--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For a poet is an airy thing, winged and…" description: "\"“For a poet is an airy thing, winged and holy, and he is not able to make poetry until he becomes inspired and goes out of his mind and his intellect i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/plato-103_able_for-a-poet-is-an-airy-thing-winged-and-h_1177622.jpg" --- # For a poet is an airy thing, winged and holy, and he is… ![“For a poet is an airy thing, winged and holy, and he is not able to make poetry until he becomes inspired and goes out of his mind and his intellect is no longer in him.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/plato-103_able_for-a-poet-is-an-airy-thing-winged-and-h_1177622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/plato-103_able_for-a-poet-is-an-airy-thing-winged-and-h_1177622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/plato-103_able_for-a-poet-is-an-airy-thing-winged-and-h_1177622.jpg) > ““For a poet is an airy thing, winged and holy, and he is not able to make poetry until he becomes inspired and goes out of his mind and his intellect is no longer in him.”” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry requires divine inspiration that transcends rational intellect; the poet must surrender reason to become a conduit for the sacred. **In simple terms:** Poetry needs inspiration beyond logic; the poet must let go of intellect. Key Takeaway Seek inspiration beyond rational thought. Themes creativity spirituality artistic inspiration mind‑body divine Mood contemplative inspirational philosophical Type classical aesthetic spiritual When to use this quote - writing - musical composition - visual art - meditation Key Concepts mysticism aesthetic theory creative process Questions to Reflect On - Can disciplined practice replace divine inspiration? - How does intellect interact with inspiration? A Different Perspective Rational analysis may limit creative flow; not all art is divine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [For the poet is a light winged and holy thing, and there is no invention in him until he has been inspired and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-the-poet-is-a-light-winged-and-holy-thing-and-there-is-no/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The poet is a light and winged and holy thing, and there is no invention in him until he has been inspired and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-poet-is-a-light-and-winged-and-holy-thing-and-there-is-no/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For the poets tell us, don't they, that the melodies they bring us are gathered from rills that run with honey, out of glens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-the-poets-tell-us-don-t-they-that-the-melodies-they-bring-us-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“For the poet is a light and winged and holy thing, and there is no invention in him until he has been inspired and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/for-the-poet-is-a-light-and-winged-and-holy-thing-and-there-is-no/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Women who are inclined to write poetry at all are inspired by being mad at something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-clampitt/women-who-are-inclined-to-write-poetry-at-all-are-inspired-by-being/) [Amy Clampitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-clampitt/) > [Sometimes poetry is inspired by the conversation entered into by reading other poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-poetry-is-inspired-by-the-conversation-entered-into-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Poetry is inspired by the elements of random thoughts, an overflow of gazing at the unseen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/poetry-is-inspired-by-the-elements-of-random-thoughts-an-overflow-of/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I read a lot of prose poetry and get inspired by more-so just a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beckett/i-read-a-lot-of-prose-poetry-and-get-inspired-by-more-so-just-a-state/) [William Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beckett/) > [I would not recommend poetry as a career. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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