---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry, I'm often told, is something made…"
description: "\"Poetry, I'm often told, is something made of words. I think it really goes the other way around: words are made of poetry.\" — Robert Bringhurst"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png"
---

#  Poetry, I'm often told, is something made of words. I…

![“Poetry, I'm often told, is something made of words. I think it really goes the other way around: words are made of poetry.” quote by Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png)

> “Poetry, I'm often told, is something made of words. I think it really goes the other way around: words are made of poetry.”

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

## About This Quote

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

Poetry is the underlying rhythm that gives words their shape and meaning.

**In simple terms:** Words are shaped by poetry.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the musicality in language.

Themes

creativity language art

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing
- teaching
- public speaking
- literary analysis

Key Concepts

poetics semiotics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does rhythm affect comprehension?
- Can you hear poetry in everyday speech?

A Different Perspective

Poetry can be abstract and hard to quantify.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-told-4256574/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Told Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-words-1511016/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-poetry-1038784/) [Words Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-think/)

## Related quotes

> [“Nobody reads poetry, we are told at every inopportune moment. I read poetry. I am somebody. I am the people, too. It can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-wright/nobody-reads-poetry-we-are-told-at-every-inopportune-moment-i-read/)

[C.D. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-wright/)

> [“If he knew, if he was told in so many words, he would have to do the conventional thing, he would have to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/if-he-knew-if-he-was-told-in-so-many-words-he-would-have-to-do-the/)

[Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/)

> [“Gennie,you should have told me you hadn't been with a man before." And how was it possible, he wondered, that she'd let no man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/gennie-you-should-have-told-me-you-hadn-t-been-with-a-man-before-and/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [If I told you the words, you wouldn't believe them anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-berry/if-i-told-you-the-words-you-wouldn-t-believe-them-anyway/)

[Richard Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-berry/)

> [“My cock just hung there at half-stock and she took me in, silent, stone-faced. Her mouth formed a perfect 'O'. And then it formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-niva/my-cock-just-hung-there-at-half-stock-and-she-took-me-in-silent-stone/)

[Loren Niva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-niva/)

> [“I stood on a rise, overlooking the plague valley. Matthew was beside me. The last thing I remembered was crawling into my sleeping bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole-dead-of-winter/i-stood-on-a-rise-overlooking-the-plague-valley-matthew-was-beside-me/)

[Kresley Cole, Dead of Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole-dead-of-winter/)

> [“His confidences, this mist, had led us unexpectedly onto a peninsula of intimacy, and I found myself on the brink of telling what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/his-confidences-this-mist-had-led-us-unexpectedly-onto-a-peninsula-of/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [“in the end it is words poetry. sunsets someone’s deep blue silk voice. mountain scents. someone’s smile. eyes. that we have no defenses against.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/in-the-end-it-is-words-poetry-sunsets-someone-s-deep-blue-silk-voice/)

[Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/)

> [I work on words, mostly, toward them being poetry or short stories, and then some of those become songs. They all find their place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-harvey/i-work-on-words-mostly-toward-them-being-poetry-or-short-stories-and/)

[P. J. Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-harvey/)

> [ His \[Death\] voice is cold at first, John. It seems unfeeling. But if you listen without fear, you find that when he speaks, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-leavitt/his-death-voice-is-cold-at-first-john-it-seems-unfeeling-but-if-you/)

[Martine Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-leavitt/)

> [The advice I continually give to young writers is this, "Learn to paint pictures with words." Not just once upon a time, but ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/the-advice-i-continually-give-to-young-writers-is-this-learn-to-paint/)

[Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/)

> [“When air becomes breath, and cells become sentient, Words become poetry, and facts become science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/when-air-becomes-breath-and-cells-become-sentient-words-become-poetry/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [In its use of words poetry is just the reverse of science. Very definite thoughts do occur, but not because the words are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-daiches/in-its-use-of-words-poetry-is-just-the-reverse-of-science-very/)

[David Daiches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-daiches/)

> [The central fact of my life has been the existence of words and the possibility of weaving those words into poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-central-fact-of-my-life-has-been-the-existence-of-words-and-the/)

[Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/)

> [But in the finished art of the song the use of words has no connection with the use of words in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/but-in-the-finished-art-of-the-song-the-use-of-words-has-no/)

[John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/)

## More by Robert Bringhurst

> [Popularity isn't just something that happens. You have to give something in exchange for it, and that's the dangerous part of the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/popularity-isn-t-just-something-that-happens-you-have-to-give/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [“Logograms pose a more difficult question. An increasing number of persons and institutions, from archy and mehitabel to PostScript and TrueType, come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/logograms-pose-a-more-difficult-question-an-increasing-number-of/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [How much money you get, depends on lots of extraneous things. It depends on how good you are at turning poetry into a marketable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/how-much-money-you-get-depends-on-lots-of-extraneous-things-it/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Anxiety projection can and does occur - in myth, in music, in fiction, and in the doctor's office too. That doesn't make it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/anxiety-projection-can-and-does-occur-in-myth-in-music-in-fiction-and/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [To design things means to interfere with things: to think of how they might be and to alter how they are. Design is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/to-design-things-means-to-interfere-with-things-to-think-of-how-they/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [By all means break the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/by-all-means-break-the-rules/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Typography is to literature as musical performance is to composition: an essential act of interpretation, full of endless opportunities for insight or obtuseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/typography-is-to-literature-as-musical-performance-is-to-composition/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [By all means break the rules, and break them beautifully, deliberately and well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/by-all-means-break-the-rules-and-break-them-beautifully-deliberately/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Many intellectual heroes in the European tradition seem to find the great outdoors a chilling prospect - and its literary analogue, the mythworld, equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/many-intellectual-heroes-in-the-european-tradition-seem-to-find-the/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Typography exists to honor content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/typography-exists-to-honor-content/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Nature, or the world, or reality, is what mythology is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/nature-or-the-world-or-reality-is-what-mythology-is-all-about/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Essay on Adam" There are five possibilities. One: Adam fell. Two: he was pushed. Three: he jumped. Four: he only looked over the edge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/essay-on-adam-there-are-five-possibilities-one-adam-fell-two-he-was/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [Wings are a constraint that makes it possible to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/wings-are-a-constraint-that-makes-it-possible-to-fly/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [In a world rife with unsolicited messages, typography must often draw attention to itself before it will be read. Yet in order to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/in-a-world-rife-with-unsolicited-messages-typography-must-often-draw/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

> [With type as with philosophy, music and food, it is better to have a little of the best than to be swamped with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/with-type-as-with-philosophy-music-and-food-it-is-better-to-have-a/)

[Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

[Explore all 41 Robert Bringhurst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/)

## More Inspirational quotes

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/)

[H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/)

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/)

[Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/)

> [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/)

[Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/)

[Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/)

> [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/)

[Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/)

[Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/)

[Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Poetry, I'm often told, is something made of words. I think it really goes the other way around: words are made of poetry.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Bringhurst"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made-of-words-i-think-it-really/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Inspirational"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made-of-words-i-think-it-really/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-bringhurst-16008_inspirational_poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made_499579.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Poetry, I'm often told, is something made of words. I think it really goes the other way around: words are…” — Robert Bringhurst",
                "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": "Robert Bringhurst",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Poetry, I'm often told, is something...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made-of-words-i-think-it-really/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/poetry-i-m-often-told-is-something-made-of-words-i-think-it-really/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
