--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry is to prose as dancing is to…" description: "\"Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.\" — Paul Valery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/paul-valery-1464_dance_poetry-is-to-prose-as-dancing-is-to-walk_1237437.jpg" --- # Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking. ![“Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.” quote by Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/paul-valery-1464_dance_poetry-is-to-prose-as-dancing-is-to-walk_1237437.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/paul-valery-1464_dance_poetry-is-to-prose-as-dancing-is-to-walk_1237437.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/paul-valery-1464_dance_poetry-is-to-prose-as-dancing-is-to-walk_1237437.jpg) > “Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.” [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry moves beyond prose like dance exceeds walking, adding rhythm and expression. **In simple terms:** Poetry is expressive like dance. Key Takeaway Appreciate poetic form. Themes art expression movement literature comparison Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading poetry - writing workshops - performing arts Key Concepts aesthetics creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How does rhythm affect meaning? - Can prose be as expressive as poetry? A Different Perspective Not all poetry achieves this dynamism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Hiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiking/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Trekking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trekking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Although the vast majority of walkers never even think of using a walking staff, I unhesitatingly include it among the foundations of the house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-fletcher/although-the-vast-majority-of-walkers-never-even-think-of-using-a/) [Colin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-fletcher/) > [No fear of forgetting the good-humoured faces that meet us in our walks each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/no-fear-of-forgetting-the-good-humoured-faces-that-meet-us-in-our/) [Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/) > [The man with the knapsack is never lost. 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They seemed never to suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-most-ridiculous-were-those-who-on-their-own-authority-made/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The folly of mistaking oneself for an oracle is built right into us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-folly-of-mistaking-oneself-for-an-oracle-is-built-right-into-us/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Thought must be hidden in the verse like nutritional virtue in a fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/thought-must-be-hidden-in-the-verse-like-nutritional-virtue-in-a-fruit/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [To be sincere means to be the same person when one is with oneself; that is to say, alone - but that is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/to-be-sincere-means-to-be-the-same-person-when-one-is-with-oneself/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [No work of art is ever completed, it is only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/no-work-of-art-is-ever-completed-it-is-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) [Explore all 215 Paul Valery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More Dance quotes > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. 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I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [I like Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. I love pop music, but I also like Sam Smith's slow songs. That would be more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-ziegler/i-like-sam-smith-and-taylor-swift-i-love-pop-music-but-i-also-like/) [Maddie Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-ziegler/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [My body was so instrumental to how I took pictures: it was practically a dance. I used to use my legs a lot; now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/my-body-was-so-instrumental-to-how-i-took-pictures-it-was-practically/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [If you dance, you dance because you have to. Every dancer hurts, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/if-you-dance-you-dance-because-you-have-to-every-dancer-hurts-you-know/) [Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/) > [I'm not a dancer. 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