--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is a verdict rather than an…" description: "\"Poetry is a verdict rather than an intention.\" — Leonard Cohen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/leonard-cohen-448_art_poetry-is-a-verdict-rather-than-an-inten_1123240.jpg" --- # Poetry is a verdict rather than an intention. ![“Poetry is a verdict rather than an intention.” quote by Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/leonard-cohen-448_art_poetry-is-a-verdict-rather-than-an-inten_1123240.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/leonard-cohen-448_art_poetry-is-a-verdict-rather-than-an-inten_1123240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/leonard-cohen-448_art_poetry-is-a-verdict-rather-than-an-inten_1123240.jpg) > “Poetry is a verdict rather than an intention.” [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry serves as a final judgment, not merely a planned expression. **In simple terms:** Poetry judges, not just intends. Key Takeaway Respect poetry as decisive art. Themes art expression judgment Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing poetry - reading criticism - teaching literature Key Concepts literary theory subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does poetry influence your decisions? - When does intention outweigh judgment? A Different Perspective Poetry can be ambiguous, limiting clear verdicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-is/) [Poetry Verdict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-verdict-3050183/) [Verdict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verdict/) [Verdict Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verdict-intention-3050184/) ## Related quotes > [“Poetry is a verdict, not an occupation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/poetry-is-a-verdict-not-an-occupation/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I always thought that poetry is the verdict that others give to a certain kind of writing. So to call yourself a poet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-always-thought-that-poetry-is-the-verdict-that-others-give-to-a/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I think the term poet is a very exalted term and should be applied to a man at the end of his work. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-think-the-term-poet-is-a-very-exalted-term-and-should-be-applied-to/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [The difference between genuine poetry and the poetry of Dryden, Pope, and all their school, is briefly this: their poetry is conceived and composed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-difference-between-genuine-poetry-and-the-poetry-of-dryden-pope/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. You're out in the open field. You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Prose is when all the lines except the last go on to the end. Poetry is when some of them fall short of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/prose-is-when-all-the-lines-except-the-last-go-on-to-the-end-poetry/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is-so-that-the-poet-s-wife/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [Many people become bankrupt through having invested too heavily in the prose of life. 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What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. 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It's useful because it addresses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/the-basic-function-of-popular-music-is-to-create-an-environment-for/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Blessed are you, embrace of the falling, foundation of the light, master of the human accident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/blessed-are-you-embrace-of-the-falling-foundation-of-the-light-master/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I continually blacken pages and scribble away, so I always have a number of songs that are half-finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-continually-blacken-pages-and-scribble-away-so-i-always-have-a/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I have nothing against the Queen of England. Even in my heart I never resented her for not being Jackie Kennedy. 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