--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... imaginary gardens with real toads in…" description: "\"... imaginary gardens with real toads in them ... ... if you demand on one hand, the raw material of poetry in all its rawness and that which is on the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png" --- # ... imaginary gardens with real toads in them ... ... if… ![“... imaginary gardens with real toads in them ... ... if you demand on one hand, the raw material of poetry in all its rawness and that which is on the other hand genuine, then you are interested in poetry.” quote by Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png) > “... imaginary gardens with real toads in them ... ... if you demand on one hand, the raw material of poetry in all its rawness and that which is on the other hand genuine, then you are interested in poetry.” [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts raw, unrefined poetic material with authentic expression, urging a balance of both in true poetry. **In simple terms:** True poetry blends rawness and authenticity. Key Takeaway Seek both honesty and craft in writing. Themes creativity authenticity art expression Mood reflective inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Writing workshops - creative writing classes - personal journaling - literary analysis Key Concepts Poetry artistic tension material vs. meaning Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance raw emotion with refined technique? - Can authenticity exist without structure? A Different Perspective Pure authenticity may be inaccessible without skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rawness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rawness/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/poetry-is-the-art-of-creating-imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [ “\[Marianne Moore's definition of genuine poetry\] -- Imaginary gardens with real toads in them.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/marianne-moore-s-definition-of-genuine-poetry-imaginary-gardens-with/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The poet Marianne Moore famously wrote of 'real toads in imaginary gardens,' and the labyrinth offers us the possibility of being real creatures in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/the-poet-marianne-moore-famously-wrote-of-real-toads-in-imaginary/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [I think of something quite different from a snapshot. I know of a lot of poems, some very fine ones, that are like snapshots,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/i-think-of-something-quite-different-from-a-snapshot-i-know-of-a-lot/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [The man who invented Eskimo Pie made a million dollars, so one is told, but E.E. Cummings, whose verse has been appearing off andon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-man-who-invented-eskimo-pie-made-a-million-dollars-so-one-is-told/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [An English poet writes, I think, just for people who are interested in poetry. An American poet writes, and feels that everyone ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/an-english-poet-writes-i-think-just-for-people-who-are-interested-in/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Because people are very interested in my poetry, in what I say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/compay-segundo/because-people-are-very-interested-in-my-poetry-in-what-i-say/) [Compay Segundo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/compay-segundo/) > [Ever since I was a kid, I've always been interested in the poetry of melancholy, if you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wilson/ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-poetry-of/) [Steven Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wilson/) > ['NewsHour' is very interested in poetry, but they're also interested in not just that something's cute to add on at the end of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/newshour-is-very-interested-in-poetry-but-they-re-also-interested-in/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [I am not interested in poetry for poetry's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernesto-cardenal/i-am-not-interested-in-poetry-for-poetry-s-sake/) [Ernesto Cardenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernesto-cardenal/) > [I'm interested in the poetry of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-lemaire/i-m-interested-in-the-poetry-of-reality/) [Christophe Lemaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-lemaire/) > [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/) > [“I had a boyfriend once who sent me--in a plastic bag, so it wouldn't drip--a real cow's heart with a real arrow stuck through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-had-a-boyfriend-once-who-sent-me-in-a-plastic-bag-so-it-wouldn-t/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I'm only interested in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-m-only-interested-in-poetry/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I remember being really interested in the sad parts of Los Angeles, of which there are many, and knowing we weren't up in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-harron/i-remember-being-really-interested-in-the-sad-parts-of-los-angeles-of/) [Mary Harron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-harron/) ## More by Marianne Moore > [When one is frank, one's very presence is a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-is-frank-one-s-very-presence-is-a-compliment/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/the-deepest-feeling-always-shows-itself-in-silence-not-in-silence-but/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [“Do the poet and scientist not work analogously? Both are willing to waste effort. To be hard on himself is one ...of the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/do-the-poet-and-scientist-not-work-analogously-both-are-willing-to/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Camels are snobbish and sheep, unintelligent; water buffaloes, neurasthenic-- even murderous. Reindeer seem over-serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/camels-are-snobbish-and-sheep-unintelligent-water-buffaloes/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [When one cannot appraise out of one's own experience, the temptation to blunder is minimized, but even when one can, appraisal seems chiefly useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-cannot-appraise-out-of-one-s-own-experience-the-temptation/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The hands are the heart's messengers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/the-hands-are-the-heart-s-messengers/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [I believe verbal felicity is the fruit of ardor, of diligence, and of refusing to be false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/i-believe-verbal-felicity-is-the-fruit-of-ardor-of-diligence-and-of/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Conscious writing can be the death of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/conscious-writing-can-be-the-death-of-poetry/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Only imagination that towers can reproduce evanescence and render rigidity flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/only-imagination-that-towers-can-reproduce-evanescence-and-render/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Revision is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/revision-is-its-own-reward/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. I am governed by the pull of the sentence as the pull of a fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/in-a-poem-the-excitement-has-to-maintain-itself-i-am-governed-by-the/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [All are / naked, none is safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/all-are-naked-none-is-safe/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [It is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/it-is-human-nature-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-a-thing/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) [Explore all 134 Marianne Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) ## More Demand quotes > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) Sheila Kamerman > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-dogs-can-t-do-anything-and-what-a-relief-i-don-t-make-any-demands/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/if-we-get-better-our-customers-will-demand-we-get-bigger/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Money should be ones demand and command one should not become slave of money..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/money-should-be-ones-demand-and-command-one-should-not-become-slave/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/most-enjoyable-activities-are-not-natural-they-demand-an-effort-that/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) [Browse all 3,809 Demand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... imaginary gardens with real toads in them ... ... if you demand on one hand, the raw material of poetry in all its rawness and that which is on the other hand genuine, then you are interested in poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marianne Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-them-if-you-demand-on-one-hand/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Demand" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-them-if-you-demand-on-one-hand/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/marianne-moore-3315_demand_imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-the_1854774.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... imaginary gardens with real toads in them ... ... if you demand on one hand, the raw material of poetry…” — Marianne Moore", "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": "Marianne Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "... imaginary gardens with real toads...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-them-if-you-demand-on-one-hand/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/imaginary-gardens-with-real-toads-in-them-if-you-demand-on-one-hand/#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 } } ] } ```