---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The poet must put on the passion he wants…"
description: "\"The poet must put on the passion he wants to represent.\" — Horace"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg"
---

#  The poet must put on the passion he wants to represent.

![“The poet must put on the passion he wants to represent.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg)

> “The poet must put on the passion he wants to represent.”

[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.

A poet must embody the emotions he wishes to convey.

**In simple terms:** Feel the passion you write about.

Key Takeaway

Live the feeling before writing.

Themes

poetry authenticity emotion

Mood

reflective determined

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- public speaking
- teaching
- storytelling

Key Concepts

expressive writing embodiment

Questions to Reflect On

- What emotions do you truly feel?
- How can you practice embodying them?

A Different Perspective

Authenticity can be hard to achieve under pressure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passion Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion-wants-590012/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-passion-4254624/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wants Represent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-represent-2703332/)

## Related quotes

> [Everybody, of course, wants to represent the Cavs in the best way. Of course, myself too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedi-osman/everybody-of-course-wants-to-represent-the-cavs-in-the-best-way-of/)

[Cedi Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedi-osman/)

> [ She \[Carol Parsinan\] somehow read my poems and came back to me and convinced me that I could be a poet, that I had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/she-carol-parsinan-somehow-read-my-poems-and-came-back-to-me-and/)

[Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/)

> [I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-liked-yeats-that-wild-irishman-i-really-loved-his-love-of-language/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [“Wanting too much sex and being obsessed with it is usually a sign of distress (or immaturity), not necessarily of passion. Passion wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/wanting-too-much-sex-and-being-obsessed-with-it-is-usually-a-sign-of/)

[Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/)

> [Usually passion wants to grab and yank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-passion-wants-to-grab-and-yank/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I guess I don't really know what I want to do, either. Sometimes I feel like a shook-up bottle of soda. Like, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-de-la-pena/i-guess-i-don-t-really-know-what-i-want-to-do-either-sometimes-i-feel/)

[Matt de la Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-de-la-pena/)

> [“A man, when he's burning up with passion, wants to see things; he wants to see everything, even how they make water. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/a-man-when-he-s-burning-up-with-passion-wants-to-see-things-he-wants/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [ 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/)

> [It is not the poet's business to save man's soul but to make it worth saving . . . However, few poets have written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/it-is-not-the-poet-s-business-to-save-man-s-soul-but-to-make-it-worth/)

[James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/)

> [The man is either crazy or he is a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-man-is-either-crazy-or-he-is-a-poet/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [Limbs of a dismembered poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/limbs-of-a-dismembered-poet/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [The fellow is either a madman or a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-fellow-is-either-a-madman-or-a-poet/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [Who then is free? The wise who can command his passions, who fears not want, nor death, nor chains, firmly resisting his appetites and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/who-then-is-free-the-wise-who-can-command-his-passions-who-fears-not/)

[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/)

> [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

## 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 Passion quotes

> [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/)

[Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/)

> [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/)

[David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/)

> [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/)

[Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/)

> [“Being held by him, kissed and mastered, taken under and swept away, enthralled her in a way she—an independent woman if nothing else in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-sumner/being-held-by-him-kissed-and-mastered-taken-under-and-swept-away/)

[Tracy Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-sumner/)

> [I have learned that you can go anywhere you want to go and do anything you want to do and buy all the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c-2/i-have-learned-that-you-can-go-anywhere-you-want-to-go-and-do/)

[C JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c-2/)

> [Tonight I feel like a prisoner on fire, waiting desperately... denied, sentenced forever more. Only your love can set me free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bolton/tonight-i-feel-like-a-prisoner-on-fire-waiting-desperately-denied/)

[Michael Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bolton/)

> [I love people who have such passion for complete nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-love-people-who-have-such-passion-for-complete-nonsense/)

[Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/)

> [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“Without passion and satisfaction, there is nothing to make happiness last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/without-passion-and-satisfaction-there-is-nothing-to-make-happiness/)

[ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/)

> [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/)

[Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/)

> [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/)

[Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/)

> [The life of a good man was a continual warfare with his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-life-of-a-good-man-was-a-continual-warfare-with-his-passions/)

[Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/)

> [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

[Browse all 12,364 Passion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The poet must put on the passion he wants to represent.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Horace"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-wants-to-represent/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Passion"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-wants-to-represent/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/horace-172_passion_the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-want_3093664.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The poet must put on the passion he wants to represent.” — 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": "The poet must put on the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-wants-to-represent/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-poet-must-put-on-the-passion-he-wants-to-represent/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
