--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Often you've read another poem that you…" description: "\"Often you've read another poem that you think is so beautiful that you'd like to make something like that. And so you try to make a sonnet that works i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/edward-hirsch-1614_beautiful_often-you-ve-read-another-poem-that-you_413540.jpg" --- # Often you've read another poem that you think is so… ![“Often you've read another poem that you think is so beautiful that you'd like to make something like that. And so you try to make a sonnet that works in a certain kind of way, or you try to make something that's songlike, or you create a refrain, or you love the way a poem works in two line…” quote by Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/edward-hirsch-1614_beautiful_often-you-ve-read-another-poem-that-you_413540.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/edward-hirsch-1614_beautiful_often-you-ve-read-another-poem-that-you_413540.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/edward-hirsch-1614_beautiful_often-you-ve-read-another-poem-that-you_413540.jpg) > “Often you've read another poem that you think is so beautiful that you'd like to make something like that. And so you try to make a sonnet that works in a certain kind of way, or you try to make something that's songlike, or you create a refrain, or you love the way a poem works in two line stanzas and you try to do that.” [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the temptation to imitate admired poetic forms rather than finding an authentic voice. **In simple terms:** Copying styles limits originality. Key Takeaway Seek your own poetic voice. Themes creativity imitation authenticity learning artistry Mood thoughtful inspired Type advisory reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journals - literary criticism - creative teaching Key Concepts form influence originality self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - When does imitation become stagnation? - How can you balance influence and originality? A Different Perspective Imitation can be a useful learning step. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Make Sonnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sonnet-414971/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Refrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrain/) [Songlike Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songlike-create-3681418/) [Sonnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sonnet/) [Sonnet Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sonnet-works-3681420/) [Stanzas Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanzas-try-3681419/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“I will not make a sonnet from Each little private martyrdom; Nor out of love left dead with time Construe a stanza or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-auslander/i-will-not-make-a-sonnet-from-each-little-private-martyrdom-nor-out/) [Joseph Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-auslander/) > [“What is Poetry (My Sonnet, My Rules) Any gargoyle can google the definition of a sonnet, Any robot can write and rhyme 14 lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/what-is-poetry-my-sonnet-my-rules-any-gargoyle-can-google-the/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [So, some of the most difficult formal poems that I've written, say one sentence sonnets, I've been able to do those fairly quickly whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/so-some-of-the-most-difficult-formal-poems-that-i-ve-written-say-one/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-i-love-thee-to-the-depth-and/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [“Afterlight Sonnet Forget about afterlife, focus on afterlight, light that is left behind, by your deeds of life. 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Let me stand here and shiver, I’ll be stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-shulman/just-let-me-wait-a-little-while-longer-under-your-window-in-the-quite/) [Polly Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-shulman/) > [We are made aware that magnitude of material things is relative, and all objects shrink and expand to serve the passion of the poet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-made-aware-that-magnitude-of-material-things-is-relative-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“I have three phobias which, could I mute them,would make my life as slick as a sonnet,but dull as ditch water:I hate to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-have-three-phobias-which-could-i-mute-them-would-make-my-life-as/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Leon Theremin's original designs are elegant, ingenious and effective. As electronics goes, the theremin is very simple. But there are so many subtleties hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moog/leon-theremin-s-original-designs-are-elegant-ingenious-and-effective/) [Robert Moog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moog/) > [I intended an Ode, And it turned to a Sonnet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-intended-an-ode-and-it-turned-to-a-sonnet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What shall I say, what word, what cry recall, What god invoke, what charm, what amulet, To make a sonnet pay a hopeless debt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-b-douglas/what-shall-i-say-what-word-what-cry-recall-what-god-invoke-what-charm/) [Alfred B. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-b-douglas/) ## More by Edward Hirsch > [And my experience is the best titles, for me, emerge in the process of writing. They don't usually come at the very beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/and-my-experience-is-the-best-titles-for-me-emerge-in-the-process-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“I did not know the work of mourning Is like carrying a bag of cement Up a mountain at night The mountaintop is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-did-not-know-the-work-of-mourning-is-like-carrying-a-bag-of-cement/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Fall" Fall, falling, fallen. 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I just think the model of MFA programs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-think-in-terms-of-educating-a-group-of-readers-mfa-programs-are/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Jonson wrote a poem and called his son His best piece of poetrie A lovely line a little loathsome I loved that poem once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/jonson-wrote-a-poem-and-called-his-son-his-best-piece-of-poetrie-a/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [After my grandfather died I went down to the basement of my family house where my family kept books, anthologies and things and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/after-my-grandfather-died-i-went-down-to-the-basement-of-my-family/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [It does demand a certain space in order to read it and I think that space is somewhat threatened by the lack of attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/it-does-demand-a-certain-space-in-order-to-read-it-and-i-think-that/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [...I put down these memorandums of my affections in honor of tenderness, in honor of all of those who have been conscripted into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-put-down-these-memorandums-of-my-affections-in-honor-of-tenderness/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Poetry is a vocation. It is not a career but a calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/poetry-is-a-vocation-it-is-not-a-career-but-a-calling/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [You're shadowed by your own dream, especially as you get older, of trying to create something that will last in poetry. And so, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/you-re-shadowed-by-your-own-dream-especially-as-you-get-older-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [The attention deficit disorder of the culture is very distressing in America now and I think it puts a lot of things at risk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-attention-deficit-disorder-of-the-culture-is-very-distressing-in/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Now, as I've gotten older I've been able to write more quickly. Sometimes I get in the space of something and I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/now-as-i-ve-gotten-older-i-ve-been-able-to-write-more-quickly/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Poetry takes courage because you have to face things and you try to articulate how you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/poetry-takes-courage-because-you-have-to-face-things-and-you-try-to/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) [Explore all 222 Edward Hirsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. 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Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. 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