--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cliche is dead poetry." description: "\"The cliche is dead poetry.\" — Gerald Brenan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png" --- # The cliche is dead poetry. ![“The cliche is dead poetry.” quote by Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png) > “The cliche is dead poetry.” [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cliché has become so overused that it no longer feels poetic; it loses originality. **In simple terms:** Clichés kill poetic freshness. Key Takeaway Avoid overused phrases in creative work. Themes creativity language artistic expression Mood cautionary instructive Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing - advertising - speechwriting Key Concepts literary criticism originality cultural fatigue Questions to Reflect On - When can a cliché be useful? - How to revive a stale expression? A Different Perspective Sometimes clichés persist because they convey shared meaning efficiently. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cliche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche/) [Cliché Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clich-dead-3491281/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Dead Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-poetry-2868024/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The cliché is dead poetry. English, being the language of an imaginative race, abounds in clichés, so that English literature is always in danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/the-clich-is-dead-poetry-english-being-the-language-of-an-imaginative/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [A cliché is dead matter. It causes gangrene in the prose around it, and sooner or later it eats your brain,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verlyn-klinkenborg/a-clich-is-dead-matter-it-causes-gangrene-in-the-prose-around-it-and/) [Verlyn Klinkenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verlyn-klinkenborg/) > [Here let dead poetry rise once more to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/here-let-dead-poetry-rise-once-more-to-life/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Tragedy is dead! Poetry itself died with it! Away, away with you, puny, stunted imitators! Away with you to Hades, and eat your fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/tragedy-is-dead-poetry-itself-died-with-it-away-away-with-you-puny/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-think-the-french-have-a-romantic-cliche-that-englishmen-have-great/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [A popular cliche in philosophy says that science is pure analysis or reductionism, like taking the rainbow to pieces; and art is pure synthesis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-popular-cliche-in-philosophy-says-that-science-is-pure-analysis-or/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [Audiences are hungry for something different. With binge-watching, they're hungry for interesting content they haven't seen before, and they want to be entertained. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-millar/audiences-are-hungry-for-something-different-with-binge-watching-they/) [Miles Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-millar/) > [There are trappings of science fiction which I kind of embrace, but there are also cliches which I run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-twohy/there-are-trappings-of-science-fiction-which-i-kind-of-embrace-but/) [David Twohy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-twohy/) > [To move past fear is a cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/to-move-past-fear-is-a-cliche/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“NormnAl, "Like, Share, Follow and subscribe" - The typical cliche drill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/normnal-like-share-follow-and-subscribe-the-typical-cliche-drill/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [“As an opener, I'd like to state that elves are certainly NOT cliché. It doesn't matter if they all have pointy ears, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fanney/as-an-opener-i-d-like-to-state-that-elves-are-certainly-not-clich-it/) [Robert Fanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fanney/) > [It's a bit cliche, but you can't go wrong by writing what you know. Even if you're a horrible writer, your own knowledge and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/it-s-a-bit-cliche-but-you-can-t-go-wrong-by-writing-what-you-know/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) ## More by Gerald Brenan > [“It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/it-is-by-sitting-down-to-write-every-morning-that-one-becomes-a-writer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Every writer and artist wonders what in the world people of other professions can find to live for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/every-writer-and-artist-wonders-what-in-the-world-people-of-other/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Words are as recalcitrant as circus animals, and the unskilled trainer can crack his whip at them in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/words-are-as-recalcitrant-as-circus-animals-and-the-unskilled-trainer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We are closer to the ants than to the butterflies. Very few people can endure much leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-are-closer-to-the-ants-than-to-the-butterflies-very-few-people-can/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [In a happy marriage it is the wife who provides the climate, the husband the landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/in-a-happy-marriage-it-is-the-wife-who-provides-the-climate-the/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Miller is not really a writer but a non-stop talker to whom someone has given a typewriter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/miller-is-not-really-a-writer-but-a-non-stop-talker-to-whom-someone/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [One road to happiness is to cultivate curiosity about everything. Not only about people but about subjects, not only about the arts but about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/one-road-to-happiness-is-to-cultivate-curiosity-about-everything-not/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Old age takes away from us what we have inherited and gives us what we have earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/old-age-takes-away-from-us-what-we-have-inherited-and-gives-us-what/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [When I write a page that reads badly I know that it is myself who has written it. When it reads well it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/when-i-write-a-page-that-reads-badly-i-know-that-it-is-myself-who-has/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [A bad memory is the mother of invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/a-bad-memory-is-the-mother-of-invention/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We should all live as if we were never going to die, for it is the deaths of our friends that hurt us, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-should-all-live-as-if-we-were-never-going-to-die-for-it-is-the/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We soon cease to feel the grief at the deaths of our friends, yet we continue to the end of our lives to miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-soon-cease-to-feel-the-grief-at-the-deaths-of-our-friends-yet-we/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We confess our bad qualities to others out of fear of appearing naive or ridiculous by not being aware of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-confess-our-bad-qualities-to-others-out-of-fear-of-appearing-naive/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Wisdom is keeping a sense of fallibility of all our views and opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/wisdom-is-keeping-a-sense-of-fallibility-of-all-our-views-and-opinions/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [One of the marks of a great poet is that he creates his own family of words and teaches them to live together in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/one-of-the-marks-of-a-great-poet-is-that-he-creates-his-own-family-of/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) [Explore all 33 Gerald Brenan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) ## More Cliche quotes > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [It's a bit cliche, but you can't go wrong by writing what you know. Even if you're a horrible writer, your own knowledge and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/it-s-a-bit-cliche-but-you-can-t-go-wrong-by-writing-what-you-know/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [“As an opener, I'd like to state that elves are certainly NOT cliché. It doesn't matter if they all have pointy ears, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fanney/as-an-opener-i-d-like-to-state-that-elves-are-certainly-not-clich-it/) [Robert Fanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fanney/) > [“NormnAl, "Like, Share, Follow and subscribe" - The typical cliche drill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/normnal-like-share-follow-and-subscribe-the-typical-cliche-drill/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [To move past fear is a cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/to-move-past-fear-is-a-cliche/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [There are trappings of science fiction which I kind of embrace, but there are also cliches which I run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-twohy/there-are-trappings-of-science-fiction-which-i-kind-of-embrace-but/) [David Twohy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-twohy/) > [Audiences are hungry for something different. With binge-watching, they're hungry for interesting content they haven't seen before, and they want to be entertained. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-millar/audiences-are-hungry-for-something-different-with-binge-watching-they/) [Miles Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-millar/) > [A popular cliche in philosophy says that science is pure analysis or reductionism, like taking the rainbow to pieces; and art is pure synthesis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-popular-cliche-in-philosophy-says-that-science-is-pure-analysis-or/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-think-the-french-have-a-romantic-cliche-that-englishmen-have-great/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“The more you know, the less you understand. That's so cliche'. Wanna know the scary version? The more you know, the more fuckups you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/the-more-you-know-the-less-you-understand-that-s-so-cliche-wanna-know/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [You can't do anything if a person says no. In such a case, there's nothing you can do - unlike the popular cliche that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/you-can-t-do-anything-if-a-person-says-no-in-such-a-case-there-s/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [“Sometimes people overlooked how useful a cliché was. It got everyone thinking about things in the same sort of way, and that could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leese/sometimes-people-overlooked-how-useful-a-clich-was-it-got-everyone/) [Michael Leese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leese/) > [When academics claim a topic is obsolete, they mean merely they are tired of flogging it with their cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/when-academics-claim-a-topic-is-obsolete-they-mean-merely-they-are/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) [Browse all 601 Cliche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The cliche is dead poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerald Brenan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/the-cliche-is-dead-poetry/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cliche" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/the-cliche-is-dead-poetry/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/gerald-brenan-19175_cliche_the-cliche-is-dead-poetry-3207932_3207932.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cliche is dead poetry.” — Gerald Brenan", "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": "Gerald Brenan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The cliche is dead poetry.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/the-cliche-is-dead-poetry/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/the-cliche-is-dead-poetry/#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 } } ] } ```