--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE." description: "\"The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE.\" — Ezra Pound" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png" --- # The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE. ![“The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE.” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png) > “The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE.” [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's essence is visual imagery that evokes vivid mental pictures. **In simple terms:** Poetry paints pictures with words. Key Takeaway Use strong images to convey meaning. Themes imagery poetic technique visual language Mood analytical creative Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - teaching poetry - advertising copy Key Concepts symbolism metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance image with sound? - What images inspire you? A Different Perspective Relying solely on images may neglect rhythm or sound. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“You make pictures, not take them? Yes. At least that's how I think of it. That's the difference between Sunday snapshooters and someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-waller/you-make-pictures-not-take-them-yes-at-least-that-s-how-i-think-of-it/) [Robert James Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-waller/) > [“Poetry is the image of man and nature”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wordsworth-william/poetry-is-the-image-of-man-and-nature/) Wordsworth William > [One of the primary differences for me between fiction and poetry is that fiction uses every sort of tool that poetry does but hides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/one-of-the-primary-differences-for-me-between-fiction-and-poetry-is/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [No good poetry is ever written in a manner twenty years old, for to write in such a manner shows conclusively that the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/no-good-poetry-is-ever-written-in-a-manner-twenty-years-old-for-to/) [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/) > [Each day brings its own colours to be chosen, mixed, pigments of joy, happy moments, smiles and laughter… And which will you choose? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcleod/each-day-brings-its-own-colours-to-be-chosen-mixed-pigments-of-joy/) [John McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcleod/) > [Yes, linseed oil. I used to use poppy oil, but I have heard that poppy oil is given to cracking pigment too, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hopper/yes-linseed-oil-i-used-to-use-poppy-oil-but-i-have-heard-that-poppy/) [Edward Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hopper/) > [My mantra is, 'Don't be afraid of color.' What did it do to you? Do a color testing in alternate kinds of light you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/my-mantra-is-don-t-be-afraid-of-color-what-did-it-do-to-you-do-a/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [Potassium cyanide," says the talent wrangler as she leans over to pick up a paper napkin off the floor. "Found naturally in the cassava…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/potassium-cyanide-says-the-talent-wrangler-as-she-leans-over-to-pick/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [One makes use of pigments, but one paints with one's feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-simeon-chardin/one-makes-use-of-pigments-but-one-paints-with-one-s-feelings/) Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin > [Being beautiful is not in the way you dress nor on the pigments you put in your face. Being beautiful is being simple.All girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/being-beautiful-is-not-in-the-way-you-dress-nor-on-the-pigments-you/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/computer-science-education-cannot-make-anybody-an-expert-programmer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My pigment is of the earth, and collecting my sacred fire from my solar plexus with the central sun of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/my-pigment-is-of-the-earth-and-collecting-my-sacred-fire-from-my/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [What a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## 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. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Liberty is not a right but a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/liberty-is-not-a-right-but-a-duty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-artist-is-always-beginning-any-work-of-art-which-is-not-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Pound" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-image/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-image/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/ezra-pound-1208_art_the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-ima_2941061.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The primary pigment of poetry is the IMAGE.” — Ezra Pound", "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": "Ezra Pound", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The primary pigment of poetry is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-image/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-primary-pigment-of-poetry-is-the-image/#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 } } ] } ```