--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If certain critics and poetasters had…" description: "\"If certain critics and poetasters had their way, 'Ordinary Piety' and its child, Dullness, would be the masters of poetry.\" — Edith Sitwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/edith-sitwell-8023_certain_if-certain-critics-and-poetasters-had-th_3105993.png" --- # If certain critics and poetasters had their way, 'Ordinary… ![“If certain critics and poetasters had their way, 'Ordinary Piety' and its child, Dullness, would be the masters of poetry.” quote by Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/edith-sitwell-8023_certain_if-certain-critics-and-poetasters-had-th_3105993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/edith-sitwell-8023_certain_if-certain-critics-and-poetasters-had-th_3105993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/edith-sitwell-8023_certain_if-certain-critics-and-poetasters-had-th_3105993.png) > “If certain critics and poetasters had their way, 'Ordinary Piety' and its child, Dullness, would be the masters of poetry.” [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics fear that blandness will dominate poetry, making it dull and unoriginal. **In simple terms:** Worries that boring standards will control poetry. Key Takeaway Seek originality over conformity. Themes art criticism creativity conformity Mood thoughtful critical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - publishing - educational curricula Key Concepts poetic standards cultural influence Questions to Reflect On - What makes poetry truly alive? - How can we encourage boldness in artistic expression? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-critics-701839/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Critics Poetasters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics-poetasters-5404617/) [Dullness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dullness/) [Dullness Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dullness-masters-5404618/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Masters Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters-poetry-5102323/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Piety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-piety-5404619/) [Piety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [The Masters is poetry to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-nantz/the-masters-is-poetry-to-me/) [Jim Nantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-nantz/) > [If certain Critics were as clearsighted as they are malignant, how great would be the benefit to be derived from their writings!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/if-certain-critics-were-as-clearsighted-as-they-are-malignant-how/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“I think that there have been displays of an impoverished reading of the book. I get the distinct feeling at times that certain critics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/i-think-that-there-have-been-displays-of-an-impoverished-reading-of/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [You can only make the best thing you can make, and if it offends purists, or angers certain critics, you can only have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/you-can-only-make-the-best-thing-you-can-make-and-if-it-offends/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [The vehemence with which certain critics have chosen not simply to criticize what I've written, but to challenge my writing this story at all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-maynard/the-vehemence-with-which-certain-critics-have-chosen-not-simply-to/) [Joyce Maynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-maynard/) > [Vulgarity is, in reality, nothing but a modern, chic, pert descendant of the goddess Dullness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/vulgarity-is-in-reality-nothing-but-a-modern-chic-pert-descendant-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The number one problem in academia today is not ignorant students but ignorant professors, who have substituted narrow "expertise" and "theoretical sophistication" (a preposterous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-number-one-problem-in-academia-today-is-not-ignorant-students-but/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dulness in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-is-not-only-dull-himself-but-the-cause-of-dulness-in-others/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can, I think, have a quiet and steady protagonist and not run the risk of terminal dullness as long as exciting things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-williams/you-can-i-think-have-a-quiet-and-steady-protagonist-and-not-run-the/) [Liz Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-williams/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The only thing about 3-D is the dullness of the image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/the-only-thing-about-3-d-is-the-dullness-of-the-image/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## More by Edith Sitwell > [The reason why Matthew Arnold, to my feeling, fails entirely as a poet (though no doubt his ideas were good - at least, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-reason-why-matthew-arnold-to-my-feeling-fails-entirely-as-a-poet/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The great sins and fires break out of me like the terrible leaves from the bough in the violent spring. I am a walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-great-sins-and-fires-break-out-of-me-like-the-terrible-leaves/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. 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It is, I think, the power of looking forward, the firm belief that the future holds something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/what-is-the-special-privilege-of-youth-it-is-i-think-the-power-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Rhythm is one of the principal translators between dream and reality. Rhythm might be described as, to the world of sound, what light is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/rhythm-is-one-of-the-principal-translators-between-dream-and-reality/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/winter-is-the-time-for-comfort-for-good-food-and-warmth-for-the-touch/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Hot water is my native element. 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