--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What makes a poem is the discipline…" description: "\"What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a poem: trying to fit feelings in the requisite number of syllables and lines, disciplining one'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg" --- # What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a… ![“What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a poem: trying to fit feelings in the requisite number of syllables and lines, disciplining one's feelings.” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg) > “What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a poem: trying to fit feelings in the requisite number of syllables and lines, disciplining one's feelings.” [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## 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 disciplined structure to channel emotion effectively. **In simple terms:** Poetry is disciplined feeling in form. Key Takeaway Embrace form to sharpen expression. Themes poetry discipline creativity structure emotion Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - poetry contests - creative writing classes - personal journaling Key Concepts form metric constraints creative restraint artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How does structure enhance or limit emotional honesty? - Can free verse achieve the same depth? A Different Perspective Rigid forms can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The heart of the matter seems to me to be the direct interaction between one's making a poem in English and a poem in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fitzgerald/the-heart-of-the-matter-seems-to-me-to-be-the-direct-interaction/) [Robert Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fitzgerald/) > [When a man makes a poem, makes it, mind you, he takes words as he finds them interrelated about him and composes them -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/when-a-man-makes-a-poem-makes-it-mind-you-he-takes-words-as-he-finds/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The poet must work with brush and paper,but this is not what makes the poem. A man does not go in search of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yang-wanli/the-poet-must-work-with-brush-and-paper-but-this-is-not-what-makes/) Yang Wanli > [“Stone: Yes, we are everything, every experience we've ever had, and in some of us, a lot of it translates and makes patterns, poems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stone/stone-yes-we-are-everything-every-experience-we-ve-ever-had-and-in/) [Ruth Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stone/) > [Again like Williams, with the emphasis now regrettable, when a man makes a poem, makes it mind you, he takes the words as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/again-like-williams-with-the-emphasis-now-regrettable-when-a-man/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [I try to use my privilege to deconstruct from inside the racist, homophobic, heterocentric house, as an ally, while compatriot tools dismantle the patriarch's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen-hall/i-try-to-use-my-privilege-to-deconstruct-from-inside-the-racist/) James Allen Hall > [Often it is a moment rather than an event that makes a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/often-it-is-a-moment-rather-than-an-event-that-makes-a-poem/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem, - a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When I get interested in a new topic I teach a class on it. There's a graduate seminar I teach in which the students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-get-interested-in-a-new-topic-i-teach-a-class-on-it-there-s-a/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It's difficult to put your own bare ass out on the limb every time you sit down to write a poem. But that's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/it-s-difficult-to-put-your-own-bare-ass-out-on-the-limb-every-time/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Writing or making anything-a poem, a bird feeder, a chocolate cake-has self-respect in it. You're working. You're trying. You're not lying down on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/writing-or-making-anything-a-poem-a-bird-feeder-a-chocolate-cake-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [The best poetry has its roots in the subconscious to a great degree. Youth, naivety, reliance on instinct more than learning and method, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-swenson/the-best-poetry-has-its-roots-in-the-subconscious-to-a-great-degree/) [May Swenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-swenson/) > [I sometimes talk about the making of a poem within the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-sometimes-talk-about-the-making-of-a-poem-within-the-poem/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [To a poet the mere making of a poem can seem to solve the problem of truth…but only a problem of art is solved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/to-a-poet-the-mere-making-of-a-poem-can-seem-to-solve-the-problem-of/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) ## More by Derek Walcott > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/peel-your-own-image-from-the-mirror-sit-feast-on-your-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-feel-i-ve-arrived-home-until-i-get-on-the-beach-all-my-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“As human beings we’ve certainly suffered the loss of awe, the loss of sacredness, and the loss of the fact that we’re not here—…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/as-human-beings-we-ve-certainly-suffered-the-loss-of-awe-the-loss-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I shall unlearn feeling, unlearn my gift. That is greater and harder than what passes there for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-shall-unlearn-feeling-unlearn-my-gift-that-is-greater-and-harder/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The greatest writers have been, at heart, parochial, provincial in their rootedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-greatest-writers-have-been-at-heart-parochial-provincial-in-their/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My mother, who is nearly ninety now, still talks continually about my father. All my life, I've been aware of her grief about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-who-is-nearly-ninety-now-still-talks-continually-about-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My family background really only consists of my mother. She was a widow. My father died quite young; he must have been thirty-one. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-family-background-really-only-consists-of-my-mother-she-was-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I am the man my father loved and was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-the-man-my-father-loved-and-was/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Like any art, what is the most imprisoning thing is also the most delivering thing. If an actor knows he only has 12 syllables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/like-any-art-what-is-the-most-imprisoning-thing-is-also-the-most/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The thing that is believed is a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-thing-that-is-believed-is-a-reality/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The history of the world - by which, of course, we mean Europe - is a record of intertribal lacerations, of ethnic cleansings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-history-of-the-world-by-which-of-course-we-mean-europe-is-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-english-language-is-nobody-s-special-property-it-is-the-property/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Explore all 177 Derek Walcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) W.J. Turner > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [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 > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a poem: trying to fit feelings in the requisite number of syllables and lines, disciplining one's feelings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Walcott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inherent-in-making-a-poem-trying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discipline" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inherent-in-making-a-poem-trying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/derek-walcott-2220_discipline_what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inhe_1763268.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a poem: trying to fit feelings in the requisite…” — Derek Walcott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Derek Walcott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What makes a poem is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inherent-in-making-a-poem-trying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inherent-in-making-a-poem-trying/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```