--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is the art of using language to…" description: "\"Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language,\" — Laurence Overmire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg" --- # Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language, ![“Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language,” quote by Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg) > “Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language,” [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry uses language to go beyond ordinary communication. **In simple terms:** Poetry transcends normal language. Key Takeaway Explore deeper meaning through poetic form. Themes creativity language artistic expression Mood inspirational introspective Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - creative teaching Key Concepts metaphor symbolism transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does “transcend language” mean to you? - Can poetry bridge cultural gaps? A Different Perspective Poetry may alienate those preferring literal text. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Transcend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-transcend-5963673/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-art-343188/) [Poetry is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-is/) [Transcend Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcend-language-1669399/) [Using Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-language-1034631/) ## Related quotes > [“Poetry is the way that we transcend language through language. And thus our freedom lies in the poetry of all things”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilyas-kassam/poetry-is-the-way-that-we-transcend-language-through-language-and/) [Ilyas Kassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilyas-kassam/) > [One advantage of photography is that it's visual and can transcend language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kristine/one-advantage-of-photography-is-that-it-s-visual-and-can-transcend/) [Lisa Kristine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kristine/) > [Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-often-the-art-of-overhearing-yourself-say-things-you-didn-t/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [Poetry is the art of understanding what it is to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/poetry-is-the-art-of-understanding-what-it-is-to-be-alive/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/poetry-is-the-art-of-overhearing-ourselves-say-things-from-which-it/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [Poetry is the only art people haven't learned to consume like soup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/poetry-is-the-only-art-people-haven-t-learned-to-consume-like-soup/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-and-is-and/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Poetry is the art of saying what you mean but disguising it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/poetry-is-the-art-of-saying-what-you-mean-but-disguising-it/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [ “The thing that makes poetry different from all other arts \[is that\] you're using language, which is what you use for everything else--telling lies… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/the-thing-that-makes-poetry-different-from-all-other-arts-is-that-you/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [I try to write each piece in the language of the piece, so that I'm not using the same language from piece to piece.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-veaux/i-try-to-write-each-piece-in-the-language-of-the-piece-so-that-i-m/) [Alexis De Veaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-veaux/) > [Why do they rate a movie R for adult language? The only people I hear using that language are teenagers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-do-they-rate-a-movie-r-for-adult-language-the-only-people-i-hear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Language is always ambivalent. Its forms mutate and connect in unexpected ways. It's hard to instrumentalize language. But I think it's better to explore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mckenzie-wark/language-is-always-ambivalent-its-forms-mutate-and-connect-in/) [McKenzie Wark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mckenzie-wark/) > [Language designers want to design the perfect language. They want to be able to say, 'My language is perfect. It can do everything.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukihiro-matsumoto/language-designers-want-to-design-the-perfect-language-they-want-to/) [Yukihiro Matsumoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukihiro-matsumoto/) > [There's almost no content in terms of language at all. I don't like using language to convey meaning. I'd rather use images and music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-glass/there-s-almost-no-content-in-terms-of-language-at-all-i-don-t-like/) [Philip Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-glass/) > [Although music appeals simply to the emotions, and represents no definite images in itself, we are justified in using any language which may serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-reginald-haweis/although-music-appeals-simply-to-the-emotions-and-represents-no/) [Hugh Reginald Haweis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-reginald-haweis/) ## More by Laurence Overmire > [“As long as we insist on hanging on to our hate, the world will not know peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/as-long-as-we-insist-on-hanging-on-to-our-hate-the-world-will-not/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“All of our ancestors live within each one of us whether we are aware of it or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/all-of-our-ancestors-live-within-each-one-of-us-whether-we-are-aware/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [Real life is never quite as interesting as the story told afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/real-life-is-never-quite-as-interesting-as-the-story-told-afterward/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“We have listened to the voices of hate, the voices of selfish unreason for far too long. Only the voices of peace will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/we-have-listened-to-the-voices-of-hate-the-voices-of-selfish-unreason/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“Cupid's bloody bow is strung with a million hearts, wisdom bought at a terrible price, and love laid to rest on the river of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/cupid-s-bloody-bow-is-strung-with-a-million-hearts-wisdom-bought-at-a/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“It takes no genius to destroy. The creators, the givers, the lovers, the healers - these are the heroes who know - the building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/it-takes-no-genius-to-destroy-the-creators-the-givers-the-lovers-the/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“Extremism is marked by a closed mind and a meanness of spirit - unwilling to listen, unwilling to reason, unwilling to compromise, unwilling to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/extremism-is-marked-by-a-closed-mind-and-a-meanness-of-spirit/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [When you look at a person who's different and see Yourself, then you begin to understand who and what God really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/when-you-look-at-a-person-who-s-different-and-see-yourself-then-you/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [The future is won or lost in the war of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/the-future-is-won-or-lost-in-the-war-of-ideas/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [From generation to generation, lights are extinguished and darkness threatens until some one stoops to bear the torch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/from-generation-to-generation-lights-are-extinguished-and-darkness/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [Expect nothing and accept everything and you will never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/expect-nothing-and-accept-everything-and-you-will-never-be/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“All of our ancestors give us the precious gift of life. Do we use it wisely? Do we use it well? Do we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/all-of-our-ancestors-give-us-the-precious-gift-of-life-do-we-use-it/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/history-remembers-only-the-celebrated-genealogy-remembers-them-all/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [There is no nobler profession, nor no greater calling, than to be among those unheralded many who gave and give their lives to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/there-is-no-nobler-profession-nor-no-greater-calling-than-to-be-among/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“I don't make much of a living, but I do live much of a making.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/i-don-t-make-much-of-a-living-but-i-do-live-much-of-a-making/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) [Explore all 57 Laurence Overmire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laurence Overmire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-transcend-language/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-transcend-language/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/laurence-overmire-11909_art_poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-t_2392306.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language,” — Laurence Overmire", "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": "Laurence Overmire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poetry is the art of using...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-transcend-language/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/poetry-is-the-art-of-using-language-to-transcend-language/#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 } } ] } ```