---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am one of those who hold that poetry is…"
description: "\"I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe as in a wanton and irregular subject.\" — Michel de Montaigne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg"
---

#  I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe…

![“I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe as in a wanton and irregular subject.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg)

> “I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe as in a wanton and irregular subject.”

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Poetry feels most lively when it embraces playful, unconventional topics rather than strict formality.

**In simple terms:** Poetry thrives on playful, irregular subjects.

Key Takeaway

Embrace spontaneity in creative work.

Themes

creativity playfulness literature

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- personal journaling
- experimental art
- teaching literature

Key Concepts

humanism aesthetic freedom

Questions to Reflect On

- What unconventional topics inspire you?
- How does playfulness affect your appreciation of poetry?

A Different Perspective

May lack structure, making it harder for some audiences to connect.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Blithe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blithe/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/)

## Related quotes

> [Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/hail-to-thee-blithe-spirit/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [However you must have sensed a lurking 'but' skulking beneath my happy, blithe, and chipper exterior. A minuscule vexation, like the teeniest lump of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/however-you-must-have-sensed-a-lurking-but-skulking-beneath-my-happy/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [Every new born being indeed comes fresh and blithe into the new existence, and enjoys it as a free gift: but there is, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/every-new-born-being-indeed-comes-fresh-and-blithe-into-the-new/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [The poet is blithe and cheery ever, and as well as nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-poet-is-blithe-and-cheery-ever-and-as-well-as-nature/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [For in the theoretical field bourgeois economics no longer engages in blithe and joyous fights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hilferding/for-in-the-theoretical-field-bourgeois-economics-no-longer-engages-in/)

Rudolf Hilferding

> [In the downhill of life, when I find I'm declining, May my lot no less fortunate be Than a snug elbow-chair can afford for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-churton-collins/in-the-downhill-of-life-when-i-find-i-m-declining-may-my-lot-no-less/)

[John Churton Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-churton-collins/)

> [Tad Homer-Dixon is a rare kind of public intellectual, who combines real expertise with a commitment to communicate to the widest possible readership. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/tad-homer-dixon-is-a-rare-kind-of-public-intellectual-who-combines/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [As I walked in the woods I felt what I often feel that nothing can befall me in life, no calamity, no disgrace (leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/as-i-walked-in-the-woods-i-felt-what-i-often-feel-that-nothing-can/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [“Some people wish they were as happy as or happy like some people think they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-wish-they-were-as-happy-as-or-happy-like-some-people/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [A human being tends to believe that the mood of the moment, be it troubled or blithe, peaceful or stormy, is the true, native,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-mann/a-human-being-tends-to-believe-that-the-mood-of-the-moment-be-it/)

[Thomas E. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-mann/)

> [O' who will walk with me along lifes merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, who dares to laugh out loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/o-who-will-walk-with-me-along-lifes-merry-way-a-comrade-blithe-and/)

[Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/)

> [The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-bosom-can-ache-beneath-diamond-brooches-and-many-a-blithe-heart/)

[Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/)

> [I dwell no more in Arcady, But when the sky is blue with May, And birds are blithe and winds are free, I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-chandler-moulton/i-dwell-no-more-in-arcady-but-when-the-sky-is-blue-with-may-and-birds/)

Louise Chandler Moulton

> [Sigh no more ladies, sigh no more, men were deceivers ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/sigh-no-more-ladies-sigh-no-more-men-were-deceivers-ever/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [When blithe to argument I come, Though armed with facts, and merry, May Providence protect me from The fool as adversary, Whose mind to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/when-blithe-to-argument-i-come-though-armed-with-facts-and-merry-may/)

[Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/)

## More by Michel de Montaigne

> [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/)

[Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

[Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## More Blithe quotes

> [Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/hail-to-thee-blithe-spirit/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Sigh no more ladies, sigh no more, men were deceivers ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/sigh-no-more-ladies-sigh-no-more-men-were-deceivers-ever/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I dwell no more in Arcady, But when the sky is blue with May, And birds are blithe and winds are free, I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-chandler-moulton/i-dwell-no-more-in-arcady-but-when-the-sky-is-blue-with-may-and-birds/)

Louise Chandler Moulton

> [The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-bosom-can-ache-beneath-diamond-brooches-and-many-a-blithe-heart/)

[Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/)

> [O' who will walk with me along lifes merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, who dares to laugh out loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/o-who-will-walk-with-me-along-lifes-merry-way-a-comrade-blithe-and/)

[Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/)

> [A human being tends to believe that the mood of the moment, be it troubled or blithe, peaceful or stormy, is the true, native,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-mann/a-human-being-tends-to-believe-that-the-mood-of-the-moment-be-it/)

[Thomas E. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-mann/)

> [“Some people wish they were as happy as or happy like some people think they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-wish-they-were-as-happy-as-or-happy-like-some-people/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [As I walked in the woods I felt what I often feel that nothing can befall me in life, no calamity, no disgrace (leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/as-i-walked-in-the-woods-i-felt-what-i-often-feel-that-nothing-can/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Tad Homer-Dixon is a rare kind of public intellectual, who combines real expertise with a commitment to communicate to the widest possible readership. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/tad-homer-dixon-is-a-rare-kind-of-public-intellectual-who-combines/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [In the downhill of life, when I find I'm declining, May my lot no less fortunate be Than a snug elbow-chair can afford for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-churton-collins/in-the-downhill-of-life-when-i-find-i-m-declining-may-my-lot-no-less/)

[John Churton Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-churton-collins/)

> [For in the theoretical field bourgeois economics no longer engages in blithe and joyous fights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hilferding/for-in-the-theoretical-field-bourgeois-economics-no-longer-engages-in/)

Rudolf Hilferding

> [The poet is blithe and cheery ever, and as well as nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-poet-is-blithe-and-cheery-ever-and-as-well-as-nature/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Every new born being indeed comes fresh and blithe into the new existence, and enjoys it as a free gift: but there is, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/every-new-born-being-indeed-comes-fresh-and-blithe-into-the-new/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [However you must have sensed a lurking 'but' skulking beneath my happy, blithe, and chipper exterior. A minuscule vexation, like the teeniest lump of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/however-you-must-have-sensed-a-lurking-but-skulking-beneath-my-happy/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [When blithe to argument I come, Though armed with facts, and merry, May Providence protect me from The fool as adversary, Whose mind to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/when-blithe-to-argument-i-come-though-armed-with-facts-and-merry-may/)

[Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/)

[Browse all 35 Blithe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blithe/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe as in a wanton and irregular subject.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-is-never-so-blithe-as-in-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Blithe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-is-never-so-blithe-as-in-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/michel-de-montaigne-142_blithe_i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-i_1385925.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe as in a wanton and irregular subject.” — Michel de Montaigne",
                "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": "Michel de Montaigne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I am one of those who...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-is-never-so-blithe-as-in-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-am-one-of-those-who-hold-that-poetry-is-never-so-blithe-as-in-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
