--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great error consists in supposing…" description: "\"“The great error consists in supposing that poetry is an unnatural form of language. We should all like to speak poetry at the moment when we truly liv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_the-great-error-consists-in-supposing-th_1036212.jpg" --- # The great error consists in supposing that poetry is an… ![“The great error consists in supposing that poetry is an unnatural form of language. We should all like to speak poetry at the moment when we truly live, and if we do not speak it, it is because we have an impediment in our speech. It is not song that is the narrow or artificial thing, it is…” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_the-great-error-consists-in-supposing-th_1036212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_the-great-error-consists-in-supposing-th_1036212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_the-great-error-consists-in-supposing-th_1036212.jpg) > ““The great error consists in supposing that poetry is an unnatural form of language. We should all like to speak poetry at the moment when we truly live, and if we do not speak it, it is because we have an impediment in our speech. It is not song that is the narrow or artificial thing, it is conversation that is a broken and stammering attempt at song. When we see men in a spiritual extravaganza, like Cyrano de Bergerac, speaking in rhyme, it is not our language disguised or distorted, but our language rounded and made whole.”” [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry should be a natural extension of lived experience, not a forced, artificial form; true language is rhythmic and whole. **In simple terms:** Poetry is natural speech when we truly live. Key Takeaway Embrace authentic, rhythmic expression. Themes poetry language authenticity communication Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing workshops - public speaking - creative therapy - literary criticism Key Concepts rhetoric aesthetic theory human expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you make everyday speech more lyrical? - When does poetic language become pretentious? A Different Perspective Poetry can feel forced if not rooted in genuine feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [“WRITING POETRY IS an unnatural act,” Elizabeth Bishop”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-poetry-is-an-unnatural-act-elizabeth-bishop/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/one-great-error-is-that-we-suppose-mankind-more-honest-than-they-are/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Our great error is that we suppose mankind to be more honest than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/our-great-error-is-that-we-suppose-mankind-to-be-more-honest-than/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/whoever-conquers-a-free-town-and-does-not-demolish-it-commits-a-great/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [The great Error of our Nature is, not to know where to stop, not to be satisfied with any reasonable Acquirement; not to compound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-error-of-our-nature-is-not-to-know-where-to-stop-not-to-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Observe that it is a great error to believe that all mediums of art are not closely tied to their time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-pissarro/observe-that-it-is-a-great-error-to-believe-that-all-mediums-of-art/) [Camille Pissarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-pissarro/) > [It is a great error to take oneself for more than one is, or for less than one is worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-a-great-error-to-take-oneself-for-more-than-one-is-or-for-less/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [One can speak poetry just by arranging colors well, just as one can say comforting things in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/one-can-speak-poetry-just-by-arranging-colors-well-just-as-one-can/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Poetry and music are the best at the highest level of the human mind. Out of poetry, out of their need for poetry, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/poetry-and-music-are-the-best-at-the-highest-level-of-the-human-mind/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [In the television age, the key distinction is between the candidate who can speak poetry and the one who can only speak prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/in-the-television-age-the-key-distinction-is-between-the-candidate/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [You know, people speak in poetry all the time. 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But philosophy is the tool with which to seek and discover religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/he-who-has-religion-will-speak-poetry-but-philosophy-is-the-tool-with/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-come-here-to-speak-poetry-it-will-always-be-in-the-grass-it-will/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) ## More by G.K. Chesterton > [“I never use paradox. The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/) [G.K. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-by-a-blind-instinct-knew-that-if-once-things-were-wildly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“But in order that life should be a story or romance to us, it is necessary that a great part of it, at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-in-order-that-life-should-be-a-story-or-romance-to-us-it-is/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Buddhism seeks after God with the largest conception it can find, the all-producing and all-absorbing One; Christianity seeks after God with the most elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/buddhism-seeks-after-god-with-the-largest-conception-it-can-find-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man is more himself, more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing and grief superficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-thing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Explore all 853 G.K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More Poetry quotes > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. 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