--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is a deliberate attempt to make…" description: "\"Poetry is a deliberate attempt to make language suggestive and imprecise.\" — Kenneth Koch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/kenneth-koch-13952_deliberate_poetry-is-a-deliberate-attempt-to-make-l_1916674.png" --- # Poetry is a deliberate attempt to make language suggestive… ![“Poetry is a deliberate attempt to make language suggestive and imprecise.” quote by Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/kenneth-koch-13952_deliberate_poetry-is-a-deliberate-attempt-to-make-l_1916674.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/kenneth-koch-13952_deliberate_poetry-is-a-deliberate-attempt-to-make-l_1916674.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/kenneth-koch-13952_deliberate_poetry-is-a-deliberate-attempt-to-make-l_1916674.png) > “Poetry is a deliberate attempt to make language suggestive and imprecise.” [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry intentionally uses vague, suggestive language to evoke feeling rather than convey precise facts. **In simple terms:** Poetry uses suggestive, imprecise language. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity to spark imagination. Themes poetry language creativity Mood inspired curious Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative writing classes - literary analysis - personal journaling - teaching poetry Key Concepts suggestive diction artistic expression literary technique Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity enhance emotional impact? - When is precise language more effective than poetic? A Different Perspective May be misunderstood by literal readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Suggestive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggestive/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is the capture of a picture, a song, or a flair, in a deliberate prism of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/poetry-is-the-capture-of-a-picture-a-song-or-a-flair-in-a-deliberate/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/then-there-are-some-minor-points-that-strike-me-as-suggestive-for/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I don't believe in using too much graphic violence, although I've done it. It's better to be suggestive and to allow the viewer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobe-hooper/i-don-t-believe-in-using-too-much-graphic-violence-although-i-ve-done/) [Tobe Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobe-hooper/) > [“Put your mouth on mine, Little Raven. I’m ready for a taste of lemon cake,” he said in a deep and tumbling voice. “Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannika-dark/put-your-mouth-on-mine-little-raven-i-m-ready-for-a-taste-of-lemon/) [Dannika Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannika-dark/) > [“You're still looking.' ... 'You make it hard to look away.' ... 'I'm over here keeping my hands and memories to myself because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-yarros/you-re-still-looking-you-make-it-hard-to-look-away-i-m-over-here/) [Rebecca Yarros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-yarros/) > [Wearing a low-cut, cleavage-revealing top is called suggestive. What does it suggest? That there is more than what you now see, and I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-leigh-demoss/wearing-a-low-cut-cleavage-revealing-top-is-called-suggestive-what/) [Nancy Leigh DeMoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-leigh-demoss/) > [I don't ever feel that it's necessary to say certain things. I think we can be very suggestive. I think we can allude to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-pendergrass/i-don-t-ever-feel-that-it-s-necessary-to-say-certain-things-i-think/) [Teddy Pendergrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-pendergrass/) > [Genius is always more suggestive than expressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-stevens/genius-is-always-more-suggestive-than-expressive/) [Abel Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-stevens/) > [“Phrases and images from the game filtered through his head... hitting the sweet spot, working the rosin bag, over the bat, going deep, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-ruskin/phrases-and-images-from-the-game-filtered-through-his-head-hitting/) J.D. Ruskin > [Without the definiteness of sculpture and painting, music is, for that very reason, far more suggestive. Like Milton's Eve, an outline, an impulse, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-theodore-tuckerman/without-the-definiteness-of-sculpture-and-painting-music-is-for-that/) [Henry Theodore Tuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-theodore-tuckerman/) > [“You should go.' 'This is my room,' he points out, affronted. 'And that's my wife.' 'So you keep telling everyone,' the Bomb says. 'But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/you-should-go-this-is-my-room-he-points-out-affronted-and-that-s-my/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“You and pretty Tarquin had a moment today. Do you truly think he'll join us?' 'If you mean in bed, definitely not,' Rhys said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/you-and-pretty-tarquin-had-a-moment-today-do-you-truly-think-he-ll/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [To see with one's own eyes, to feel and judge without succumbing to the suggestive power of the fashion of the day, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/to-see-with-one-s-own-eyes-to-feel-and-judge-without-succumbing-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/an-idea-to-be-suggestive-must-come-to-the-individual-with-the-force/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I like things to reverberate, to be suggestive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hollinghurst/i-like-things-to-reverberate-to-be-suggestive/) [Alan Hollinghurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hollinghurst/) ## More by Kenneth Koch > [The subject matter of the stories on the surface... there seem to be a number of stories about travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/the-subject-matter-of-the-stories-on-the-surface-there-seem-to-be-a/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [It's a well known thing that ordinary perceptions can have a strange aspect when one is travelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/it-s-a-well-known-thing-that-ordinary-perceptions-can-have-a-strange/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“Summer in the trees! “It is time to strangle several bad poets.” / The yellow hobbyhorse rocks to and fro, and from the chimney…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/summer-in-the-trees-it-is-time-to-strangle-several-bad-poets-the/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [If you want to know how much I love and care for you, count the waves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/if-you-want-to-know-how-much-i-love-and-care-for-you-count-the-waves/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“Lies belong in poems”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/lies-belong-in-poems/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [I was excited by what my painter friends were doing, and they seemed to be interested in our poetry too, and that was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-was-excited-by-what-my-painter-friends-were-doing-and-they-seemed/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Picasso said once when being interviewed that one should not be one's own connoisseur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/picasso-said-once-when-being-interviewed-that-one-should-not-be-one-s/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [It takes a long time to publish a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/it-takes-a-long-time-to-publish-a-book/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [I love painting and music, of course. I don't know nearly as much about them as I know about poetry. I've certainly been influenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-love-painting-and-music-of-course-i-don-t-know-nearly-as-much-about/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“I wasn’t ready For you. I understood nothing Seemingly except my feelings You were whirling In your life I was keeping Everything in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-wasn-t-ready-for-you-i-understood-nothing-seemingly-except-my/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [I don't think the nature of my poetry is satirical or even ironic, I think it's essentially lyrical but again I don't know if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-don-t-think-the-nature-of-my-poetry-is-satirical-or-even-ironic-i/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“I probably misunderstand misunderstanding itself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-probably-misunderstand-misunderstanding-itself/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“I love you as a sheriff searches for a walnut / That will solve a murder case unsolved for years / Because the murderer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/i-love-you-as-a-sheriff-searches-for-a-walnut-that-will-solve-a/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [As I look over my work, I mean every time I look over my early work, I see, yes, I could do that then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/as-i-look-over-my-work-i-mean-every-time-i-look-over-my-early-work-i/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) [Explore all 48 Kenneth Koch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) ## 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! 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