--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All you can usually say about a poem or a…" description: "\"All you can usually say about a poem or a picture is, 'Look at it, listen to it.' Whether you listen to a piece of music or a poem, or look at a pictur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/basil-bunting-27261_common_all-you-can-usually-say-about-a-poem-or_1184158.png" --- # All you can usually say about a poem or a picture is… ![“All you can usually say about a poem or a picture is, 'Look at it, listen to it.' Whether you listen to a piece of music or a poem, or look at a picture or a jug or a piece of sculpture, what matters about it is not what it has in common with others of its kind, but what is singularly its own.” quote by Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/basil-bunting-27261_common_all-you-can-usually-say-about-a-poem-or_1184158.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/basil-bunting-27261_common_all-you-can-usually-say-about-a-poem-or_1184158.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/basil-bunting-27261_common_all-you-can-usually-say-about-a-poem-or_1184158.png) > “All you can usually say about a poem or a picture is, 'Look at it, listen to it.' Whether you listen to a piece of music or a poem, or look at a picture or a jug or a piece of sculpture, what matters about it is not what it has in common with others of its kind, but what is singularly its own.” [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The essence of art lies in its unique, singular qualities, not its similarities to other works. **In simple terms:** Art is valued for its individuality. Key Takeaway Seek the distinct voice in each piece. Themes art individuality perception Mood contemplative inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery visits - reading poetry - listening to music - studying sculpture Key Concepts aesthetics singularity interpretation Questions to Reflect On - What makes a work stand out to you? - How do you balance uniqueness with tradition? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective, leading to differing views on what is singular. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) ## Related quotes > [Whether you listen to a piece of music, or a poem, or look at a picture or a jug, or a piece of sculpture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/whether-you-listen-to-a-piece-of-music-or-a-poem-or-look-at-a-picture/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Sometimes the only way I know how to work through something is by writing a poem. And sometimes I get to the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/sometimes-the-only-way-i-know-how-to-work-through-something-is-by/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [Truck drivers stop me and say, 'What is the poem for the day?' or 'Give me a poem for my girl.' I have one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-russell/truck-drivers-stop-me-and-say-what-is-the-poem-for-the-day-or-give-me/) [Nipsey Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-russell/) > [You say to yourself, Well, this poem isn't going to be any good, but I'll write it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/you-say-to-yourself-well-this-poem-isn-t-going-to-be-any-good-but-i/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“Some writers might tell you that writing is like a piece of magic - a process of creating something out of nothing, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-marshall-stoneking/some-writers-might-tell-you-that-writing-is-like-a-piece-of-magic-a/) [Billy Marshall Stoneking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-marshall-stoneking/) > [Like a pianist runs her fingers over the keys, I'll search my mind for what to say. Now, the poem may want you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/like-a-pianist-runs-her-fingers-over-the-keys-i-ll-search-my-mind-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Best to say that once a poem is finished I trust it to make its way, and I trust readers will find their way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/best-to-say-that-once-a-poem-is-finished-i-trust-it-to-make-its-way/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [My mentor made me say a poem over and over. 'Stop! That's not your voice. Start again.' I was sobbing by the end, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamila-woods/my-mentor-made-me-say-a-poem-over-and-over-stop-that-s-not-your-voice/) [Jamila Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamila-woods/) > [I almost never these days sit down with a CD or my laptop and just listen to a piece with a score. I probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-almost-never-these-days-sit-down-with-a-cd-or-my-laptop-and-just/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [When I listen to a record, or when I'm making a record, I listen to everything. I listen to the drums, the bass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/when-i-listen-to-a-record-or-when-i-m-making-a-record-i-listen-to-2/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [When I listen to a record, or when I'm making a record, I listen to everything. I listen to the drums, the bass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/when-i-listen-to-a-record-or-when-i-m-making-a-record-i-listen-to/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [You listen to a piece of music and it will remind you of something - it might make you happy, it might make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-rhodes/you-listen-to-a-piece-of-music-and-it-will-remind-you-of-something-it/) [Nick Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-rhodes/) > [Poetry’s medium is the individual chest and throat and mouth of whoever undertakes to say the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-the-individual-chest-and-throat-and-mouth-of/) [Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/) > [I listen to a piece of music and really get inside it and let it suggest a little universe to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cunningham/i-listen-to-a-piece-of-music-and-really-get-inside-it-and-let-it/) [Chris Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cunningham/) > [Poetry is a language for when you can't quite write prose about something, you can't quite say it, but if you do a poem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/poetry-is-a-language-for-when-you-can-t-quite-write-prose-about/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) ## More by Basil Bunting > [“Poet appointed dare not decline to walk among the bogus...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/poet-appointed-dare-not-decline-to-walk-among-the-bogus/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [“The mason stirs. Words! Pens are too light. Take a chisel to write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/the-mason-stirs-words-pens-are-too-light-take-a-chisel-to-write/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [The times are squalid. They always were. It is a poet's duty to hold the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/the-times-are-squalid-they-always-were-it-is-a-poet-s-duty-to-hold/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Always carry a corkscrew and the wine shall provide itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/always-carry-a-corkscrew-and-the-wine-shall-provide-itself/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [But their determination to banish fools foundered ultimately in the installation of absolute idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/but-their-determination-to-banish-fools-foundered-ultimately-in-the/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [“It tastes good, garlic and salt in it, with the half-sweet white wine of Orvieto on scanty grass under great trees where the ramparts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/it-tastes-good-garlic-and-salt-in-it-with-the-half-sweet-white-wine/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Praise the green earth. Chance has appointed her home, workshop, larder, middenpit. Her lousy skin scabbed here and there by cities provides us with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/praise-the-green-earth-chance-has-appointed-her-home-workshop-larder/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [The mystic purchases a moment of exhilaration with a lifetime of confusion; and the confusion is infectious and destructive. It is confusing and destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/the-mystic-purchases-a-moment-of-exhilaration-with-a-lifetime-of/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [To appreciate present conditions, collate them with those of antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/to-appreciate-present-conditions-collate-them-with-those-of-antiquity/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Whether you listen to a piece of music, or a poem, or look at a picture or a jug, or a piece of sculpture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/whether-you-listen-to-a-piece-of-music-or-a-poem-or-look-at-a-picture/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Compose aloud: poetry is a sound. Never explain- your reader is as smart as you. Your reader is not just any reader, but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/compose-aloud-poetry-is-a-sound-never-explain-your-reader-is-as-smart/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Can a moment of madness make up for an age of consent?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/can-a-moment-of-madness-make-up-for-an-age-of-consent/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Name and date split in soft slate a few months obliterate. 166](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/name-and-date-split-in-soft-slate-a-few-months-obliterate-166/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [“...and always the cutting out and the buggering about and the buggering about and the rewriting and so on...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/and-always-the-cutting-out-and-the-buggering-about-and-the-buggering/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) > [Men are fools to invest in real estate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-bunting/men-are-fools-to-invest-in-real-estate/) [Basil Bunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) [Explore all 20 Basil Bunting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-bunting/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. 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If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All you can usually say about a poem or a picture is, 'Look at it, listen to it.' 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