--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The modern poet has no essential alliance…" description: "\"The modern poet has no essential alliance with regular schemes of any sorts.He reserves the right to adapt his rhythm to his mood, to modulate his metr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg" --- # The modern poet has no essential alliance with regular… ![“The modern poet has no essential alliance with regular schemes of any sorts.He reserves the right to adapt his rhythm to his mood, to modulate his metre as he progresses. Far from seeking freedom and irresponsibility (implied by the unfortunate term free verse) he seeks a stricter discipline of…” quote by Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg) > “The modern poet has no essential alliance with regular schemes of any sorts.He reserves the right to adapt his rhythm to his mood, to modulate his metre as he progresses. Far from seeking freedom and irresponsibility (implied by the unfortunate term free verse) he seeks a stricter discipline of exact concord of thought and feeling.” [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets should shape form to feeling, seeking disciplined harmony rather than chaotic freedom. **In simple terms:** Poets match rhythm to mood, aiming for disciplined harmony. Key Takeaway Embrace flexible structure with purposeful intent. Themes creativity discipline form expression Mood thoughtful reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing poetry - literary criticism - creative workshops Key Concepts modernism aesthetic theory Questions to Reflect On - How does structure enhance or limit emotional truth? - Can discipline coexist with artistic freedom? A Different Perspective Risk of becoming overly rigid, stifling spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alliances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Free verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-verse/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Irresponsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irresponsibility/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Reserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reserves/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Thoughts and feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-feelings/) [Verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verse/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) ## Related quotes > [I liked the kid who wrote me that he had to do a term paper on a modern poet and he was doing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-liked-the-kid-who-wrote-me-that-he-had-to-do-a-term-paper-on-a/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I may as well tell you, here and now, that if you are going about the place thinking things pretty, you will never make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/i-may-as-well-tell-you-here-and-now-that-if-you-are-going-about-the/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [Most poetry is very formal, but when a modern poet is formal he gets more attention for it than old poets did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/most-poetry-is-very-formal-but-when-a-modern-poet-is-formal-he-gets/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [What is a modern poet's fate? / To write his thoughts upon a slate; / The critic spits on what is done, / Gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/what-is-a-modern-poet-s-fate-to-write-his-thoughts-upon-a-slate-the/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [“Sanity is a sonnet with a strict meter and rhyme scheme-and my mind is free verse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-schindler/sanity-is-a-sonnet-with-a-strict-meter-and-rhyme-scheme-and-my-mind/) [Holly Schindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-schindler/) > [“If there has been one overriding change in poetic practice, it is that under the influence of free verse the poets have made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-langford/if-there-has-been-one-overriding-change-in-poetic-practice-it-is-that/) Martin Langford > [“Dead Butterfly By Ellen Bass For months my daughter carried a dead monarch in a quart mason jar. To and from school in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/dead-butterfly-by-ellen-bass-for-months-my-daughter-carried-a-dead/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“vers libre," (free verse) or nine-tenths of it, is not a new metre any more than sleeping in a ditch is a new school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/vers-libre-free-verse-or-nine-tenths-of-it-is-not-a-new-metre-any/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“If You Knew What if you knew you'd be the last to touch someone? If you were taking tickets, for example, at the theater,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/if-you-knew-what-if-you-knew-you-d-be-the-last-to-touch-someone-if/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“A midst deceit I found the truth; there in the rough I found a diamond. And from the moment we met, I think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donato-dicristino/a-midst-deceit-i-found-the-truth-there-in-the-rough-i-found-a-diamond/) Donato DiCristino > [Free verse is chained in sentence-to-sentence links and breaks free in line breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/free-verse-is-chained-in-sentence-to-sentence-links-and-breaks-free/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around-on-two-legs/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“I am a poet writing frenetic free verse I am pretentious”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-h-hanson/i-am-a-poet-writing-frenetic-free-verse-i-am-pretentious/) Michael H. Hanson > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [“Leaches Ten Tall by Stewart Stafford Don't play this game with me, Predatory whelk of tide pools, Taint me as Rigoletto to a bawd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/leaches-ten-tall-by-stewart-stafford-don-t-play-this-game-with-me/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) ## More by Herbert Read > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [There are a few people, but a diminishing number, who still believe that Marxism, as an economic system, off era a coherent alternative to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/there-are-a-few-people-but-a-diminishing-number-who-still-believe/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The sensitive artist knows that a bitter wind is blowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-sensitive-artist-knows-that-a-bitter-wind-is-blowing/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-slave-may-be-happy-but-happiness-is-not-enough/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The classicist, and the naturalist who has much in common with him, refuse to see in the highest works of art anything but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-classicist-and-the-naturalist-who-has-much-in-common-with-him/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Man is everywhere still in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/man-is-everywhere-still-in-chains/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [It does not seem that the contradiction which exists between the aristocratic function of art and the democratic structure of modern society can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-does-not-seem-that-the-contradiction-which-exists-between-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I can imagine no society which does not embody some method of arbitration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-can-imagine-no-society-which-does-not-embody-some-method-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Sensibility... is a direct and particular reaction to the separate and individual nature of things. It begins and ends with the sensuous apprehension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/sensibility-is-a-direct-and-particular-reaction-to-the-separate-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In the evolution of mankind there has always been a certain degree of social coherence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-the-evolution-of-mankind-there-has-always-been-a-certain-degree-of/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Modern man has been in search of a new language of form to satisfy new longings and aspirations - longings for mental appeasement, aspirations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/modern-man-has-been-in-search-of-a-new-language-of-form-to-satisfy/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [I am not going to claim that modern anarchism has any direct relation to Roman jurisprudence; but I do claim that it has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/i-am-not-going-to-claim-that-modern-anarchism-has-any-direct-relation/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [To realize that new world we must prefer the values of freedom and equality above all other values - above personal wealth, technical power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/to-realize-that-new-world-we-must-prefer-the-values-of-freedom-and/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Intellect begins with the observation of nature, proceeds to memorize and classify the facts thus observed, and by logical deduction builds up that edifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/intellect-begins-with-the-observation-of-nature-proceeds-to-memorize/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [In a sense, every tool is a machine--the hammer, the ax, and the chisel. And every machine is a tool. The real distinction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-a-sense-every-tool-is-a-machine-the-hammer-the-ax-and-the-chisel/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) [Explore all 86 Herbert Read quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) ## More Alliances quotes > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Men since the beginning of time have sought peace...military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/men-since-the-beginning-of-time-have-sought-peace-military-alliances/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [The U.S. always needs an enemy. It comes and goes. Today it is Islam. According to this plan or ideology of the born-again Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walid-jumblatt/the-u-s-always-needs-an-enemy-it-comes-and-goes-today-it-is-islam/) [Walid Jumblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walid-jumblatt/) > [I would be quite happy to see the Northern Alliance steam across northern Afghanistan and take Kabul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-hoon/i-would-be-quite-happy-to-see-the-northern-alliance-steam-across/) [Geoff Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-hoon/) > [We are very wrong to think that some fault or other can exclude virtue, or to consider the alliance of good and evil as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/we-are-very-wrong-to-think-that-some-fault-or-other-can-exclude/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-obst/love-and-friendship-two-of-life-s-abiding-rewards-are-endangered/) [Lynda Obst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-obst/) > [...to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/to-befoul-the-unholy-alliance-between-corrupt-business-and-corrupt/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I prayed for the first time in a very long time today. I explained to God that unless he wanted the Marxist-Islamic alliance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-behring-breivik/i-prayed-for-the-first-time-in-a-very-long-time-today-i-explained-to/) Anders Behring Breivik > [You cannot lead an alliance if you say you're going alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-cannot-lead-an-alliance-if-you-say-you-re-going-alone/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [An alliance is like a chain. It is not made stronger by adding weak links to it. A great power like the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/an-alliance-is-like-a-chain-it-is-not-made-stronger-by-adding-weak/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/behind-the-ostensible-government-sits-enthroned-an-invisible/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Clearly, gay marriage is on the top of the agenda right now. It's pretty amazing, considering where stuff was at when I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/clearly-gay-marriage-is-on-the-top-of-the-agenda-right-now-it-s/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [America must always be the world's paramount military power, but we can magnify our power through alliances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/america-must-always-be-the-world-s-paramount-military-power-but-we/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [ I told \[ David Lange\] he was crazy, because you can't have an alliance relationship if you refuse access to their ships. And the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/i-told-david-lange-he-was-crazy-because-you-can-t-have-an-alliance/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 389 Alliances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The modern poet has no essential alliance with regular schemes of any sorts.He reserves the right to adapt his rhythm to his mood, to modulate his metre as he progresses. Far from seeking freedom and irresponsibility (implied by the unfortunate term free verse) he seeks a stricter discipline of exact concord of thought and feeling.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Read" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-alliance-with-regular-schemes-of-any/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alliances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-alliance-with-regular-schemes-of-any/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/herbert-read-7906_alliances_the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-allianc_2943415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The modern poet has no essential alliance with regular schemes of any sorts.He reserves the right to adapt…” — Herbert Read", "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": "Herbert Read", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The modern poet has no essential...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-alliance-with-regular-schemes-of-any/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-modern-poet-has-no-essential-alliance-with-regular-schemes-of-any/#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 } } ] } ```