--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We read poetry because the poets, like…" description: "\"We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/elizabeth-drew-27945_death_we-read-poetry-because-the-poets-like-ou_1443064.jpg" --- # We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have… ![“We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in…” quote by Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/elizabeth-drew-27945_death_we-read-poetry-because-the-poets-like-ou_1443064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/elizabeth-drew-27945_death_we-read-poetry-because-the-poets-like-ou_1443064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/elizabeth-drew-27945_death_we-read-poetry-because-the-poets-like-ou_1443064.jpg) > “We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.” [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry resonates because it confronts universal struggles—time, death, loss—offering catharsis and insight. **In simple terms:** Poetry helps us process life's hardships. Key Takeaway Read poetry for emotional release. Themes mortality loss time emotion artistic expression Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - grieving - self‑reflection - writing workshops - academic study Key Concepts existentialism psychology of grief creative catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How does poetry speak to your personal pain? - What emotions does it release? A Different Perspective Poetry may not appeal to everyone and can be seen as elitist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Frustration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustration/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time And Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-death/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [The only people who still read poetry are poets, and they mostly read their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/the-only-people-who-still-read-poetry-are-poets-and-they-mostly-read/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [The people fancy they hate poetry, and they are all poets and mystics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-people-fancy-they-hate-poetry-and-they-are-all-poets-and-mystics/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Poets, like fighters, both reap the benefits of roadwork.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-conaway/poets-like-fighters-both-reap-the-benefits-of-roadwork/) [Cameron Conaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-conaway/) > [Poets are like proverbs: you can always find one to contradict another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/poets-are-like-proverbs-you-can-always-find-one-to-contradict-another/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Poets, like friends to whom you are in debt, you hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/poets-like-friends-to-whom-you-are-in-debt-you-hate/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Poets are like steam valves, where the ordinary feelings of ordinary people can escape and be shown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poets-are-like-steam-valves-where-the-ordinary-feelings-of-ordinary/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I love Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. I also love more cerebral poets like H.D. and Emily Dickinson. My parents subscribed to a monthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-love-sylvia-plath-and-anne-sexton-i-also-love-more-cerebral-poets/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [Most poets, like most people, try hard to be like someone they admire or they are possessed with an image of what they ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/most-poets-like-most-people-try-hard-to-be-like-someone-they-admire/) [James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/) > [Poets, like whores, are only hated by each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poets-like-whores-are-only-hated-by-each-other/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poets like painters, thus unskilled to trace The naked nature and the living grace, With gold and jewels cover ev'ry part, And hide with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poets-like-painters-thus-unskilled-to-trace-the-naked-nature-and-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I will never cease advising my friends and enemies to read poetry before anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/i-will-never-cease-advising-my-friends-and-enemies-to-read-poetry/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Because, in fact, women, feminists, do read my poetry, and they read it often with the power of their political interpretation. I don't care;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/because-in-fact-women-feminists-do-read-my-poetry-and-they-read-it/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [Poetry can save the world. I'm a real believer in its power of healing and transforming. I wish more people read it ... Poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-muske-dukes/poetry-can-save-the-world-i-m-a-real-believer-in-its-power-of-healing/) Carol Muske-Dukes > [In the world of poetry there are would-be poets, workshop poets, promising poets, lovesick poets, university poets, and a few real poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/in-the-world-of-poetry-there-are-would-be-poets-workshop-poets/) [James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/) > [“The perfect person does not exist. There is no woman or man you would meet who would make you write poetry. So poets create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/the-perfect-person-does-not-exist-there-is-no-woman-or-man-you-would/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) ## More by Elizabeth Drew > [“It is important to remember now, amid all this debris, how frightened we used to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/it-is-important-to-remember-now-amid-all-this-debris-how-frightened/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/too-often-travel-instead-of-broadening-the-mind-merely-lengthens-the/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [The torment of human frustration, whatever its immediate cause, is the knowledge that the self is in prison, its vital force and "mangled mind"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-torment-of-human-frustration-whatever-its-immediate-cause-is-the/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [The pain of loss, moreover, however agonizing, however haunting in memory, quiets imperceptibly into acceptance as the currents of active living and of fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-pain-of-loss-moreover-however-agonizing-however-haunting-in/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/too-often-travel-instead-of-broadening-the-mind-merely-lengthens-the-2/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Language is like soil. However rich, it is subject to erosion, and its fertility is constantly threatened by uses that exhaust itsvitality. It needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/language-is-like-soil-however-rich-it-is-subject-to-erosion-and-its/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [ \[On newspapers:\] A first draft of history. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/on-newspapers-a-first-draft-of-history/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [How frail and ephemeral is the material substance of letters, which makes their very survival so hazardous. Print has a permanence of its own,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/how-frail-and-ephemeral-is-the-material-substance-of-letters-which/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [The Republicans’ plan is that if they can’t buy the 2012 election they will steal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-republicans-plan-is-that-if-they-can-t-buy-the-2012-election-they/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Propaganda has a bad name, but its root meaning is simply to disseminate through a medium, and all writing therefore is propaganda for something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/propaganda-has-a-bad-name-but-its-root-meaning-is-simply-to/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-test-of-literature-is-i-suppose-whether-we-ourselves-live-more/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [The inspired scribbler always has the gift for gossip in our common usage he or she can always inspire the commonplace with an uncommon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-inspired-scribbler-always-has-the-gift-for-gossip-in-our-common/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [The world is not run by thought, nor by imagination, but by opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-world-is-not-run-by-thought-nor-by-imagination-but-by-opinion/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Democracy, like any non-coercive relationship, rests on a shared understanding of limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/democracy-like-any-non-coercive-relationship-rests-on-a-shared/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Money buys access; access buys influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/money-buys-access-access-buys-influence/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) [Explore all 20 Elizabeth Drew quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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