--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A lyric, it is true, is the expression of…" description: "\"A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal emotion, but then so is all poetry, and to suppose that there are several kinds of poetry, differing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg" --- # A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal… ![“A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal emotion, but then so is all poetry, and to suppose that there are several kinds of poetry, differing from each other in essence, is to be deceived by wholly artificial divisions which have no real being.” quote by John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg) > “A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal emotion, but then so is all poetry, and to suppose that there are several kinds of poetry, differing from each other in essence, is to be deceived by wholly artificial divisions which have no real being.” [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All poetry stems from personal feeling; categorizing it into rigid types creates false divisions. **In simple terms:** Poetry is unified by emotion, not form. Key Takeaway Embrace all poetic expressions. Themes art emotion creativity Mood contemplative inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - personal journaling Key Concepts aesthetic theory literary criticism subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - Do labels enhance or hinder appreciation? - How can we celebrate diverse poetic forms? A Different Perspective Over‑classification can limit creative freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [I'm much better at fixing or changing a melody to suit me than I would a lyric. But for me, everything is lyric. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-krauss/i-m-much-better-at-fixing-or-changing-a-melody-to-suit-me-than-i/) [Alison Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-krauss/) > [Between religion's this is and poetry's but suppose this is, there must always be some kind of tension, until the possible and the actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/between-religion-s-this-is-and-poetry-s-but-suppose-this-is-there/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [One good way to start writing poetry is to read all kinds of poetry: not just in order to imitate but to fill up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-worth/one-good-way-to-start-writing-poetry-is-to-read-all-kinds-of-poetry/) [Valerie Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-worth/) > [“All the same, we ought to point out that if the kinds of poetry and representation which are designed merely to give pleasure can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/all-the-same-we-ought-to-point-out-that-if-the-kinds-of-poetry-and/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The productions of all arts are kinds of poetry and their craftsmen are all poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-productions-of-all-arts-are-kinds-of-poetry-and-their-craftsmen/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I think there are different kinds of poetry for different stages of life and there's the wild, exuberance of youth, there's the painful agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-think-there-are-different-kinds-of-poetry-for-different-stages-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brandt/don-t-tell-me-the-sky-s-the-limit-when-there-are-footprints-on-the/) [Paul Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brandt/) > [I am committed now to one thing: lyric sequences. I want the intensity of lyric, but the scope and arc of narrative. so, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/i-am-committed-now-to-one-thing-lyric-sequences-i-want-the-intensity/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [My job is to be some sort of music/lyric psychic, to figure out that that's the right song to not fight the lyric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/my-job-is-to-be-some-sort-of-music-lyric-psychic-to-figure-out-that/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [In our hands, even the straightest lyric sounded shady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-young/in-our-hands-even-the-straightest-lyric-sounded-shady/) [Angus Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-young/) > [“You're mine, Lyric.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/you-re-mine-lyric/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [This 'Making Mirrors' album is far more personal, even if there's a character element to the sounds I'm working with. Every song on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/this-making-mirrors-album-is-far-more-personal-even-if-there-s-a/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [I'm achingly aware of my own limitations as both part of the human race and as an individual. I'm just, casting this out that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/i-m-achingly-aware-of-my-own-limitations-as-both-part-of-the-human/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyric/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [“Lyric poets are always corrupting the young, making them choke in self-pity and indulge in reverie. Dirty sex and direspect for authority is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/lyric-poets-are-always-corrupting-the-young-making-them-choke-in-self/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) ## More by John Drinkwater > [The poet's perfect expression is the token of a perfect experience; what he says in the best possible way he has felt in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/the-poet-s-perfect-expression-is-the-token-of-a-perfect-experience/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [This be my pilgrimage and goal Daily to march and find The secret phrases of the soul, The evangels of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/this-be-my-pilgrimage-and-goal-daily-to-march-and-find-the-secret/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [When you defile the pleasant streams, And the wild bird's abiding place, You massacre a million dreams, And cast your spittle in God's face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/when-you-defile-the-pleasant-streams-and-the-wild-bird-s-abiding/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [But in the finished art of the song the use of words has no connection with the use of words in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/but-in-the-finished-art-of-the-song-the-use-of-words-has-no/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [There can be no proof that Blake's lyric is composed of the best words in the best order; only a conviction, accepted by our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/there-can-be-no-proof-that-blake-s-lyric-is-composed-of-the-best/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [The written word is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/the-written-word-is-everything/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [The musician - if he be a good one - finds his own perception prompted by the poet's perception, and he translates the expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/the-musician-if-he-be-a-good-one-finds-his-own-perception-prompted-by/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [And not a girl goes walking Along the Cotswold lanes But knows men's eyes in April Are quicker than their brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/and-not-a-girl-goes-walking-along-the-cotswold-lanes-but-knows-men-s/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [We recognise in the finished art, which is the result of these conditions, the best words in the best order - poetry; and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/we-recognise-in-the-finished-art-which-is-the-result-of-these/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [Poetry being the sign of that which all men desire, even though the desire be unconscious, intensity of life or completeness of experience, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/poetry-being-the-sign-of-that-which-all-men-desire-even-though-the/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [Any long work in which poetry is persistent, be it epic or drama or narrative, is really a succession of separate poetic experiences governed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/any-long-work-in-which-poetry-is-persistent-be-it-epic-or-drama-or/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [Poetry is the communication through words of certain experiences that can be communicated in no other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/poetry-is-the-communication-through-words-of-certain-experiences-that/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [To know anything of a poet but his poetry is, so far as the poetry is concerned, to know something that may be entertaining,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/to-know-anything-of-a-poet-but-his-poetry-is-so-far-as-the-poetry-is/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [Poe's saying that a long poem is a sequence of short ones is perfectly just.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/poe-s-saying-that-a-long-poem-is-a-sequence-of-short-ones-is/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [It is commonly asserted and accepted that Paradise Lost is among the two or three greatest English poems; it may justly be taken as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/it-is-commonly-asserted-and-accepted-that-paradise-lost-is-among-the/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) [Explore all 26 John Drinkwater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) ## More Artificial quotes > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I find theater very lazy and artificial, and then when it's not, it lacks refinement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-tsakos/i-find-theater-very-lazy-and-artificial-and-then-when-it-s-not-it/) [Natasha Tsakos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-tsakos/) > [Conservative feminism is such an artificial term that doesn't mean much to me. For me conservatism means accepting reality. I acknowledge that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/conservative-feminism-is-such-an-artificial-term-that-doesn-t-mean/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/i-think-we-should-be-very-careful-about-artificial-intelligence-if-i/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [We always want to live in an environment where there's no artificial block to good work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/we-always-want-to-live-in-an-environment-where-there-s-no-artificial/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [What do you have to surrender? A drop has to dissolve into the ocean to become the ocean. And a drop cannot be greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/what-do-you-have-to-surrender-a-drop-has-to-dissolve-into-the-ocean/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) Browse all 819 Artificial quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal emotion, but then so is all poetry, and to suppose that there are several kinds of poetry, differing from each other in essence, is to be deceived by wholly artificial divisions which have no real being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Drinkwater" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of-personal-emotion-but-then-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artificial" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of-personal-emotion-but-then-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/john-drinkwater-23254_artificial_a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of_2898775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A lyric, it is true, is the expression of personal emotion, but then so is all poetry, and to suppose that…” — John Drinkwater", "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": "John Drinkwater", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A lyric, it is true, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of-personal-emotion-but-then-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/a-lyric-it-is-true-is-the-expression-of-personal-emotion-but-then-so/#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 } } ] } ```