--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could define poetry this way: it is…" description: "\"I could define poetry this way: it is that which is lost out of both prose and verse in translation.\" — Robert Frost" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png" --- # I could define poetry this way: it is that which is lost… ![“I could define poetry this way: it is that which is lost out of both prose and verse in translation.” quote by Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png) > “I could define poetry this way: it is that which is lost out of both prose and verse in translation.” [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry exists in the space where prose and verse fail to convey meaning fully. **In simple terms:** Poetry fills gaps between prose and verse. Key Takeaway Appreciate poetry’s unique voice. Themes poetry translation loss Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - creative writing - translation studies - education Key Concepts aesthetics linguistics Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does poetry evoke? - How can poetry be made more relatable? A Different Perspective Poetry may be inaccessible to some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verse/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [All which is not prose is verse; and all which is not verse is prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/all-which-is-not-prose-is-verse-and-all-which-is-not-verse-is-prose/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Who all in raptures their own works rehearse, And drawl out measur'd prose, which they call verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-churchill/who-all-in-raptures-their-own-works-rehearse-and-drawl-out-measur-d/) [Charles Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-churchill/) > [“What you want is practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter what we write … so long as we write continually as well as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-goodson/what-you-want-is-practice-practice-practice-it-doesn-t-matter-what-we/) Patricia Goodson > [I could no more define poetry than a terrier can define a rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-no-more-define-poetry-than-a-terrier-can-define-a-rat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I keep trying to define poetry, but its so difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gleeson/i-keep-trying-to-define-poetry-but-its-so-difficult/) [Jack Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gleeson/) > [That prose is a verse, and verse is a prose; convincing all, by demonstrating plain – poetic souls delight in prose insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/that-prose-is-a-verse-and-verse-is-a-prose-convincing-all-by/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I keep trying to define 'poetry,' but it's so difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gleeson/i-keep-trying-to-define-poetry-but-it-s-so-difficult/) [Jack Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gleeson/) > [I define poetry as celebration and confrontation. When we witness something, are we responsible for what we witness? That's an on-going existential question. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusef-komunyakaa/i-define-poetry-as-celebration-and-confrontation-when-we-witness/) [Yusef Komunyakaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusef-komunyakaa/) > [Though philosophers like to define poetry as irrational fancy, for us it is practical, humorous, reasonable way of being ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/though-philosophers-like-to-define-poetry-as-irrational-fancy-for-us/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [It's not easy to define poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/it-s-not-easy-to-define-poetry/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [It is a shallow criticism that would define poetry as confined to literary productions in rhyme and meter rhythm. The written poem is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-define-poetry-as-confined-to/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [There is such a thing as literary fashion, and prose and verse have been regulated by the same caprice that cuts our coats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/there-is-such-a-thing-as-literary-fashion-and-prose-and-verse-have/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [The simple Wordsworth . . . / Who, both by precept and example, shows / That prose is verse, and verse is merely prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-simple-wordsworth-who-both-by-precept-and-example-shows-that/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [People and places are the source of my work, both in prose and verse-and this remark is not the truism it seems, for I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-alfred-george-strong/people-and-places-are-the-source-of-my-work-both-in-prose-and-verse/) Leonard Alfred George Strong > [A translation in verse . . . seems to me something absurd, impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-translation-in-verse-seems-to-me-something-absurd-impossible/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by Robert Frost > [The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working when you get up in the morning, and doesn't stop until you get to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-brain-is-a-wonderful-organ-it-starts-working-when-you-get-up-in/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [When I see birches bend to left and right... I like to think some boy's been swinging them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/when-i-see-birches-bend-to-left-and-right-i-like-to-think-some-boy-s/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“The promising young poets, the hopefuls? I'd name Richard Wilbur, Peter Viereck, Karl Shapiro, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Ciardi...Leonard Bacon...but it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-promising-young-poets-the-hopefuls-i-d-name-richard-wilbur-peter/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Lord, I have loved Your sky, Be it said against or for me, Have loved it clear and high, Or low and stormy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/lord-i-have-loved-your-sky-be-it-said-against-or-for-me-have-loved-it/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Let him that is without stone among you cast the first thing he can lay his hands on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/let-him-that-is-without-stone-among-you-cast-the-first-thing-he-can/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It is only a moment here and a moment there that the greatest writer has. Some cognizance of the fact must be taken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-is-only-a-moment-here-and-a-moment-there-that-the-greatest-writer/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [And of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/and-of-course-there-must-be-something-wrong-in-wanting-to-silence-any/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-are-two-kinds-of-teachers-the-kind-that-fill-you-with-so-much/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The rose is a rose, And was always a rose. But now the theory goes That the apple's a rose, And the pear is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-rose-is-a-rose-and-was-always-a-rose-but-now-the-theory-goes-that/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/forgive-o-lord-my-little-jokes-on-thee-and-i-ll-forgive-thy-great-big/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [What an exciting age it is we live in With all this talk about the hope of youth And nothing made of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/what-an-exciting-age-it-is-we-live-in-with-all-this-talk-about-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The footpath down to the well is healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-footpath-down-to-the-well-is-healed/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [There is the fear that we shan't prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-is-the-fear-that-we-shan-t-prove-worthy-in-the-eyes-of-someone/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It's God - I recognised him from Blake's picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-s-god-i-recognised-him-from-blake-s-picture/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Create and stir other people to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/create-and-stir-other-people-to-create/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) [Explore all 624 Robert Frost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More Lost quotes > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“A sense of desolation settled within me: a cold, slimy stone lodged under my lungs. 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I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [The text says Deuteronomy was lost, but you say it was written then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/the-text-says-deuteronomy-was-lost-but-you-say-it-was-written-then/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [Opportunities change, strategies change, but people and psychology do not change. 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They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) Browse all 13,631 Lost quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I could define poetry this way: it is that which is lost out of both prose and verse in translation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Frost" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-that-which-is-lost-out-of-both/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lost" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-that-which-is-lost-out-of-both/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df7/robert-frost-371_lost_i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-tha_2669731.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I could define poetry this way: it is that which is lost out of both prose and verse in translation.” — Robert Frost", "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 Frost", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I could define poetry this way:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-that-which-is-lost-out-of-both/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-could-define-poetry-this-way-it-is-that-which-is-lost-out-of-both/#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 } } ] } ```