--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A muse is something that serves a poet…" description: "\"A muse is something that serves a poet well early in his or her career. In later years one writers out of one's own driven inspiration. One learns to f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/clarence-major-44496_driven_a-muse-is-something-that-serves-a-poet-w_2786639.jpg" --- # A muse is something that serves a poet well early in his… ![“A muse is something that serves a poet well early in his or her career. In later years one writers out of one's own driven inspiration. One learns to find inspiration rather than waiting for it to come for a visit. I can find inspiration almost anywhere.” quote by Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/clarence-major-44496_driven_a-muse-is-something-that-serves-a-poet-w_2786639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/clarence-major-44496_driven_a-muse-is-something-that-serves-a-poet-w_2786639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/clarence-major-44496_driven_a-muse-is-something-that-serves-a-poet-w_2786639.jpg) > “A muse is something that serves a poet well early in his or her career. In later years one writers out of one's own driven inspiration. One learns to find inspiration rather than waiting for it to come for a visit. I can find inspiration almost anywhere.” [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early inspiration often comes from external muses, but mature creators must generate internal motivation and find inspiration everywhere. **In simple terms:** Inspiration shifts from external to internal over time. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner drive rather than waiting for muses. Themes creativity inspiration growth self‑reliance artistic development Mood thoughtful encouraging practical Type advice motivational When to use this quote - writing - teaching - personal development - creative workshops Key Concepts motivation self‑discovery discipline Questions to Reflect On - What internal sources can you tap for inspiration? - How can you train yourself to find ideas proactively? A Different Perspective Relying solely on external muses can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muse/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [I started earning a living as a poet rather early on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-started-earning-a-living-as-a-poet-rather-early-on/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [“If anyone comes to the gates of poetry and expects to become an adequate poet by acquiring expert knowledge of the subject without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-anyone-comes-to-the-gates-of-poetry-and-expects-to-become-an/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I who once wrote songs with keen delight am now by sorrow driven to take up melancholy measures. Wounded Muses tell me what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/i-who-once-wrote-songs-with-keen-delight-am-now-by-sorrow-driven-to/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [Improvisation is intuition in action, a way to discover the muse and learn to respond to her call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/improvisation-is-intuition-in-action-a-way-to-discover-the-muse-and/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I get the niggling feeling in my belly that says it's time for a new song. It hits at the most random, inopportune times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-get-the-niggling-feeling-in-my-belly-that-says-it-s-time-for-a-new/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-for-a-muse-of-fire-that-would-ascend-the-brightest-heaven-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“A Letter from a Muse to Her Poet: Dear sir, I was called away and couldn’t bring you, but now I feel haunted. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/a-letter-from-a-muse-to-her-poet-dear-sir-i-was-called-away-and/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [Wrestling gave me something outside science, which was my muse before this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/velveteen-dream/wrestling-gave-me-something-outside-science-which-was-my-muse-before/) [Velveteen Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/velveteen-dream/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Muses had a way of killing those whom they inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/muses-had-a-way-of-killing-those-whom-they-inspired/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I'm truly, 100% guided by the characters and my Muse. If one of the characters suddenly decided to do something very different, I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/i-m-truly-100-guided-by-the-characters-and-my-muse-if-one-of-the/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) ## More by Clarence Major > [I've never considered soundtracks for what I write. Nor have I considered computer drawing or painting. As a painter, I'm still trying to perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/i-ve-never-considered-soundtracks-for-what-i-write-nor-have-i/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [The prospect of Hillary Clinton not winning the presidency opens up a vast dark hole, an unknown, beyond which it is impossible to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/the-prospect-of-hillary-clinton-not-winning-the-presidency-opens-up-a/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [My fiction is based on both my own experience transformed, altered, juggled and changed to suit the demands of composition, character, and plot. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/my-fiction-is-based-on-both-my-own-experience-transformed-altered/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [The writer writes about what happened in order to make it make sense, to put it in perspective, to turn it into art; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/the-writer-writes-about-what-happened-in-order-to-make-it-make-sense/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [Life can be unsettling. Writers have always gravitated to conflict, unhappiness and disturbing themes. We as readers would get bored pretty quickly if stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/life-can-be-unsettling-writers-have-always-gravitated-to-conflict/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [Socially and politically, we seem to be living in dire times, worse times than in the past. But there were far worse horrors in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/socially-and-politically-we-seem-to-be-living-in-dire-times-worse/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [In the interest of the ethical and moral health of the country, the writer, the poet, the artist, the thinker, must hold a mirror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/in-the-interest-of-the-ethical-and-moral-health-of-the-country-the/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [Despite the obstacles of race and class, I was always taught that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. African-American writers, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/despite-the-obstacles-of-race-and-class-i-was-always-taught-that-i/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) [Explore all 9 Clarence Major quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) ## More Driven quotes > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyman-rickover/good-ideas-and-innovations-must-be-driven-into-existence-by-courage/) [Hyman Rickover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyman-rickover/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [I've always liked game shows - the competitive aspect and the character-driven personalities you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/i-ve-always-liked-game-shows-the-competitive-aspect-and-the-character/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [I've always believed that the desire must come from within, not as a result of being driven by coaches or parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-fraser/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-desire-must-come-from-within-not-as-a/) [Dawn Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-fraser/) > [When the enemy is driven back, we have failed, and when he is cut off, encircled and dispersed, we have succeeded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-suvorov/when-the-enemy-is-driven-back-we-have-failed-and-when-he-is-cut-off/) [Alexander Suvorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-suvorov/) > [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-you-ve-driven-me-crazy-you-ve-caused-me-considerable-trouble/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [The P2 is the best car I have driven so far. Once you get your head round it, it's fun to drive, it's responsive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hoy/the-p2-is-the-best-car-i-have-driven-so-far-once-you-get-your-head/) [Chris Hoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hoy/) [Browse all 2,078 Driven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A muse is something that serves a poet well early in his or her career. In later years one writers out of one's own driven inspiration. One learns to find inspiration rather than waiting for it to come for a visit. 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