--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A poem is good until one knows by whom it…" description: "\"A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.\" — Karl Kraus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png" --- # A poem is good until one knows by whom it is. ![“A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.” quote by Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png) > “A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.” [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowing the poet changes perception of the poem; authorial context matters. **In simple terms:** Poem’s value shifts with author knowledge. Key Takeaway Consider author’s background when reading. Themes authorship interpretation literary criticism Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading - education - critical analysis Key Concepts literature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing an author affect you? - Can you enjoy a poem without context? A Different Perspective Focusing on author can limit personal interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-knows-1641472/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poem Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-good-359008/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“Was the cake at least good?” He knows where my heart lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/was-the-cake-at-least-good-he-knows-where-my-heart-lies/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [John Goodman has such a good way of breaking the ice. He's so good at being himself. A lot of people aren't really good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mitchell/john-goodman-has-such-a-good-way-of-breaking-the-ice-he-s-so-good-at/) [Jason Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mitchell/) > [What good is being the one if your the only one who knows it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/what-good-is-being-the-one-if-your-the-only-one-who-knows-it/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [Of course a poem is a two-way street. No poem is any good if it doesn't suggest to the reader things from his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-laughlin/of-course-a-poem-is-a-two-way-street-no-poem-is-any-good-if-it-doesn/) [James Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-laughlin/) > [A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as counters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-analogy-and-startles-the-reader/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had written a poem and it was very good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-a-funny-feeling-as-i-saw-the-house-disappear-as-though-i-had/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“To write or read a poem is . . . to enter into a different kind of thought world from our normal patterns. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/to-write-or-read-a-poem-is-to-enter-into-a-different-kind-of-thought/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“It is, of course, we who house poems as much as their words, and we ourselves must be the locus of poetry's depth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/it-is-of-course-we-who-house-poems-as-much-as-their-words-and-we/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Shaw...has a woman ever asked you to write a poem for her?" "Good God, no," Gideon replied with a snicker. "Shaws don't write poetry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/shaw-has-a-woman-ever-asked-you-to-write-a-poem-for-her-good-god-no/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [A successful poem says what a poet wants to say, and more, with particular finality. The remarks he makes about his poems are incidental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-successful-poem-says-what-a-poet-wants-to-say-and-more-with/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“The name does not deserve the poem, but the poem deserves the name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-name-does-not-deserve-the-poem-but-the-poem-deserves-the-name/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Whatever you want," he said. "Will you please come here now?" I slipped a piece of protective tissue over my drawing and flipped the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/whatever-you-want-he-said-will-you-please-come-here-now-i-slipped-a/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) ## More by Karl Kraus > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I don't like to meddle in my private affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-don-t-like-to-meddle-in-my-private-affairs/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say, and I don't say what it wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-and-my-public-understand-each-other-very-well-it-does-not-hear-what/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Satire that the censor understands is rightly censored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-that-the-censor-understands-is-rightly-censored/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Hate must make a man productive. Otherwise one might as well love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/hate-must-make-a-man-productive-otherwise-one-might-as-well-love/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/one-must-read-all-writers-twice-the-good-as-well-as-the-bad-the-one/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Children today laugh at fathers who tell them about dragons. It is necessary to make fear a required subject; otherwise children will never learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/children-today-laugh-at-fathers-who-tell-them-about-dragons-it-is/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The little stations are very proud because the expresses have to pass them by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-little-stations-are-very-proud-because-the-expresses-have-to-pass/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I have often been asked to be fair and view a matter from all sides. I did so, hoping that something might improve if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-have-often-been-asked-to-be-fair-and-view-a-matter-from-all-sides-i/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [In the theater one must sit in such a way that one sees the audience as a dark mass. Then it cannot bother one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/in-the-theater-one-must-sit-in-such-a-way-that-one-sees-the-audience/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Many desire to kill me, and many wish to spend an hour chatting with me. The law protects me from the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/many-desire-to-kill-me-and-many-wish-to-spend-an-hour-chatting-with/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) [Explore all 275 Karl Kraus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## More Good quotes > [When I came to Chelsea, it was clear that, like many other players, I would first be loaned out. So I went to Belgium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorgan-hazard/when-i-came-to-chelsea-it-was-clear-that-like-many-other-players-i/) [Thorgan Hazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorgan-hazard/) > [Today I didn't even have to even use my A.K ! I got to say it was a good day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/today-i-didn-t-even-have-to-even-use-my-a-k-i-got-to-say-it-was-a/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-list/if-you-want-to-edit-your-photos-and-make-yourself-look-different-go/) [Peyton List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-list/) > [I met Rajini sir after 'Jigarthanda,' and he said he liked my film. He told me I could approach him whenever I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karthik-subbaraj/i-met-rajini-sir-after-jigarthanda-and-he-said-he-liked-my-film-he/) [Karthik Subbaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karthik-subbaraj/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, sometimes I'm in a good mood. It's like everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricky/sometimes-i-m-in-a-bad-mood-sometimes-i-m-in-a-good-mood-it-s-like/) [Tricky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tricky/) > [Eric Clapton's scales - when he comes off a high note and it's time for a refrain or a little bit of a rest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rea/eric-clapton-s-scales-when-he-comes-off-a-high-note-and-it-s-time-for/) [Chris Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rea/) > [I studied all kinds of dance, all types of music. I got good grades. I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [Everybody has their cliques, and I was very shy. I'm still very shy. Music opened up doors. I would get to my choir class,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-fonsi/everybody-has-their-cliques-and-i-was-very-shy-i-m-still-very-shy/) [Luis Fonsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-fonsi/) > [My only close-to-game-plan is to follow good writing. If the writing is in TV or if it's in theater or in film, that's it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/my-only-close-to-game-plan-is-to-follow-good-writing-if-the-writing/) [Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [I think I am against stereotype. Generally, Asian guys are more quiet - they study and have a good work ethic. Generally, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lee/i-think-i-am-against-stereotype-generally-asian-guys-are-more-quiet/) [Bobby Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lee/) > [I ask for tips, for advice. What I have also learnt is that I need to do things that are good for me. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthijs-de-ligt/i-ask-for-tips-for-advice-what-i-have-also-learnt-is-that-i-need-to/) [Matthijs de Ligt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthijs-de-ligt/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) [Browse all 40,882 Good quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Kraus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/karl-kraus-1128_good_a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-i_944856.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A poem is good until one knows by whom it is.” — Karl Kraus", "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": "Karl Kraus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A poem is good until one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-poem-is-good-until-one-knows-by-whom-it-is/#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 } } ] } ```