--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The difficulty with poetry is that it…" description: "\"The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a costume drama out of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e99/simon-schama-4492_austen_the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-do_12678.png" --- # The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the… ![“The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a costume drama out of it. There's no place for it to go except trapped inside its little book.” quote by Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e99/simon-schama-4492_austen_the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-do_12678.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e99/simon-schama-4492_austen_the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-do_12678.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e99/simon-schama-4492_austen_the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-do_12678.png) > “The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a costume drama out of it. There's no place for it to go except trapped inside its little book.” [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that poetry lacks the narrative breadth and visual spectacle of drama, limiting its ability to be adapted into larger, more immersive forms. **In simple terms:** Poetry is confined to the page. Key Takeaway Poetry resists cinematic translation. Themes form limitation literary hierarchy adaptation challenges narrative scope visual imagination Mood reflective critical contemplative Type observation critique reflection When to use this quote - literary criticism - creative writing workshops - publishing discussions - media adaptation pitches Key Concepts poetry vs drama media constraints authorial intent Practical Applications - teaching poetry's unique strengths - guiding adaptations of poetic works Questions to Reflect On - How does the medium shape a work's impact? - Can poetry find new life beyond the page? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) [Beyond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beyond/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Costume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costume/) [Costume Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costume-drama-257327/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Difficulty Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty-poetry-372134/) [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Except](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/except/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inside/) [Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jane/) [Jane austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jane-austen/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-shakespeare-315237/) [Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page/) [Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-doesn-359817/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Trapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trapped/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > ['Agnivarsha' is not a costume drama like Shashi Kapoor's 'Utsav' or Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Devdas.' This one has no elaborate jewellery and clothes. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raveena-tandon/agnivarsha-is-not-a-costume-drama-like-shashi-kapoor-s-utsav-or/) [Raveena Tandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raveena-tandon/) > [I wanted to be in a costume drama. Yes, I like them. I enjoy the leap of imagination and the richer-than-modern-language they often contain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paterson-joseph/i-wanted-to-be-in-a-costume-drama-yes-i-like-them-i-enjoy-the-leap-of/) [Paterson Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paterson-joseph/) > [I'd love to do a costume drama movie. 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In America, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/growing-up-in-britain-as-a-rather-loose-jew-the-two-things-that-didn/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [In the end, history, especially British history with its succession of thrilling illuminations, should be, as all her most accomplished narrators have promised, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/in-the-end-history-especially-british-history-with-its-succession-of/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [From 1789, perhaps even before that, it had been the willingness of politicians to exploit either the threat or the fact of violence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/from-1789-perhaps-even-before-that-it-had-been-the-willingness-of/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [The default mode of modern writing about art is to despise any notion of singularity as so much overheated genius-fetishism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-default-mode-of-modern-writing-about-art-is-to-despise-any-notion/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [The synagogues of late antiquity and the early medieval period were built around imagery: imagery of remembering the Temple, but also of the celestial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-synagogues-of-late-antiquity-and-the-early-medieval-period-were/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [At 11, 12, I thought I was clumsy, ugly, a mess, an unappealing person, but I did have the gift of the gab. 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