--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poets may be delightful creatures in the…" description: "\"Poets may be delightful creatures in the meadow or the garret, but they are menaces on the assembly line.\" — Rollo May" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg" --- # Poets may be delightful creatures in the meadow or the… ![“Poets may be delightful creatures in the meadow or the garret, but they are menaces on the assembly line.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg) > “Poets may be delightful creatures in the meadow or the garret, but they are menaces on the assembly line.” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets bring creativity but can disrupt structured environments like assembly lines. **In simple terms:** Poets are both delightful and disruptive. Key Takeaway Balance creativity with order. Themes creativity workplace conflict Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical professional When to use this quote - office culture - creative workshops - team dynamics Key Concepts artistic expression industrial efficiency Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations harness poetic creativity? - What boundaries are needed? A Different Perspective May undervalue structure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Assembly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assembly/) [Assembly line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assembly-line/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Garret Menaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garret-menaces-2070418/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meadows/) [Menace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/menace/) [Menaces Assembly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/menaces-assembly-2070416/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Poets Delightful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-delightful-2070417/) ## Related quotes > [The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-poet-like-the-lover-is-a-menace-on-the-assembly-line/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [My father worked on assembly lines in Detroit while I was growing up. Every day, I watched him do what he needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-baker/my-father-worked-on-assembly-lines-in-detroit-while-i-was-growing-up/) [Anita Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-baker/) > [Neither an assembly line nor a stock market nor an oil well did it, simply what came from one small skull and that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilka-chase/neither-an-assembly-line-nor-a-stock-market-nor-an-oil-well-did-it/) [Ilka Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilka-chase/) > [If I had been at an assembly line for films, I don't know if I would be the best driver. I think I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/if-i-had-been-at-an-assembly-line-for-films-i-don-t-know-if-i-would/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I feel like a defective model, like I came off the assembly line flat-out fucked and my parents should have taken me back for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-feel-like-a-defective-model-like-i-came-off-the-assembly-line-flat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of today's film actresses are typical of a mass-production age: living dolls who look as if they came off an assembly line and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-lawrenson/most-of-today-s-film-actresses-are-typical-of-a-mass-production-age/) [Helen Lawrenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-lawrenson/) > [There have been some medical schools in which somewhere along the assembly line, a faculty member has informed the students, not so much by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/there-have-been-some-medical-schools-in-which-somewhere-along-the/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [Mr Edison gave America just what was needed at that moment in history. They say that when people think of me, they think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/mr-edison-gave-america-just-what-was-needed-at-that-moment-in-history/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [All the ideas in the universe can be described by words. Therefore, if you simply take all the words and rearrange them randomly enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-ideas-in-the-universe-can-be-described-by-words-therefore-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The bottom line is more tax money is going to be needed. Just how much will be the primary issue on the agenda when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-gumbel/the-bottom-line-is-more-tax-money-is-going-to-be-needed-just-how-much/) [Bryant Gumbel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-gumbel/) > [“That done, I sank into an uneasy sleep wherein I dreamed of an assembly line of pale, bloodless girls walking down an endless dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rice/that-done-i-sank-into-an-uneasy-sleep-wherein-i-dreamed-of-an/) [Jeff Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rice/) > [I thought it was a stroke of genius that Hans Selye used the word stress, because it's true that if you don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/i-thought-it-was-a-stroke-of-genius-that-hans-selye-used-the-word/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Historical fact: People stopped being people in 1913. That was the year Henry Ford put his cars on rollers and made his workers adopt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/historical-fact-people-stopped-being-people-in-1913-that-was-the-year/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“CRUNCH! Izzy jumped off the bench, which made Alex laugh all over again. “Chill out.” He pointed at a cloud of smoke. “Look, it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/crunch-izzy-jumped-off-the-bench-which-made-alex-laugh-all-over-again/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [Now, I love a good factory tour. Drop me into a bottling plant, an automotive assembly line, or a jellybean factory, and I'm happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-randolph/now-i-love-a-good-factory-tour-drop-me-into-a-bottling-plant-an/) [Marc Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-randolph/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poets may be delightful creatures in the meadow or the garret, but they are menaces on the assembly line.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rollo May" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the-meadow-or-the-garret-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the-meadow-or-the-garret-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/rollo-may-1295_animals_poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the_2616143.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poets may be delightful creatures in the meadow or the garret, but they are menaces on the assembly line.” — Rollo May", "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": "Rollo May", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poets may be delightful creatures in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the-meadow-or-the-garret-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/poets-may-be-delightful-creatures-in-the-meadow-or-the-garret-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 } } ] } ```