---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do poets have any insight into what's the…"
description: "\"Do poets have any insight into what's the right ratio? I doubt it, but I think that they can be awake to what the ends are.\" — Robert Hass"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg"
---

#  Do poets have any insight into what's the right ratio? I…

![“Do poets have any insight into what's the right ratio? I doubt it, but I think that they can be awake to what the ends are.” quote by Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg)

> “Do poets have any insight into what's the right ratio? I doubt it, but I think that they can be awake to what the ends are.”

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

## About This Quote

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

Poets may not have precise answers, but they can sense the larger purpose behind events.

**In simple terms:** Poets sense purpose.

Key Takeaway

Trust poetic intuition.

Themes

art purpose intuition

Mood

contemplative inspirational

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- creative work
- life decisions
- spiritual reflection

Key Concepts

poetry philosophy meaning

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you find meaning?
- Can intuition guide action?

A Different Perspective

Poetry is subjective.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awake/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Poets Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-insight-3757285/) [Ratio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ratio/) [Ratio Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ratio-doubt-3757284/) [Ratios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ratios/) [Right Ratio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-ratio-3757286/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [Any filmmaker, big directors, and I'm not dropping any names - I actually have couple names I want to say, but I will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-wiseau/any-filmmaker-big-directors-and-i-m-not-dropping-any-names-i-actually/)

[Tommy Wiseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-wiseau/)

> [Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/subsistence-increases-only-in-an-arithmetical-ratio/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The ideal ratio is one computer to every five students; we are nowhere close to that percentage in a lot of schools in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-abraham/the-ideal-ratio-is-one-computer-to-every-five-students-we-are-nowhere/)

[Spencer Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-abraham/)

> [At Reliance Foundation schools, we lay special emphasis on value-based education, sports, and overall development of students. That is why the teacher-students ratio is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/at-reliance-foundation-schools-we-lay-special-emphasis-on-value-based/)

[Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/)

> [The goodness of your true pun is in the direct ratio of its intolerability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/the-goodness-of-your-true-pun-is-in-the-direct-ratio-of-its/)

[Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/)

> [The ratio of people to cake is too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-root/the-ratio-of-people-to-cake-is-too-big/)

[Stephen Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-root/)

> [If you do something often enough, a ratio will appear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-you-do-something-often-enough-a-ratio-will-appear/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [I enjoy comedic things. People don't understand it's the hardest thing to do. We have a ratio of 25-to-1 between good dramatic actors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-grodin/i-enjoy-comedic-things-people-don-t-understand-it-s-the-hardest-thing/)

[Charles Grodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-grodin/)

> [I don't know what the effective ratio would be, but I've always had some sort of intuition that for every hour you spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-gould/i-don-t-know-what-the-effective-ratio-would-be-but-i-ve-always-had/)

[Glenn Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-gould/)

> [Success is to be measured not by wealth, power, or fame, but by the ratio between what a man is and what he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/success-is-to-be-measured-not-by-wealth-power-or-fame-but-by-the/)

[H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/)

> [I couldn't tell you the ratio, but probably for every job you see me do, there would be 20 rejections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-clarke/i-couldn-t-tell-you-the-ratio-but-probably-for-every-job-you-see-me/)

[Noel Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-clarke/)

> [The problem with describing poets as legislators is that at that level of politics - politics as political invention - poets have no special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/the-problem-with-describing-poets-as-legislators-is-that-at-that/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [“August is dust here. Drought stuns the road, but juice gathers in the berries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/august-is-dust-here-drought-stuns-the-road-but-juice-gathers-in-the/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [Someone in Ireland asked me how many Republican poets there were in the U.S., and I thought maybe two. Maybe there are 10,000 poets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/someone-in-ireland-asked-me-how-many-republican-poets-there-were-in/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [I follow an extremely strict diet counting my calorie intake, keeping in mind a very balanced ratio of proteins, carbs, and fats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithvik-dhanjani/i-follow-an-extremely-strict-diet-counting-my-calorie-intake-keeping/)

[Rithvik Dhanjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithvik-dhanjani/)

## More by Robert Hass

> [It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/it-s-the-same-with-this-idea-of-a-literate-public-and-also-of-a/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [All the new thinking is about loss. In this it resembles all the old thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/all-the-new-thinking-is-about-loss-in-this-it-resembles-all-the-old/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [Poetry, when it takes sides, when it proposes solutions, isn't any smarter than anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/poetry-when-it-takes-sides-when-it-proposes-solutions-isn-t-any/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [When I was in college, I lost my scholarship one year. I had enough money for tuition, but not room and board. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-was-in-college-i-lost-my-scholarship-one-year-i-had-enough/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/as-poet-laureate-i-was-asked-to-be-a-spokesman-for-literature/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [After Pope, in the beginning of Romanticism, people developed the idea that imagination rather than reason was a special form of knowledge and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/after-pope-in-the-beginning-of-romanticism-people-developed-the-idea/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [They are the kinds of things that make us a community: attachment to place, attachment to local arts traditions, the ability to read literature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/they-are-the-kinds-of-things-that-make-us-a-community-attachment-to/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [I think that were I in the middle of an obsession to write about, say, sudden oak death in California or my grandchildren or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-were-i-in-the-middle-of-an-obsession-to-write-about-say/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [I suppose there's something to be said for the sheer reinforcement of our beliefs, but really I think poetry is more useful as disenchantment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-suppose-there-s-something-to-be-said-for-the-sheer-reinforcement-of/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [If you were making poetry out of convictions - trying to convince other people - you were in the territory of rhetoric, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-were-making-poetry-out-of-convictions-trying-to-convince-other/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [Milton was the first person who really experimented with putting politics into sonnets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/milton-was-the-first-person-who-really-experimented-with-putting/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [When I came into the job, funding for the humanities at the federal level was being drastically cut. This was the high tide of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-came-into-the-job-funding-for-the-humanities-at-the-federal/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [One may prefer spring and summer to autumn and winter, but preference is hardly to the point. The earth turns, and we live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/one-may-prefer-spring-and-summer-to-autumn-and-winter-but-preference/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [“ A Faint Music by Robert Hass Maybe you need to write a poem about grace. When everything broken is broken, and everything dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/a-faint-music-by-robert-hass-maybe-you-need-to-write-a-poem-about/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [“When everything broken is broken, and everything dead is dead, and the hero has looked into the mirror with complete contempt, and the heroine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-everything-broken-is-broken-and-everything-dead-is-dead-and-the/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

[Explore all 128 Robert Hass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

## More Awake quotes

> [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/)

[Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/)

> [Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up. "Are you awake?" "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/reagan-was-sitting-up-at-cath-s-desk-when-cath-woke-up-are-you-awake/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [“Are you awake?” “Have you been watching me sleep?” “Yes, Bella. Are you awake?” “No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/are-you-awake-have-you-been-watching-me-sleep-yes-bella-are-you-awake/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the Messiah?" "No," answered Buddha. "Then are you a healer?" "No," Buddha replied. "Then are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/one-of-his-students-asked-buddha-are-you-the-messiah-no-answered/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/)

[Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/)

> [Hopes are dreams of those who are awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hopes-are-dreams-of-those-who-are-awake/)

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

> [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [Wherever I went I felt like the last person awake in a room full of sleepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/wherever-i-went-i-felt-like-the-last-person-awake-in-a-room-full-of/)

[Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/)

> [I'd just like to see athletes awake. And aware. There's so much going on and so much to know... We stay in our little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-teter/i-d-just-like-to-see-athletes-awake-and-aware-there-s-so-much-going/)

[Hannah Teter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-teter/)

> [As your awareness of the riches available to you in your everyday life grows, you are on the way to becoming the laughing Buddha.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/as-your-awareness-of-the-riches-available-to-you-in-your-everyday/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [“Think of it this way, Mara. We don’t have the power to make the sun rise, but we can choose to be awake when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-garlough-brown/think-of-it-this-way-mara-we-don-t-have-the-power-to-make-the-sun/)

[Sharon Garlough Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-garlough-brown/)

> [“The owl,” he was saying, “is one of the most curious creatures. A bird that stays awake when the rest of the world sleeps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-rose/the-owl-he-was-saying-is-one-of-the-most-curious-creatures-a-bird/)

[M.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-rose/)

> [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/)

[Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/)

> [Shall we keep men in a fool's paradise? Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in hell? Are we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/shall-we-keep-men-in-a-fool-s-paradise-shall-we-lull-them-into-soft/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

[Browse all 1,663 Awake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awake/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Do poets have any insight into what's the right ratio? I doubt it, but I think that they can be awake to what the ends are.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Hass"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-the-right-ratio-i-doubt-it-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Awake"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-the-right-ratio-i-doubt-it-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/robert-hass-3548_awake_do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-th_2034970.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do poets have any insight into what's the right ratio? I doubt it, but I think that they can be awake to…” — Robert Hass",
                "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 Hass",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Do poets have any insight into...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-the-right-ratio-i-doubt-it-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/do-poets-have-any-insight-into-what-s-the-right-ratio-i-doubt-it-but/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
