--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When poets go off the boil, they sound…" description: "\"When poets go off the boil, they sound like bumble bees; when critics do, they sound like sewing machines.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/mason-cooley-92_bees_when-poets-go-off-the-boil-they-sound-li_1043495.png" --- # When poets go off the boil, they sound like bumble bees… ![“When poets go off the boil, they sound like bumble bees; when critics do, they sound like sewing machines.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/mason-cooley-92_bees_when-poets-go-off-the-boil-they-sound-li_1043495.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/mason-cooley-92_bees_when-poets-go-off-the-boil-they-sound-li_1043495.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/100/mason-cooley-92_bees_when-poets-go-off-the-boil-they-sound-li_1043495.png) > “When poets go off the boil, they sound like bumble bees; when critics do, they sound like sewing machines.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets and critics lose their originality when they become overly enthusiastic or overly analytical, sounding mechanical or noisy. **In simple terms:** Originality fades when overdone. Key Takeaway Maintain balance in expression. Themes creativity criticism originality Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational analytical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - creative retreats Key Concepts artistic expression authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep your work fresh? - When does critique become harmful? A Different Perspective Overemphasis can stifle genuine voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Bumble bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bumble-bee/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Sewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sewing/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) ## Related quotes > [The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-sewing-machine-joins-what-the-scissors-have-cut-asunder-plus/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. 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Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Bees quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collecteth wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/as-the-bee-collecteth-honey-with-great-zest-so-the-fool-collecteth/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It is hard to imagine a world without bees. 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Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/) [Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/) > [“This time of year, the purple blooms were busy with life- not just the bees, but butterflies and ladybugs, skippers and emerald-toned beetles, flitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/this-time-of-year-the-purple-blooms-were-busy-with-life-not-just-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Bees chase flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-shreve/bees-chase-flowers/) Tracy L. Shreve > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. 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