--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A merely great intellect can produce…" description: "\"A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not poetry, not one line.\" — Edward Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/edward-thomas-23008_intellect_a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-pro_185370.jpg" --- # A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not… ![“A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not poetry, not one line.” quote by Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/edward-thomas-23008_intellect_a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-pro_185370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/edward-thomas-23008_intellect_a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-pro_185370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/edward-thomas-23008_intellect_a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-pro_185370.jpg) > “A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not poetry, not one line.” [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual ability can craft logical prose, but true poetry requires deeper emotional insight beyond mere intellect. **In simple terms:** Intellect makes prose, but poetry needs feeling. Key Takeaway Cultivate emotional depth in writing. Themes creativity art emotion Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary critique - personal reflection Key Concepts prose poetry intellect Questions to Reflect On - How can you blend intellect with emotion? - What experiences fuel your poetic voice? A Different Perspective Intellect alone may not capture poetic nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [One line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-line/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Prose poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose-poetry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I do not wish to produce prose that draws attention to itself, rather than the world it describes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-do-not-wish-to-produce-prose-that-draws-attention-to-itself-rather/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Having a great intellect is no path to being happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/having-a-great-intellect-is-no-path-to-being-happy/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I deeply admire and respect Hillary Clinton. 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We just put in things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laughlin/we-don-t-attempt-to-have-any-theme-for-a-number-of-the-anthology-or/) [James Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laughlin/) > [It is not a waste to write beautiful prose or poetry for one person's eyes alone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-a-waste-to-write-beautiful-prose-or-poetry-for-one-person-s/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [“What is this thing? trading passions for a tiny bit of acceptance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/what-is-this-thing-trading-passions-for-a-tiny-bit-of-acceptance/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“Why can't prose be poetic?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-focke/why-can-t-prose-be-poetic/) [Kevin Focke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-focke/) > [“And perhaps, I'm a Tuesday night and you're a Wednesday morning the way we'll never even notice how we blend into each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danabelle-gutierrez/and-perhaps-i-m-a-tuesday-night-and-you-re-a-wednesday-morning-the/) [Danabelle Gutierrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danabelle-gutierrez/) > [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/) > [“He said that he felt that there was a book hidden between us. Some small thing lodged between a rib or a summer. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikl-paul/he-said-that-he-felt-that-there-was-a-book-hidden-between-us-some/) [Mikl Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikl-paul/) > [One of the most important differences I see between prose and poetry is the music of the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/one-of-the-most-important-differences-i-see-between-prose-and-poetry/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [“I used to be fine in my loneliness but something or someone snapped me out of it and showed me company. 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It was late June.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/yes-i-remember-adlestrop-the-name-because-one-afternoon-of-heat-the/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed The speculating rooks at their nests cawed And saw from elm tops, delicate as flower of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/over-the-land-freckled-with-snow-half-thawed-the-speculating-rooks-at/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“This ploughman dead in battle slept out of doors Many a frozen night, and merrily Answered staid drinkers, good bedmen, and all bores: "At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/this-ploughman-dead-in-battle-slept-out-of-doors-many-a-frozen-night/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I built myself a house of glass:It took me years to make it:And I was proud. But now, alas!Would God someone would break it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-built-myself-a-house-of-glass-it-took-me-years-to-make-it-and-i-was/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Making war or rebellion is messy, like eating soup off a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/making-war-or-rebellion-is-messy-like-eating-soup-off-a-knife/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think and sniff again and tryOnce more to think what it is I am remembering,Always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-too-often-shrivel-the-grey-shreds-sniff-them-and-think-and-sniff/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“You cannot make chicken salad out of Chicken shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/you-cannot-make-chicken-salad-out-of-chicken-shit/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) [Explore all 26 Edward Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) ## More Intellect quotes > [“Your mind has the intellect to lift the world, your heart has the wisdom to better the world, and your soul has the genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/your-mind-has-the-intellect-to-lift-the-world-your-heart-has-the/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. 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