--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is a sort of inspired mathematics…" description: "\"Poetry is a sort of inspired mathematics, which gives us equations, not for abstract figures, triangles, squares, and the like, but for the human emoti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/ezra-pound-1208_abstract_poetry-is-a-sort-of-inspired-mathematics_1738255.jpg" --- # Poetry is a sort of inspired mathematics, which gives us… ![“Poetry is a sort of inspired mathematics, which gives us equations, not for abstract figures, triangles, squares, and the like, but for the human emotions. If one has a mind which inclines to magic rather than science, one will prefer to speak of these equations as spells or incantations; it…” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/ezra-pound-1208_abstract_poetry-is-a-sort-of-inspired-mathematics_1738255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/ezra-pound-1208_abstract_poetry-is-a-sort-of-inspired-mathematics_1738255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/ezra-pound-1208_abstract_poetry-is-a-sort-of-inspired-mathematics_1738255.jpg) > “Poetry is a sort of inspired mathematics, which gives us equations, not for abstract figures, triangles, squares, and the like, but for the human emotions. If one has a mind which inclines to magic rather than science, one will prefer to speak of these equations as spells or incantations; it sounds more arcane, mysterious, recondite.” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry blends artistic feeling with logical structure, turning emotions into precise, almost mathematical expressions. **In simple terms:** Poetry mixes feeling with logical form. Key Takeaway Use precise language to capture complex emotions. Themes creativity emotion logic Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - teaching - therapy - public speaking Key Concepts metaphor structure mathematics Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance emotional depth with structural clarity? - When does precise language enhance emotional impact? A Different Perspective Risk of over‑intellectualizing feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Human emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-emotions/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Triangles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triangles/) ## Related quotes > [I am a student of life, and don't want to miss any experience. There's poetry in this sort of thing, you know--or perhaps you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-student-of-life-and-don-t-want-to-miss-any-experience-there-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poetry is a sort of homecoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/poetry-is-a-sort-of-homecoming/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [“When we stay locked up in the spectrum of unsolved life stories and keep hiding in an arcane prism, life remains a mystery behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-we-stay-locked-up-in-the-spectrum-of-unsolved-life-stories-and/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Desire is arcane”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/desire-is-arcane/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. 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Skirt the rules but don’t break them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lavalle/this-is-how-you-hustle-the-arcane-skirt-the-rules-but-don-t-break-them/) [Victor LaValle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lavalle/) > [“The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/the-house-is-valuable-because-it-is-the-house-it-is-enough-in-and-of/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [Literary theory has become a parody of science, generating its own arcane jargon. In the process, tragically, it discourages love of literature for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/literary-theory-has-become-a-parody-of-science-generating-its-own/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. 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Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. 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It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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