--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For it is not metres, but a metre-making…" description: "\"For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem, - a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant or an animal i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png" --- # For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that… ![“For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem, - a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant or an animal it has an architecture of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png) > “For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem, - a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant or an animal it has an architecture of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A poem is created by a vivid, living argument that shapes its own structure and adds something new to nature. **In simple terms:** A strong idea gives a poem its unique form and fresh contribution. Key Takeaway Let passionate ideas guide your creative work. Themes creativity art nature structure Mood inspired reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - design - environmental projects Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy organic form Questions to Reflect On - How can you nurture a living argument in your work? - What new thing does your idea add to nature? A Different Perspective A poem may still need technical skill to convey the idea effectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Makes Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-poem-1162635/) [Metre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metre-1396730/) [Metre Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metre-making-3993228/) [Metres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metres-4474820/) [Metres Metre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metres-metre-4474819/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [New things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-things/) [Passionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passionate/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Reliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reliance/) [Self reliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-reliance/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) ## Related quotes > [“It is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem,—a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The difference between right and wrong is often not more than five metres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-cruijff/the-difference-between-right-and-wrong-is-often-not-more-than-five/) [Johan Cruijff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-cruijff/) > [I used to run 800 metres for the school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dele-alli/i-used-to-run-800-metres-for-the-school/) [Dele Alli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dele-alli/) > [“The social space between people who don't know each other is form one to three and a half metres. - Beate Lonne”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesb/the-social-space-between-people-who-don-t-know-each-other-is-form-one/) [Jo Nesbø](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesb/) > [There is no escape from metre; there is only mastery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/there-is-no-escape-from-metre-there-is-only-mastery/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Man is the metre of all things, the hand is the instrument of instruments, and the mind is the form of forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/man-is-the-metre-of-all-things-the-hand-is-the-instrument-of/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [That metre itself forms an essential part of all true poetry is a principle which not even the assertions of an Aristotle or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/that-metre-itself-forms-an-essential-part-of-all-true-poetry-is-a/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Time is the metre, memory the only plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/time-is-the-metre-memory-the-only-plot/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“Stone: Yes, we are everything, every experience we've ever had, and in some of us, a lot of it translates and makes patterns, poems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stone/stone-yes-we-are-everything-every-experience-we-ve-ever-had-and-in/) [Ruth Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stone/) > [What makes a poem is the discipline inherent in making a poem: trying to fit feelings in the requisite number of syllables and lines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/what-makes-a-poem-is-the-discipline-inherent-in-making-a-poem-trying/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The poet must work with brush and paper,but this is not what makes the poem. A man does not go in search of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yang-wanli/the-poet-must-work-with-brush-and-paper-but-this-is-not-what-makes/) [Yang Wanli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yang-wanli/) > [Again like Williams, with the emphasis now regrettable, when a man makes a poem, makes it mind you, he takes the words as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/again-like-williams-with-the-emphasis-now-regrettable-when-a-man/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [Often it is a moment rather than an event that makes a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/often-it-is-a-moment-rather-than-an-event-that-makes-a-poem/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [When I get interested in a new topic I teach a class on it. There's a graduate seminar I teach in which the students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-get-interested-in-a-new-topic-i-teach-a-class-on-it-there-s-a/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. 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We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem, - a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant or an animal it has an architecture of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_alive_for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making_600246.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem, - a thought so passionate and alive…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For it is not metres, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/for-it-is-not-metres-but-a-metre-making-argument-that-makes-a-poem-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 } } ] } ```