---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ultimately I have learned more about…"
description: "\"Ultimately I have learned more about poetry, from music and magic than from literature.\" — James Broughton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg"
---

#  Ultimately I have learned more about poetry, from music…

![“Ultimately I have learned more about poetry, from music and magic than from literature.” quote by James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg)

> “Ultimately I have learned more about poetry, from music and magic than from literature.”

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker finds poetry more accessible through music and magic than through traditional literature.

**In simple terms:** Music and magic teach poetry better than books.

Key Takeaway

Explore creative arts for poetic insight.

Themes

art creativity poetry music magic

Mood

inspired curious

Type

artistic educational

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- performing arts
- educational curricula
- personal inspiration

Key Concepts

interdisciplinary learning aesthetic experience cultural expression

Questions to Reflect On

- How do music and magic inspire poetic thought?
- Can literature be re‑imagined through other arts?

A Different Perspective

Traditional study may limit imagination.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/)

## Related quotes

> [Forget what you learned about poetry in school. (That it's complex, opaque, a problem to be solved in 1500 words by tomorrow.) Poetry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/forget-what-you-learned-about-poetry-in-school-that-it-s-complex/)

[Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/)

> [I also learned to tell a story. I think I learned from poetry how to time a story. Poetry's timing, beats and pauses. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-also-learned-to-tell-a-story-i-think-i-learned-from-poetry-how-to/)

[Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/)

> [I grew up in a place in which, if you learned poetry, you shouted it out. Boys would scream it out and perform it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-grew-up-in-a-place-in-which-if-you-learned-poetry-you-shouted-it/)

[Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/)

> [I've written poetry since I was in the first grade, and it wasn't until I was a little bit older that I realized poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordin-sparks/i-ve-written-poetry-since-i-was-in-the-first-grade-and-it-wasn-t/)

[Jordin Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordin-sparks/)

> [My father loved poetry and music. But deep in himself he thought teaching the finest thing a person could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/my-father-loved-poetry-and-music-but-deep-in-himself-he-thought/)

[George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/)

> [Creating artworks, writing and publishing novels, poetry, music, or conducting art-historical research requires support. So does everything else in the world, from physics to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/creating-artworks-writing-and-publishing-novels-poetry-music-or/)

[Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/)

> [Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man has a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture or philosophy, he makes a bad husband…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/art-is-a-jealous-mistress-and-if-a-man-has-a-genius-for-painting/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Making of poetry, music, dance and art as culture-making in the service of nation-making. You can find writings that make that purpose for art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcmorris/making-of-poetry-music-dance-and-art-as-culture-making-in-the-service/)

[Mark McMorris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcmorris/)

> [I love poetry, be it in music or be it in Andrei Tarkovsky, Francesca Woodman or anyone else, I just love poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/i-love-poetry-be-it-in-music-or-be-it-in-andrei-tarkovsky-francesca/)

[Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/)

> [The fine arts are five in number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music, and architecture, the principal branch of the latter being pastry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/the-fine-arts-are-five-in-number-namely-painting-sculpture-poetry/)

[Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/)

> [In a way I spend my entire life stealing from everything - from the past, from cities I love, from where I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/in-a-way-i-spend-my-entire-life-stealing-from-everything-from-the/)

[Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/)

> [We may live without poetry, music and art; We may live without conscience, and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-may-live-without-poetry-music-and-art-we-may-live-without/)

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

> [One of the most important differences I see between prose and poetry is the music of the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/one-of-the-most-important-differences-i-see-between-prose-and-poetry/)

[Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/)

> [Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/poetry-is-the-music-of-the-soul-and-above-all-of-great-and-feeling/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [“Poetry is the music of the soul”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jana-ghossein/poetry-is-the-music-of-the-soul/)

Jana Ghossein

## More by James Broughton

> [Only your vision can limit you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/only-your-vision-can-limit-you/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [I like things which appear fragile but are tough inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/i-like-things-which-appear-fragile-but-are-tough-inside/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [“Men fear joy too much, fear their instincts. Fear a surrender to their feelings. Fear loving themselves in others and loving others in themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/men-fear-joy-too-much-fear-their-instincts-fear-a-surrender-to-their/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [True delicacy is not a fragile thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/true-delicacy-is-not-a-fragile-thing/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [“If all that a stone is expected to be is the stone that it is, why isn't a man expected to be the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/if-all-that-a-stone-is-expected-to-be-is-the-stone-that-it-is-why-isn/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [Poetry for me is as much a spiritual practice as sexual ecstasy is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/poetry-for-me-is-as-much-a-spiritual-practice-as-sexual-ecstasy-is/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [“I felt in holy vibration to things around me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/i-felt-in-holy-vibration-to-things-around-me/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [Most poets, like most people, try hard to be like someone they admire or they are possessed with an image of what they ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/most-poets-like-most-people-try-hard-to-be-like-someone-they-admire/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [The quietest poetry can be an explosion of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/the-quietest-poetry-can-be-an-explosion-of-joy/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [I often start writing in order to excite an expansive emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/i-often-start-writing-in-order-to-excite-an-expansive-emotion/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [Life's major challenge: getting reborn often enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/life-s-major-challenge-getting-reborn-often-enough/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [“Shame is no longer relevant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/shame-is-no-longer-relevant/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [And to Shakespeare I owe my vision of the world as a theater, wherein all humans are acting out their parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/and-to-shakespeare-i-owe-my-vision-of-the-world-as-a-theater-wherein/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [Today the U.S. is farther from being nourished by poetry than it was a hundred years ago, when books of poems were best-sellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/today-the-u-s-is-farther-from-being-nourished-by-poetry-than-it-was-a/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [Everything is Song. Everything is Silence. Since it all turns out to be illusion, perfectly being what it is, having nothing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/everything-is-song-everything-is-silence-since-it-all-turns-out-to-be/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

[Explore all 60 James Broughton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Ultimately I have learned more about poetry, from music and magic than from literature.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "James Broughton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poetry-from-music-and-magic-than/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poetry-from-music-and-magic-than/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/james-broughton-11435_books_ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poe_222153.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Ultimately I have learned more about poetry, from music and magic than from literature.” — James Broughton",
                "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": "James Broughton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Ultimately I have learned more about...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poetry-from-music-and-magic-than/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/ultimately-i-have-learned-more-about-poetry-from-music-and-magic-than/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
