--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In every good poem everything must be…" description: "\"In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.\" — Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png" --- # In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and… ![“In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.” quote by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png) > “In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.” [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A poem achieves excellence when it balances careful planning with spontaneous inspiration. **In simple terms:** Great poems blend planning and instinct. Key Takeaway Aim for both deliberate structure and natural flow in writing. Themes creativity craft balance Mood thoughtful inspired Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - poetry composition - artistic practice Key Concepts aesthetics literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to edit versus trust instinct? - What techniques help merge deliberation with spontaneity? A Different Perspective Finding that balance can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [ For me, the Bild-Dichtung \[image-poem\] is the ideal form, because the drawing process is constantly being interrupted or contrasted by the writing. And since… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-brus/for-me-the-bild-dichtung-image-poem-is-the-ideal-form-because-the/) [Gunter Brus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-brus/) > [Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/truly-successful-decision-making-relies-on-a-balance-between/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The life of the artist should be distinguished from that of all other people, even in external habits. They are Brahmins, a higher caste,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-life-of-the-artist-should-be-distinguished-from-that-of-all-other/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [One ought, every day at least,to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture,and, if it were possible, to speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/one-ought-every-day-at-least-to-hear-a-little-song-read-a-good-poem/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“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/) > [A good poem is a contribution to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/a-good-poem-is-a-contribution-to-reality/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [A good poem is an amazing thing: a perfectly distilled, articulate moment. It opens you up - sometimes slowly, like the blooming of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/a-good-poem-is-an-amazing-thing-a-perfectly-distilled-articulate/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Dismantle the sun, pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods: For nothing now can ever come to any good…” The poem by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-ryan/dismantle-the-sun-pour-away-the-ocean-and-sweep-up-the-woods-for/) [Lori Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-ryan/) > [“A good poem doesn't need to rhyme or have fancy words. It needs to touch the reader, hug them when arms cannot do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldie-nanwani/a-good-poem-doesn-t-need-to-rhyme-or-have-fancy-words-it-needs-to/) [Goldie Nanwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldie-nanwani/) > [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/) > [Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/every-day-we-should-hear-at-least-one-little-song-read-one-good-poem/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A good poem is a tautology. It expands one word by adding a number which clarify it, thus making a new word which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/a-good-poem-is-a-tautology-it-expands-one-word-by-adding-a-number/) [Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/) > [... mathematics is very much like poetry ... what makes a good poem -- a great poem -- is that there is a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lipman-bers/mathematics-is-very-much-like-poetry-what-makes-a-good-poem-a-great/) Lipman Bers > [A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-bringing-a-child-into-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## More by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel > [The symmetry and organization of history teaches us that mankind, during its existence and development, genuinely was and became an individual, a person. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-symmetry-and-organization-of-history-teaches-us-that-mankind/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Both in their origins and effects, boredom and stuffy air resemble each other. They are usually generated whenever a large number of people gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/both-in-their-origins-and-effects-boredom-and-stuffy-air-resemble/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Every good man progressively becomes God. To become God, to be man, and to educate oneself, are expressions that are synonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/every-good-man-progressively-becomes-god-to-become-god-to-be-man-and/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [The naive is what is or appears to be natural, individual, or classical to the point of irony or to the point of continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-naive-is-what-is-or-appears-to-be-natural-individual-or-classical/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. The feminine ones are not idealistic, and the idealistic not feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-are-treated-as-unjustly-in-poetry-as-in-life-the-feminine-ones/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Only he who possesses a personal religion, an original view of infinity, can be an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/only-he-who-possesses-a-personal-religion-an-original-view-of/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Wit as an instrument of revenge is as infamous as art is as a means of sensual titillation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/wit-as-an-instrument-of-revenge-is-as-infamous-as-art-is-as-a-means/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Where philosophy ends, poetry must commence. There should not be a common point of view, a natural manner of thinking which standsin contrast to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/where-philosophy-ends-poetry-must-commence-there-should-not-be-a/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Wit is an explosion of the compound spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/wit-is-an-explosion-of-the-compound-spirit/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Life is writing. The sole purpose of mankind is to engrave the thoughts of divinity onto the tablets of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/life-is-writing-the-sole-purpose-of-mankind-is-to-engrave-the/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Religion can emerge in all forms of feeling: here wild anger, there the sweetest pain; here consuming hatred, there the childlike smile of serene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/religion-can-emerge-in-all-forms-of-feeling-here-wild-anger-there-the/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Women do not have as great a need for poetry because their own essence is poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-do-not-have-as-great-a-need-for-poetry-because-their-own/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [When the author has no idea of what to reply to a critic, he then likes to say: you could not do it better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/when-the-author-has-no-idea-of-what-to-reply-to-a-critic-he-then/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [One mentions many artists who are actually art works of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/one-mentions-many-artists-who-are-actually-art-works-of-nature/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [The main thing is to know something and to say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-main-thing-is-to-know-something-and-to-say-it/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) [Explore all 186 Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) ## More Deliberate quotes > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) K. Anders Ericsson > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [There should be a period of time during each practice session when you perform. Invite some friends in to your practice room and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-jacobs/there-should-be-a-period-of-time-during-each-practice-session-when/) Arnold Jacobs > [“Be deliberate in your choices. We are created to do what we are called to do and what we are born to experience, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-connor/be-deliberate-in-your-choices-we-are-created-to-do-what-we-are-called/) [Julie Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-connor/) > [Deliberate long before thou consecrate a friend, and when thy impartial justice concludes him worthy of thy bosom, receive him joyfully, and entertain him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/deliberate-long-before-thou-consecrate-a-friend-and-when-thy/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [I say that human nature is the original beginning and the raw material, and deliberate effort is what makes it patterned, ordered, and exalted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xun-kuang/i-say-that-human-nature-is-the-original-beginning-and-the-raw/) [Xun Kuang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xun-kuang/) > [Even today to be civilised is held to be synonymous with being westernised. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/even-today-to-be-civilised-is-held-to-be-synonymous-with-being/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [I often think about how my sons will come to know about September 11th. Something overheard? A newspaper image? In school? I would prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-often-think-about-how-my-sons-will-come-to-know-about-september/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [In our lives and in our careers, whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly navigating a path by deciding between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/in-our-lives-and-in-our-careers-whether-we-are-aware-of-it-or-not-we/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [“a creature cloistered now by deliberate choice and still in the throes of enforced apprenticeship to, rather than voluntary or even acquiescent participation in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/a-creature-cloistered-now-by-deliberate-choice-and-still-in-the/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Success is a choice; you choose it and work it out! Excellence is deliberate and so it is intentionally pursued. No successful person ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/success-is-a-choice-you-choose-it-and-work-it-out-excellence-is/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Theory may be deliberate, as in a chapter on chemistry, or it may be second nature, as in the immemorial doctrine of ordinary enduring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/theory-may-be-deliberate-as-in-a-chapter-on-chemistry-or-it-may-be/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) [Browse all 503 Deliberate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-both-deliberate-and-instinctive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deliberate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-both-deliberate-and-instinctive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlege_deliberate_in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-bo_174596.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.” — Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel", "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 Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In every good poem everything must...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-both-deliberate-and-instinctive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-both-deliberate-and-instinctive/#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 } } ] } ```