--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is, first and last, language - the…" description: "\"Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.\" — Mark Strand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png" --- # Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler. ![“Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.” quote by Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png) > “Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.” [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language is the core of poetry; everything else merely decorates. **In simple terms:** Poetry is essentially language, rest is excess. Key Takeaway Focus on the power of words. Themes poetry language essence Mood contemplative introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing a poem - teaching literature - editing drafts Key Concepts minimalism expression literary form Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance form and substance? - What is the “filler” in your writing? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on form can distract from meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filler-611004/) [Fillers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fillers/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Firsts and lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts-and-lasts/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-rest-1104725/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-is/) [Poetry Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-language/) [Rest Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-filler-1104724/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [“Make sure your children live longer than you do. Do that and you've really done something, okay? The rest is filler”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-christopher-greene/make-sure-your-children-live-longer-than-you-do-do-that-and-you-ve/) [Thomas Christopher Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-christopher-greene/) > [Most of us have only two or three genuinely interesting moments in our lives; the rest is filler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/most-of-us-have-only-two-or-three-genuinely-interesting-moments-in/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [...because he believed that if you wanted to get rid of a hole, you filled it. He had not realized at the time that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-he-believed-that-if-you-wanted-to-get-rid-of-a-hole-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I don't do filler songs. I don't get them. They don't make any sense to me. Why would I literally waste my time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-who/i-don-t-do-filler-songs-i-don-t-get-them-they-don-t-make-any-sense-to/) [Betty Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-who/) > [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [If I could talk in only one language for the rest of my life, it'd be Tamil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautham-menon/if-i-could-talk-in-only-one-language-for-the-rest-of-my-life-it-d-be/) [Gautham Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautham-menon/) > [I had my nose done four times. I've had a little bit of filler before, a little bit of Botox before. So I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nassif/i-had-my-nose-done-four-times-i-ve-had-a-little-bit-of-filler-before/) [Paul Nassif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nassif/) > [It's strange how extras have become such a big part of the business. I don't know what I think of it. I mean, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landis/it-s-strange-how-extras-have-become-such-a-big-part-of-the-business-i/) [John Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landis/) > [Even at its height, 'The Daily Show' would do one great show a week, one pretty good show a week, and then two 'meh'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-jones/even-at-its-height-the-daily-show-would-do-one-great-show-a-week-one/) [Jason Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-jones/) > [I put the Manuka Doctor Targeted Wrinkle Filler around my eyes - it is a great pick me up for when my eyes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-flack/i-put-the-manuka-doctor-targeted-wrinkle-filler-around-my-eyes-it-is/) [Caroline Flack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-flack/) > [“He’s a filler,” Cammie says with more conviction than a suicide bomber. “What does that mean?” I am studying the menu, contemplating an almond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/he-s-a-filler-cammie-says-with-more-conviction-than-a-suicide-bomber/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [I don't agree with lip filler now, it can be dangerous and I think people need to love the way they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mckenna/i-don-t-agree-with-lip-filler-now-it-can-be-dangerous-and-i-think/) [Megan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mckenna/) > [I think audiences can feel when they're being served a filler episode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-think-audiences-can-feel-when-they-re-being-served-a-filler-episode/) [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/) > [“He's a filler. You know - stuff something into your heart quickly to stop it from cracking open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/he-s-a-filler-you-know-stuff-something-into-your-heart-quickly-to/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [I did the lip filler which was a disaster and it did not look good at all. It was very bad it didn't suit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-khan/i-did-the-lip-filler-which-was-a-disaster-and-it-did-not-look-good-at/) [Sara Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-khan/) ## More by Mark Strand > [We’re only here for a short while. And I think it’s such a lucky accident, having been born, that we’re almost obliged to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/we-re-only-here-for-a-short-while-and-i-think-it-s-such-a-lucky/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [If every head of state and every government official spent an hour a day reading poetry we'd live in a much more humane and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/if-every-head-of-state-and-every-government-official-spent-an-hour-a/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [To open the dictionary of the Beyond and discover what one suspected, that the only word in it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/to-open-the-dictionary-of-the-beyond-and-discover-what-one-suspected/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-think-the-best-american-poetry-is-the-poetry-that-utilizes-the/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [“The ultimate self-effacement is not the pretense of the minimal, but the jocular considerations of the maximal in the manner of Wallace Stevens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/the-ultimate-self-effacement-is-not-the-pretense-of-the-minimal-but/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I have been eating poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-have-been-eating-poetry/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [“Keeping Things Whole" In a field I am the absence of field. This is always the case. Wherever I am I am what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/keeping-things-whole-in-a-field-i-am-the-absence-of-field-this-is/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [There's a certain point, when you're writing autobiographical stuff, where you don't want to misrepresent yourself. It would be dishonest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/there-s-a-certain-point-when-you-re-writing-autobiographical-stuff/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Poetry is about slowing down. You sit and you read something, you read it again, and it reveals a little bit more, and things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/poetry-is-about-slowing-down-you-sit-and-you-read-something-you-read/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing, This stomach which sags with old food, these bruised and swollen ankles, my darkening brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/these-wrinkles-are-nothing-these-gray-hairs-are-nothing-this-stomach/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Pain is filtered in a poem so that it becomes finally, in the end, pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/pain-is-filtered-in-a-poem-so-that-it-becomes-finally-in-the-end/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [In a field I am the absence of field.That is always the case. Wherever I am, I am what is missing. When I walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/in-a-field-i-am-the-absence-of-field-that-is-always-the-case-wherever/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Even this late it happens the coming of love, the coming of light. You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/even-this-late-it-happens-the-coming-of-love-the-coming-of-light-you/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Those hours given over to basking in the glow of an imagined future, of being carried away in streams of promise by a love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/those-hours-given-over-to-basking-in-the-glow-of-an-imagined-future/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I feel that anything is possible in a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-feel-that-anything-is-possible-in-a-poem/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) [Explore all 70 Mark Strand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) ## More Fillers quotes > [What was that you gave me to eat?" Winter panicked. A Filler Crisp," Clover said, his eyes seventy percent concerned and thirty percent mischievous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obert-skye/what-was-that-you-gave-me-to-eat-winter-panicked-a-filler-crisp/) [Obert Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obert-skye/) > [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [I've had botox and fillers in the past, but then I stopped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/i-ve-had-botox-and-fillers-in-the-past-but-then-i-stopped/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) > [Personally, I don't like Botox or fillers because I think it drastically changes the shape of your face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suhasini-mulay/personally-i-don-t-like-botox-or-fillers-because-i-think-it/) [Suhasini Mulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suhasini-mulay/) > [I had no album title, and the album is like a journey in that it's a complete body of work. It's not just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-carlton/i-had-no-album-title-and-the-album-is-like-a-journey-in-that-it-s-a/) [Vanessa Carlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-carlton/) > [I basically love classical music. I love a lot of musicians playing together and the whole culture of that whether it's Indian or it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/i-basically-love-classical-music-i-love-a-lot-of-musicians-playing/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [Last year was the fourth or fifth attempt to get fall launched till 'American Idol' comes in January. To be honest, the reality programming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-darnell/last-year-was-the-fourth-or-fifth-attempt-to-get-fall-launched-till/) [Mike Darnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-darnell/) > [So many times nowadays it's about having two good songs on an album and a bunch of filler, and I wanted to make something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bleu/so-many-times-nowadays-it-s-about-having-two-good-songs-on-an-album/) [Corbin Bleu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bleu/) > [The light ones may be killers, the dark ones mild; not the wrappers but the fillers, make cigars or women wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-preston/the-light-ones-may-be-killers-the-dark-ones-mild-not-the-wrappers-but/) [Keith Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-preston/) > [We are America. We are the coffin fillers. We are the grocers of death. We pack them in crates like cauliflowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/we-are-america-we-are-the-coffin-fillers-we-are-the-grocers-of-death/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Woman for whom Botox and fillers are the norm don't feel dressed without it. It's like going to the hairdresser's for them. Also, famously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-edwards-jones/woman-for-whom-botox-and-fillers-are-the-norm-don-t-feel-dressed/) [Imogen Edwards-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-edwards-jones/) > [Sort of' is such a harmless thing to say... sort of. It's just a filler. Sort of... it doesn't really mean anything. But after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/sort-of-is-such-a-harmless-thing-to-say-sort-of-it-s-just-a-filler/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [I don't do filler songs. I don't get them. They don't make any sense to me. Why would I literally waste my time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-who/i-don-t-do-filler-songs-i-don-t-get-them-they-don-t-make-any-sense-to/) [Betty Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-who/) > [The great god Ra, whose shrine once covered acres, is filler now for crossword puzzle makers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-preston/the-great-god-ra-whose-shrine-once-covered-acres-is-filler-now-for/) [Keith Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-preston/) > [Death is real. Death changes things. Everything else is filler, merely a message from our sponsor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/death-is-real-death-changes-things-everything-else-is-filler-merely-a/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) [Browse all 51 Fillers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fillers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Strand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-rest-is-filler/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fillers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-rest-is-filler/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c2/mark-strand-9847_fillers_poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-re_2505469.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.” — Mark Strand", "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 Strand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poetry is, first and last, language...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-rest-is-filler/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/poetry-is-first-and-last-language-the-rest-is-filler/#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 } } ] } ```