--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True poetry ought to be secret and…" description: "\"True poetry ought to be secret and clandestine, concealed like a prohibited voice of dissent, while at the same time it should speak to everyone.\" — Cl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/claudio-magris-25495_clandestine_true-poetry-ought-to-be-secret-and-cland_579290.png" --- # True poetry ought to be secret and clandestine, concealed… ![“True poetry ought to be secret and clandestine, concealed like a prohibited voice of dissent, while at the same time it should speak to everyone.” quote by Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/claudio-magris-25495_clandestine_true-poetry-ought-to-be-secret-and-cland_579290.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/claudio-magris-25495_clandestine_true-poetry-ought-to-be-secret-and-cland_579290.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2d/claudio-magris-25495_clandestine_true-poetry-ought-to-be-secret-and-cland_579290.png) > “True poetry ought to be secret and clandestine, concealed like a prohibited voice of dissent, while at the same time it should speak to everyone.” [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry should be hidden and subversive yet universally understandable, balancing mystery with accessibility. **In simple terms:** Poetry is secret yet speaks to all. Key Takeaway Embrace both mystery and clarity. Themes art expression communication Mood reflective intriguing Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - creative writing - public speaking - teaching literature Key Concepts subversion universality paradox Questions to Reflect On - How can you make hidden meanings clear? - What risks arise from being too obscure? A Different Perspective Secretive art may alienate some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [It's hardly a news flash that a secret, clandestine intelligence agency might resist giving out information about its operations when not not legally required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/it-s-hardly-a-news-flash-that-a-secret-clandestine-intelligence/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [“Poetry ought to be a by-product of living, and you can't have a by-product unless you've got a product first .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/poetry-ought-to-be-a-by-product-of-living-and-you-can-t-have-a-by/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Every poet gets to choose what kind of community he or she serves with the poems, and it's true that there is a community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/every-poet-gets-to-choose-what-kind-of-community-he-or-she-serves/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) > [True poetry is born of scrutiny, Scrutiny, the son of meditation, Meditation, the son of lore, Lore, the son of inquiry, Inquiry, the son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/true-poetry-is-born-of-scrutiny-scrutiny-the-son-of-meditation/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [The great modern heresy in poetry is to confuse the use we make of words in a poem with modalities of speech...For true poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-great-modern-heresy-in-poetry-is-to-confuse-the-use-we-make-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [True poetry is truer than science, because it is synthetic, and seizes at once what the combination of all the sciences is able, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/true-poetry-is-truer-than-science-because-it-is-synthetic-and-seizes/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [To delight the ear and the eye is a mere sensual indulgence;—true poetry strikes at the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/egerton-brydges/to-delight-the-ear-and-the-eye-is-a-mere-sensual-indulgence-true/) [Egerton Brydges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/egerton-brydges/) > [Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, as perhaps it may be thought, the true poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/nothing-will-sustain-you-more-potently-than-the-power-to-recognize-in/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [There is but one poetry,--true poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-but-one-poetry-true-poetry/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [That metre itself forms an essential part of all true poetry is a principle which not even the assertions of an Aristotle or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/that-metre-itself-forms-an-essential-part-of-all-true-poetry-is-a/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [True poetry is a function of awakening. It awakens us, but it must retain the memory of previous dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/true-poetry-is-a-function-of-awakening-it-awakens-us-but-it-must/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“We may feel bitterly how little our poems can do in the face of seemingly out of control technological power and seemingly limitless corporate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/we-may-feel-bitterly-how-little-our-poems-can-do-in-the-face-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Yet, it is true, poetry is delicious; the best prose is that which is most full of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/yet-it-is-true-poetry-is-delicious-the-best-prose-is-that-which-is/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [True poetry is not of earth, 'T is more of Heaven by its birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/true-poetry-is-not-of-earth-t-is-more-of-heaven-by-its-birth/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The spark of true poetry flashes when ideas are juxtaposed that no one has yet thought of bringing together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/the-spark-of-true-poetry-flashes-when-ideas-are-juxtaposed-that-no/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) ## More by Claudio Magris > [“The great commander knows that in order to win one needs to know the remote and also the immediate reasons for the war, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/the-great-commander-knows-that-in-order-to-win-one-needs-to-know-the/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [It is comforting that travel should have an architecture, and that it is possible to contribute a few stones to it, although the traveller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/it-is-comforting-that-travel-should-have-an-architecture-and-that-it/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“The great commander can certainly move fast and strike like lightning, but his art of war consists first and foremost in moderation, measured geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/the-great-commander-can-certainly-move-fast-and-strike-like-lightning/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“Great poetry is capable of dealing with erotic passion, but it has to be the very greatest to represent that deeper and more tortuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/great-poetry-is-capable-of-dealing-with-erotic-passion-but-it-has-to/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“Speaking of the capitulation of Bulgaria, an event decisive to the outcome of the First World War and therefore to the end of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/speaking-of-the-capitulation-of-bulgaria-an-event-decisive-to-the/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“A călători nu pentru a ajunge, ci pentru a călători, pentru a ajunge cât mai târziu posibil, pentru a nu ajunge, dacă se poate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/a-c-l-tori-nu-pentru-a-ajunge-ci-pentru-a-c-l-tori-pentru-a-ajunge-c/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [ “He \[Mihaly Babits\] hoped that some god might offer a bed to the river of words which rose to his lips, so that it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/he-mihaly-babits-hoped-that-some-god-might-offer-a-bed-to-the-river/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“Conviction, as Michelstaedter wrote, is the present possession of one's own life and one's own person, the ability to live each moment to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/conviction-as-michelstaedter-wrote-is-the-present-possession-of-one-s/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“There are many hostelries in his report, which is the true account of an expedition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/there-are-many-hostelries-in-his-report-which-is-the-true-account-of/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“Time is not a single train, moving in one direction at a constant speed. Every so often it meets another train coming in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/time-is-not-a-single-train-moving-in-one-direction-at-a-constant/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“Judge not,' it has been said, but being a juryman can be a pleasant occupation when one is not weighing up human actions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/judge-not-it-has-been-said-but-being-a-juryman-can-be-a-pleasant/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [ “\[E\]very journey is played out between standstill and flight.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/e-very-journey-is-played-out-between-standstill-and-flight/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“The courage to put an end to war, to see the abysmal stupidity of it, is certainly no less than that needed to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/the-courage-to-put-an-end-to-war-to-see-the-abysmal-stupidity-of-it/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [Every journey is played out between standstill and flight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/every-journey-is-played-out-between-standstill-and-flight/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [“The Danube is not blue, as Karl Isidore Beck calls it in the lines which suggested to Strauss the fetching, mendacious title of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/the-danube-is-not-blue-as-karl-isidore-beck-calls-it-in-the-lines/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) [Explore all 18 Claudio Magris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) ## More Clandestine quotes > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. 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Don’t you know this is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-rae/emily-squared-her-shoulders-and-said-simply-i-m-fine-i-m-not-really/) Nicole Rae > [“If you are a crazy person who needs to have clandestine meetings, then, just like in real estate, what matters most is location, location,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/if-you-are-a-crazy-person-who-needs-to-have-clandestine-meetings-then/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [Throughout the twentieth century and into the beginning of the twenty-first, the United States repeatedly used its military power, and that of its clandestine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/throughout-the-twentieth-century-and-into-the-beginning-of-the-twenty/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [What is dangerous is not minarets, but basements and garages that hide clandestine places of worship. Thus we must choose between mosques, where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-sarkozy/what-is-dangerous-is-not-minarets-but-basements-and-garages-that-hide/) [Nicolas Sarkozy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-sarkozy/) > [Racism is a much more clandestine, much more hidden kind of phenomenon, but at the same time it's perhaps far more terrible than it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/racism-is-a-much-more-clandestine-much-more-hidden-kind-of-phenomenon/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [The Iraq Survey Group has already found massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories, workings by scientists, plans to develop long range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-iraq-survey-group-has-already-found-massive-evidence-of-a-huge/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“That’s funny. 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