--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The poets needed to learn to pay greater…" description: "\"The poets needed to learn to pay greater attention to character and to narrative.\" — Edward Hirsch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png" --- # The poets needed to learn to pay greater attention to… ![“The poets needed to learn to pay greater attention to character and to narrative.” quote by Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png) > “The poets needed to learn to pay greater attention to character and to narrative.” [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. Poets must focus more on character depth and narrative structure than abstract ideas. **In simple terms:** Poetry should tell stories with vivid people. Key Takeaway Prioritize character and story in writing. Themes poetry craft character narrative Mood reflective instructional Type explanatory inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - teaching poetry - literary analysis Key Concepts Literary theory storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How can poets balance character with language? - What narrative techniques enrich poetry? A Different Perspective Risk of sacrificing lyrical innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) ## Related quotes > [For me, the main inspiration to write a story or novel is the voice of its central character, or the narrative voice of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/for-me-the-main-inspiration-to-write-a-story-or-novel-is-the-voice-of/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [Each character requires different language, and these issues become inseparable. You have all these balls in the air: language, character, narrative. For me, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-spiotta/each-character-requires-different-language-and-these-issues-become/) [Dana Spiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-spiotta/) > [Often, I'll read a script and the female character's an extension or serves some sort of purpose in terms of the male character's narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-riseborough/often-i-ll-read-a-script-and-the-female-character-s-an-extension-or/) [Andrea Riseborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-riseborough/) > [Beauty catches the ATTENTION but character catches the HEART…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-catches-the-attention-but-character-catches-the-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beauty catches the attention but character catches hearts :)<3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakaria/beauty-catches-the-attention-but-character-catches-hearts-3/) [Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakaria/) > [BEAUTY can capture one's attention. But CHARACTER can capture one's heart..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/beauty-can-capture-one-s-attention-but-character-can-capture-one-s/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Oftentimes, in fact I think this is to my fault, I look at usually scripts as a whole. I should probably pay more attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/oftentimes-in-fact-i-think-this-is-to-my-fault-i-look-at-usually/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [Nothing is more pathetic than having a small character in a big assignment. Many of us don't want to give attention to our character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-blackaby/nothing-is-more-pathetic-than-having-a-small-character-in-a-big/) [Henry Blackaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-blackaby/) > [I don't mind being the center of attention as a character but in real life it's not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-bilson/i-don-t-mind-being-the-center-of-attention-as-a-character-but-in-real/) [Rachel Bilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-bilson/) > [The face catches attention but character captures the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/group-message/the-face-catches-attention-but-character-captures-the-heart/) Group Message > [“The very things I needed to learn were the very things I was trying to teach you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-the-very-things-i-was-trying/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [I wanted to understand things and then be free of them. I needed to learn how to telescope things, ideas. Things were too big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-wanted-to-understand-things-and-then-be-free-of-them-i-needed-to/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [As an actor I have a cushy position because everything gets set up for me. I am only needed to learn my lines ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-azmi/as-an-actor-i-have-a-cushy-position-because-everything-gets-set-up/) [Shabana Azmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shabana-azmi/) > [On reflection, one of the things I needed to learn was to allow myself to be loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isha-mckenzie-mavinga/on-reflection-one-of-the-things-i-needed-to-learn-was-to-allow-myself/) Isha McKenzie-Mavinga > [There was no way I was going back to school to study anything for another three or four years. I was done with that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chika-anadu/there-was-no-way-i-was-going-back-to-school-to-study-anything-for/) [Chika Anadu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chika-anadu/) ## 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. That’s the way the season Changes its tense in the long-haired maples That dot the road; the veiny hand-shaped leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/fall-fall-falling-fallen-that-s-the-way-the-season-changes-its-tense/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I find great consolation in having a lot of poetry books around. I believe that writing poetry and reading it are deeply intertwined. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-find-great-consolation-in-having-a-lot-of-poetry-books-around-i/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I had feelings that I didn't know what to do with, and I felt better when I started writing them. I thought of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-had-feelings-that-i-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-and-i-felt-better/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I think in terms of educating a group of readers, MFA programs are very good. 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 Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The poets needed to learn to pay greater attention to character and to narrative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Hirsch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater-attention-to-character-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater-attention-to-character-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/edward-hirsch-1614_attention_the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater_925544.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The poets needed to learn to pay greater attention to character and to narrative.” — Edward Hirsch", "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": "Edward Hirsch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The poets needed to learn to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater-attention-to-character-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-poets-needed-to-learn-to-pay-greater-attention-to-character-and/#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 } } ] } ```