… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/do-they-the-publishers-of-murphy-not-understand-that-if-the-book-is/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I like to compete in a suit that will help me save me time and energy by reducing drag, so I race in Aqua…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-o-donnell/i-like-to-compete-in-a-suit-that-will-help-me-save-me-time-and-energy/) [Timothy O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-o-donnell/) > [This involves more than I can discuss here, but do it. Read the writers of great prose dialogue-people like Robert Stone and Joan Didion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/this-involves-more-than-i-can-discuss-here-but-do-it-read-the-writers/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [While players say they like the five-day break, they're also saying they don't like the compression that goes along with it, and that's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bettman/while-players-say-they-like-the-five-day-break-they-re-also-saying/) [Gary Bettman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bettman/) Browse all 45 Compression quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poetry is very crafted. You can't have too many words. It needs compression. 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