--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good poetry seems so simple and natural a…" description: "\"Good poetry seems so simple and natural a thing that when we meet it we wonder that all men are not always poets. Poetry is nothing but healthy speech...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/henry-david-thoreau-20_good-poetry_good-poetry-seems-so-simple-and-natural_2719793.jpg" --- # Good poetry seems so simple and natural a thing that when… ![“Good poetry seems so simple and natural a thing that when we meet it we wonder that all men are not always poets. Poetry is nothing but healthy speech.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/henry-david-thoreau-20_good-poetry_good-poetry-seems-so-simple-and-natural_2719793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/henry-david-thoreau-20_good-poetry_good-poetry-seems-so-simple-and-natural_2719793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/henry-david-thoreau-20_good-poetry_good-poetry-seems-so-simple-and-natural_2719793.jpg) > “Good poetry seems so simple and natural a thing that when we meet it we wonder that all men are not always poets. Poetry is nothing but healthy speech.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good poetry feels natural and simple; it makes us wonder why not everyone writes it. **In simple terms:** Poetry is natural, yet rare. Key Takeaway Encourage everyday poetic expression. Themes art simplicity nature creativity expression Mood inspirational reflective hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - personal journaling - public speaking Key Concepts aesthetics literary criticism human nature Questions to Reflect On - What makes poetry feel natural? - How can we demystify poetic creation? A Different Perspective Not all find poetry accessible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-poetry/) [Men Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-poets-666617/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Healthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-healthy-2873649/) [Poetry Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-simple-762577/) [Poets Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-poetry-2873650/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is nothing but healthy speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/poetry-is-nothing-but-healthy-speech/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [but as God said, crossing his legs, I see where I have made plenty of poets but not so very much poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/but-as-god-said-crossing-his-legs-i-see-where-i-have-made-plenty-of/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Poets and poetry help us express our emotions and experiences, making us feel less alone in our struggles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wajid-shaikh/poets-and-poetry-help-us-express-our-emotions-and-experiences-making/) [Wajid Shaikh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wajid-shaikh/) > [In general, I find that poets spend a lot of time thinking about themselves, and not a lot of time thinking about other poets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-chang/in-general-i-find-that-poets-spend-a-lot-of-time-thinking-about/) [Victoria Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-chang/) > [“Poetry is simple when you write what you see and feel, searching for the words only makes it difficult”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayvon-l-browne/poetry-is-simple-when-you-write-what-you-see-and-feel-searching-for/) [Rayvon L. Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rayvon-l-browne/) > [There is a kind of poetry in simple fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-is-a-kind-of-poetry-in-simple-fact/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The terms of poetry - some simple, some complicated, some ancient, some new - should bring us closer to what we're hearing, enlarging our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-terms-of-poetry-some-simple-some-complicated-some-ancient-some/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Poetry must be simple, sensuous, or impassioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-lazarus/poetry-must-be-simple-sensuous-or-impassioned/) [Emma Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-lazarus/) > [All men are poets at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-men-are-poets-at-heart/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [For far more marvelous is the truth than any artists of the past imagined it. Why do the poets of the present not speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/for-far-more-marvelous-is-the-truth-than-any-artists-of-the-past/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [All men are poets at heart. They serve nature for bread, but her loveliness overcomes them sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-men-are-poets-at-heart-they-serve-nature-for-bread-but-her/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“In a way, women were asking for men to be poets and driving, passionate lovers at the same time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-waller/in-a-way-women-were-asking-for-men-to-be-poets-and-driving-passionate/) [Robert James Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-waller/) > [“Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars - mere globs of gas atoms. I too can see the stars on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/poets-say-science-takes-away-from-the-beauty-of-the-stars-mere-globs-2/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [“To know how to say what others only know how to think is what makes men poets or sages; and to dare to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-charles/to-know-how-to-say-what-others-only-know-how-to-think-is-what-makes/) [Elizabeth Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-charles/) > [Re: Robert Montgomery's Poems His writing bears the same relation to poetry which a Turkey carpet bears to a picture. There are colours in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/re-robert-montgomery-s-poems-his-writing-bears-the-same-relation-to/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Good poetry quotes > [Re: Robert Montgomery's Poems His writing bears the same relation to poetry which a Turkey carpet bears to a picture. There are colours in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/re-robert-montgomery-s-poems-his-writing-bears-the-same-relation-to/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [“Good poetry makes the universe reveal a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafiz/good-poetry-makes-the-universe-reveal-a-secret/) [Hafiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafiz/) > [My idea of good poetry is any dog doing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-boone/my-idea-of-good-poetry-is-any-dog-doing-anything/) [J. Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-boone/) > [Good poetry could not have been otherwise written than it is. The first time you hear it, it sounds rather as if copied out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-poetry-could-not-have-been-otherwise-written-than-it-is-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deep feeling doesn't make for good poetry. A way with language would be a bit of help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/deep-feeling-doesn-t-make-for-good-poetry-a-way-with-language-would/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [“Good poetry isn't born, When everything makes sense. Good poetry is born, When nothing makes sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/good-poetry-isn-t-born-when-everything-makes-sense-good-poetry-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The gap between verse and poetry is enormous. Between good poetry and good prose the gap is much narrower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-longley/the-gap-between-verse-and-poetry-is-enormous-between-good-poetry-and/) [Michael Longley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-longley/) > [To me Art (poetry) is a continuous and continuing process and that when a man fails to write good poetry he fails to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/to-me-art-poetry-is-a-continuous-and-continuing-process-and-that-when/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's as serious as anyone ever gets, you know. It's just words. It's just good poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/it-s-as-serious-as-anyone-ever-gets-you-know-it-s-just-words-it-s/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [It's always good to show that poetry isn't the little depressed lyric people believe it to be, that it's something bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fuller/it-s-always-good-to-show-that-poetry-isn-t-the-little-depressed-lyric/) [John Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fuller/) > [In his youth, Wordsworth sympathized with the French Revolution, went to France, wrote good poetry and had a natural daughter. At this period, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-his-youth-wordsworth-sympathized-with-the-french-revolution-went/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I think it was T.S. Eliot who talked about good poetry being felt before it’s understood. I believe that. There are some bands where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-mumford/i-think-it-was-t-s-eliot-who-talked-about-good-poetry-being-felt/) [Marcus Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-mumford/) > [It is fatal to decide, intellectually, what good poetry is because you are then in honour bound to try to write it, instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-is-fatal-to-decide-intellectually-what-good-poetry-is-because-you/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [ Poets are political, they have to be reflections of their times \[because\] they're living in their times... Poetry is political in that it's standing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/poets-are-political-they-have-to-be-reflections-of-their-times/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [Do not fear to put novels into the hands of young people as an occasional holiday experiment, but above all, good poetry in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/do-not-fear-to-put-novels-into-the-hands-of-young-people-as-an/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 59 Good poetry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-poetry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Good poetry seems so simple and natural a thing that when we meet it we wonder that all men are not always poets. 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