--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not enough for poems to be fine…" description: "\"It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.\" — Horace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg" --- # It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm… ![“It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg) > “It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poems must be technically skilled and also emotionally engaging to captivate listeners. **In simple terms:** Poetry needs skill and charm. Key Takeaway Aim for both form and feeling in writing. Themes art emotion craftsmanship Mood inspirational analytical Type poetic educational When to use this quote - writing poetry - public speaking - literary criticism Key Concepts rhetoric aesthetic theory Questions to Reflect On - What makes a poem charming? - How can you balance technique and emotion? A Different Perspective Technical skill alone may not move audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Since true listening involves a setting aside of the self, it also temporarily involves a total acceptance of the others. Sensing this acceptance, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/since-true-listening-involves-a-setting-aside-of-the-self-it-also/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Radio is truly the theater of the mind. The listener constructs the sets, colors them from his own palette, and sculpts and costumes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-mccambridge/radio-is-truly-the-theater-of-the-mind-the-listener-constructs-the/) [Mercedes McCambridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-mccambridge/) > [Perhaps within the next hundred years, science will perfect a process of thought transference from composer to listener. The composer will sit alone on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-scott/perhaps-within-the-next-hundred-years-science-will-perfect-a-process/) Raymond Scott > [All else-valor, a good name, glory, everything in heaven and earth-is secondary to the charm of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/all-else-valor-a-good-name-glory-everything-in-heaven-and-earth-is/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I think what is important for things to be funny is if you the listener, or the reader, get a chance to supply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/i-think-what-is-important-for-things-to-be-funny-is-if-you-the/) [Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/) > [The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-most-skillful-flattery-is-to-let-a-person-talk-on-and-be-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Conversation, n.: A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/conversation-n-a-vocal-competition-in-which-the-one-who-is-catching/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [So if you aspire to be a good conversationali st, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/so-if-you-aspire-to-be-a-good-conversationali-st-be-an-attentive/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [I feel that I can teach my listener about a new word they can use too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-feel-that-i-can-teach-my-listener-about-a-new-word-they-can-use-too/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [The single most important key to success is to be a good listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-wearstler/the-single-most-important-key-to-success-is-to-be-a-good-listener/) [Kelly Wearstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-wearstler/) > [I want to be able to depict in music a glass of beer so accurately that every listener can tell whether it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/i-want-to-be-able-to-depict-in-music-a-glass-of-beer-so-accurately/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Above all, the listener should be able to understand the poem or the song, not be forced to unravel a complicated, self-indulgent puzzle. Offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-williams/above-all-the-listener-should-be-able-to-understand-the-poem-or-the/) [Lucinda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-williams/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More Charm quotes > [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/modesty-is-the-gentle-art-of-enhancing-your-charm-by-pretending-not/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [Talk health. The dreary, never-changing tale Of mortal maladies is worn and stale. You cannot charm, or interest, or please By harping in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/talk-health-the-dreary-never-changing-tale-of-mortal-maladies-is-worn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [I'm an old school guy and love the guys in the monster suits and JAWS; even though everyone makes fun of the shark I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-fessenden/i-m-an-old-school-guy-and-love-the-guys-in-the-monster-suits-and-jaws/) [Larry Fessenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-fessenden/) > [Every woman has the instinct, the propensity to profit from her charms, and there's a lot to be said for giving oneself without love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/every-woman-has-the-instinct-the-propensity-to-profit-from-her-charms/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) > [I don't know that I'm a free spirit or anything like that. I just have my own way of doing things. That's the charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-schultz/i-don-t-know-that-i-m-a-free-spirit-or-anything-like-that-i-just-have/) [Dave Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-schultz/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“It's a part of life. You never know what you are going to get; you just have to be strong enough to deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-hill/it-s-a-part-of-life-you-never-know-what-you-are-going-to-get-you-just/) [Melissa Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-hill/) > [Even after marrying Mallika, I feel that I am her boyfriend. In fact, I believe this feeling enhances the charm and fun of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zayed-khan/even-after-marrying-mallika-i-feel-that-i-am-her-boyfriend-in-fact-i/) [Zayed Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zayed-khan/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [“Never trust charm, it's the most powerful weapon in the devil's armory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-gilbert/never-trust-charm-it-s-the-most-powerful-weapon-in-the-devil-s-armory/) Anthony Gilbert > [Paul Taylor's 'Offenbach Overtures' has lots of zip and charm, and its pair of dueling soldiers in red, who end up starry-eyed about each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/paul-taylor-s-offenbach-overtures-has-lots-of-zip-and-charm-and-its/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [Time's stern tide, with cold Oblivion's wave, Shall soon dissolve each fair, each fading charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-seward/time-s-stern-tide-with-cold-oblivion-s-wave-shall-soon-dissolve-each/) [Anna Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-seward/) > [Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/washington-is-a-city-of-southern-efficiency-and-northern-charm/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) [Browse all 1,415 Charm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-they-must-charm-and-draw-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Charm" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-they-must-charm-and-draw-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a7/horace-172_charm_it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-th_792312.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.” — Horace", "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": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not enough for poems...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-they-must-charm-and-draw-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/it-is-not-enough-for-poems-to-be-fine-they-must-charm-and-draw-the/#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 } } ] } ```