--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: English teaching at school is…" description: "\"“English teaching at school is, unfortunately, obsessed with what a poet thought, as though that were of any interest to anyone. Rather than being taug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg" --- # English teaching at school is, unfortunately, obsessed… ![“English teaching at school is, unfortunately, obsessed with what a poet thought, as though that were of any interest to anyone. Rather than being taught about how a poem is phrased, schoolchildren are asked to write essays on what William Blake thought about the Tiger; despite the fact that…” quote by Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg) > ““English teaching at school is, unfortunately, obsessed with what a poet thought, as though that were of any interest to anyone. Rather than being taught about how a poem is phrased, schoolchildren are asked to write essays on what William Blake thought about the Tiger; despite the fact that William Blake was a nutjob whose opinions, in a civilised society, would be of no interest to anybody apart from his parole officer. A poet is not somebody who has great thoughts. That is the menial duty of the philosopher. A poet is somebody who expresses his thoughts, however commonplace they may be, exquisitely. That is the one and only difference between the poet and everybody else. So”” [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) ## 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 criticizes how schools focus on poets' personal opinions rather than teaching poetic technique, arguing that poets express ordinary ideas beautifully, unlike philosophers who generate ideas. **In simple terms:** Schools teach poet opinions, not technique; poets convey ordinary ideas artfully. Key Takeaway Teach poetic craft, not just poet biographies. Themes education literature pedagogy Mood critical reflective Type analytical educational When to use this quote - classroom curriculum - literary analysis - creative writing workshops Key Concepts expression artistry philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can teachers balance poet context with technique? - What benefits arise from focusing on expression over biography? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on author intent can stifle students' own creative expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blake Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blake-thought-5104639/) [Civilised society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilised-society/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Philosopher Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher-poet-2535606/) [Poet Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-somebody-3114554/) [Poet Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-thought-261343/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Taught Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-poem-5399985/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-blake/) ## Related quotes > [“A poet is not somebody who has great thoughts. That is the menial duty of the philosopher. A poet is somebody who expresses his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/a-poet-is-not-somebody-who-has-great-thoughts-that-is-the-menial-duty-2/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [A poet is not somebody who has great thoughts. That is the menial duty of the philosopher. A poet is somebody who expresses his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/a-poet-is-not-somebody-who-has-great-thoughts-that-is-the-menial-duty/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“Charles Dickens once said that “Home” is simply a name, a word, but it’s a strong one; stronger than any magician ever spoke, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loreth-anne-white/charles-dickens-once-said-that-home-is-simply-a-name-a-word-but-it-s/) [Loreth Anne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loreth-anne-white/) > [My father was a rare poet. He was somebody who worked in the trenches. When he wanted to speak about social justice or gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-azmi/my-father-was-a-rare-poet-he-was-somebody-who-worked-in-the-trenches/) [Shabana Azmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shabana-azmi/) > [“A poet is somebody who has written a poem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/a-poet-is-somebody-who-has-written-a-poem/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Everything on this record is what I really wanted to say, and I'm back to being the poet I always thought I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/everything-on-this-record-is-what-i-really-wanted-to-say-and-i-m-back/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [“when i first saw him i thought he was as beautiful as a knight from the romances, like a troubadour, like a poet. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/when-i-first-saw-him-i-thought-he-was-as-beautiful-as-a-knight-from/) [philippa gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [“… in these new days and in these new pages a philosophical tradition of the spontaneity of speculation kind has been rekindled on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mc-sweeney/in-these-new-days-and-in-these-new-pages-a-philosophical-tradition-of/) [Richard Mc Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mc-sweeney/) > [“Dante is the first Christian poet, the first one whose whole system of thought is colored by a pure Christian theology. But the poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-pearl/dante-is-the-first-christian-poet-the-first-one-whose-whole-system-of/) [Matthew Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-pearl/) > [The difference between a poet and a philosopher is that the poet sees logically and describes basically the beauty whereas the philosopher defines the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-difference-between-a-poet-and-a-philosopher-is-that-the-poet-sees/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's a poet.' 'I thought you said it was a bo-at.' 'Stupid pet! Don't you know what a poet it?' 'Why, a thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/that-s-a-poet-i-thought-you-said-it-was-a-bo-at-stupid-pet-don-t-you/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Every true poet, I thought, must be original and originality a condition of poetic genius; so that each poet is like a species in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/every-true-poet-i-thought-must-be-original-and-originality-a/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [It has often struck me that the relation of two important members of the social body to one another has never been sufficiently considered,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-payn/it-has-often-struck-me-that-the-relation-of-two-important-members-of/) [James Payn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-payn/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/this-extraordinary-metal-the-soul-of-every-manufacture-and-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [“Why should a woman feel the constant need to be guarded from men in a civilised society? The culprits in fact are suppression and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prachi-bhaumik/why-should-a-woman-feel-the-constant-need-to-be-guarded-from-men-in-a/) [Prachi Bhaumik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prachi-bhaumik/) ## More by Mark Forsyth > [“Every dictionary contains a world. I open a book of thieves’ slang from Queen Anne’s reign and they have a hundred words for swords,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/every-dictionary-contains-a-world-i-open-a-book-of-thieves-slang-from/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“Pot itself has nothing to do with pots and pans, but comes from the Mexican-Spanish word potiguaya, which means marijuana leaves. And marijuana is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/pot-itself-has-nothing-to-do-with-pots-and-pans-but-comes-from-the/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“I had to go outside. I had to let the element of chance in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/i-had-to-go-outside-i-had-to-let-the-element-of-chance-in/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it was the sausage-maker who disposed of the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-was-the-sausage-maker-who/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [Poetry is much more important than the truth, and, if you don't believe that, try using the two methods to get laid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/poetry-is-much-more-important-than-the-truth-and-if-you-don-t-believe/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [ “Wouldst like to con a glimmer with me this early black?’, which he \[Cab Calloway\] helpfully explains as ‘the proper way to ask a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/wouldst-like-to-con-a-glimmer-with-me-this-early-black-which-he-cab/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“Love is nothing because those who do something for the love of it do it for nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/love-is-nothing-because-those-who-do-something-for-the-love-of-it-do/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“Wamblecropt is the most exquisite word in the English language. Say it. Each syllable is intolerably beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/wamblecropt-is-the-most-exquisite-word-in-the-english-language-say-it/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“Shakespeare was not a genius. He was, without the distant shadow of a doubt, the most wonderful writer who ever breathed. But not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/shakespeare-was-not-a-genius-he-was-without-the-distant-shadow-of-a/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“The glamour's off. Almost any question you ask can be answered. It's only the questions that you didn't know to ask that remain, dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/the-glamour-s-off-almost-any-question-you-ask-can-be-answered-it-s/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“There's always a strange feeling you get when you come across one particular line by chance. It feels somehow significant. That's irrational of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/there-s-always-a-strange-feeling-you-get-when-you-come-across-one/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“Oxygen was called flammable air for a while, but it didn't catch on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/oxygen-was-called-flammable-air-for-a-while-but-it-didn-t-catch-on/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [But Shakespeare never drank coffee. Nor did Julius Caesar, or Socrates. Alexander the Great conquered half the world without even a café latte to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/but-shakespeare-never-drank-coffee-nor-did-julius-caesar-or-socrates/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [If you are to use Alexander Graham Bell’s product, which is to say the blower, you should, in all courtesy, use it as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/if-you-are-to-use-alexander-graham-bell-s-product-which-is-to-say-the/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [“It is, incidentally, a favour that e-books have done for the Good Bookshop: they have made books beautiful again. A few years ago, book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/it-is-incidentally-a-favour-that-e-books-have-done-for-the-good/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) [Explore all 32 Mark Forsyth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) ## More Civilised society quotes > [“Why should a woman feel the constant need to be guarded from men in a civilised society? The culprits in fact are suppression and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prachi-bhaumik/why-should-a-woman-feel-the-constant-need-to-be-guarded-from-men-in-a/) [Prachi Bhaumik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prachi-bhaumik/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/this-extraordinary-metal-the-soul-of-every-manufacture-and-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Sex is probably one of the last forms of human expression to enjoy such a direct connection with nature. It might be the primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-koerfer/sex-is-probably-one-of-the-last-forms-of-human-expression-to-enjoy/) [Thomas Koerfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-koerfer/) > [India is known for much development that has happened since our independence, but at the same time, we have also failed on many levels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-r-narayana-murthy/india-is-known-for-much-development-that-has-happened-since-our/) [N. R. Narayana Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-r-narayana-murthy/) > [Vigorous societies harbour a certain extravagance of objectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/vigorous-societies-harbour-a-certain-extravagance-of-objectives/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Vigorous societies harbor a certain extravagance of objectives, so that men wander beyond the safe provision of personal gratifications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/vigorous-societies-harbor-a-certain-extravagance-of-objectives-so/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“There are some occasions when you must not refuse a cup of tea, otherwise you are judged an exotic and barbarous bird without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/there-are-some-occasions-when-you-must-not-refuse-a-cup-of-tea/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The permissive society has been allowed to become a dirty phrase. A better phrase is the civilised society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-jenkins/the-permissive-society-has-been-allowed-to-become-a-dirty-phrase-a/) [Roy Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-jenkins/) > [We believe that a civilised society can be measured by the way in which it treats its most vulnerable members and that being impatient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-shapps/we-believe-that-a-civilised-society-can-be-measured-by-the-way-in/) [Grant Shapps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-shapps/) > [It is so far from being natural for a man and woman to live in a state of marriage, that we find all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-so-far-from-being-natural-for-a-man-and-woman-to-live-in-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A civilised society ought to make ample provision for everyone, no matter their background, to enjoy the arts and culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munira-mirza/a-civilised-society-ought-to-make-ample-provision-for-everyone-no/) [Munira Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munira-mirza/) > [“At every moment of life the civilised man is hedged about by restrictions of impulse: if he happens to feel cheerful he must not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/at-every-moment-of-life-the-civilised-man-is-hedged-about-by/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is a proud and patriotic tradition on the centre left of supporting our armed forces; being tough on crime as well as its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-streeting/there-is-a-proud-and-patriotic-tradition-on-the-centre-left-of/) [Wes Streeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-streeting/) > [I think you will agree the sign of a civilised society is a regular dining schedule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-ballantine/i-think-you-will-agree-the-sign-of-a-civilised-society-is-a-regular/) [Philippa Ballantine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-ballantine/) > [I am a very, very strong advocate of the notion that we shouldn't equate the arts with other aspects of infrastructure. They have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/i-am-a-very-very-strong-advocate-of-the-notion-that-we-shouldn-t/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) [Browse all 31 Civilised society quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilised-society/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“English teaching at school is, unfortunately, obsessed with what a poet thought, as though that were of any interest to anyone. Rather than being taught about how a poem is phrased, schoolchildren are asked to write essays on what William Blake thought about the Tiger; despite the fact that William Blake was a nutjob whose opinions, in a civilised society, would be of no interest to anybody apart from his parole officer. A poet is not somebody who has great thoughts. That is the menial duty of the philosopher. A poet is somebody who expresses his thoughts, however commonplace they may be, exquisitely. That is the one and only difference between the poet and everybody else. So”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Forsyth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunately-obsessed-with-what-a-poet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilised society" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunately-obsessed-with-what-a-poet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/mark-forsyth-19782_civilised-society_english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunat_1481512.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“English teaching at school is, unfortunately, obsessed with what a poet thought, as though that were of any…” — Mark Forsyth", "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": "Mark Forsyth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“English teaching at school is, unfortunately,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunately-obsessed-with-what-a-poet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/english-teaching-at-school-is-unfortunately-obsessed-with-what-a-poet/#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 } } ] } ```