--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A poem is good if it contains a new…" description: "\"A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as counters.\" — T. E. Hulme" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png" --- # A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles… ![“A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as counters.” quote by T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png) > “A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as counters.” [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry should surprise readers with fresh analogies, breaking habitual word counting. **In simple terms:** Poetry needs fresh analogies. Key Takeaway Use surprising analogies. Themes poetry creativity language Mood thoughtful inspired Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - literature classes - creative brainstorming Key Concepts analogy innovation literary technique Questions to Reflect On - What analogy has reshaped your view of a concept? - How do you balance novelty with clarity? A Different Perspective Overreliance on novelty can obscure meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analogies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogies/) [Analogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogy/) [Analogy Startles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogy-startles-359006/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [New Analogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-analogy-359007/) [Poem Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-good-359008/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Words Counters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-counters-359009/) ## Related quotes > [Words are the counters of wise men, but the money of fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/words-are-the-counters-of-wise-men-but-the-money-of-fools/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Words are the counters of wise men, and the money of fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/words-are-the-counters-of-wise-men-and-the-money-of-fools/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Natural science is founded on minute critical views of the general order of events taking place upon our globe, corrected, enlarged, or exalted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/natural-science-is-founded-on-minute-critical-views-of-the-general/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [“But no. That was analogy rather than homology. What in the humanities they would call a heroic simile, if he understood the term, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/but-no-that-was-analogy-rather-than-homology-what-in-the-humanities/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [We often attribute 'understanding' and other cognitive predicates by metaphor and analogy to cars, adding machines, and other artifacts, but nothing is proved by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/we-often-attribute-understanding-and-other-cognitive-predicates-by/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [When I make a representation of something, this, too, is an analogy to what exists; I make an effort to get a grip on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/when-i-make-a-representation-of-something-this-too-is-an-analogy-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I do not understand this analogy," Mencheres muttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-do-not-understand-this-analogy-mencheres-muttered/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [People sometimes say, "Isn't it boring, isn't it always the same? It's the same lines." I go, "Well, do you play tennis? Because that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/people-sometimes-say-isn-t-it-boring-isn-t-it-always-the-same-it-s/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Life is like an analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-allston/life-is-like-an-analogy/) [Aaron Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-allston/) > [The analogy I use is that 'World of Warcraft' is like going to the mall: you see a ton of people there, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-romero/the-analogy-i-use-is-that-world-of-warcraft-is-like-going-to-the-mall/) [John Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-romero/) > [The real achievement in discoveries... is seeing an analogy where no one saw one before... The essence of discovery is that unlikely marriage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-real-achievement-in-discoveries-is-seeing-an-analogy-where-no-one/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [There is then no analogy whatever between the operations of the Chess-Player, and those of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage , and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-then-no-analogy-whatever-between-the-operations-of-the-chess/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-nude-does-not-simply-represent-the-body-but-relates-it-by-analogy/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Historical analogy is the last refuge of people who can't grasp the current situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/historical-analogy-is-the-last-refuge-of-people-who-can-t-grasp-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by T. E. Hulme > [In the light of absolute values (religious or ethical) man himself is judged to be limited or imperfect, while he can occasionally accomplish acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/in-the-light-of-absolute-values-religious-or-ethical-man-himself-is/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Prose is a museum, where all the old weapons of poetry are kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/prose-is-a-museum-where-all-the-old-weapons-of-poetry-are-kept/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [The artist tries to see what there is to be interested in...He has not created something,he has seen something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/the-artist-tries-to-see-what-there-is-to-be-interested-in-he-has-not/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [One of the main reasons for the existence of philosophy is not that it enables you to find truth (it can never do that)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/one-of-the-main-reasons-for-the-existence-of-philosophy-is-not-that/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Prose is in fact the museum where the dead images of verse are preserved. In 'Notes', prose is 'a museum where all the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/prose-is-in-fact-the-museum-where-the-dead-images-of-verse-are/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Literature, like memory, selects only the vivid patches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/literature-like-memory-selects-only-the-vivid-patches/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Language is by its very nature a communal thing...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/language-is-by-its-very-nature-a-communal-thing/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Thought is prior to language and consists in the simultaneous presentation to the mind of two different images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/thought-is-prior-to-language-and-consists-in-the-simultaneous/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [All emotions are the ore from which poetry may be sifted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/all-emotions-are-the-ore-from-which-poetry-may-be-sifted/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [“Put shortly, these are the two views, then. One, that man is intrinsically good, spoilt by circumstance; and the other that he is intrinsically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/put-shortly-these-are-the-two-views-then-one-that-man-is/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [The first time I ever felt the necessity or inevitableness of verse, was in the desire to reproduce the peculiar quality of feeling which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/the-first-time-i-ever-felt-the-necessity-or-inevitableness-of-verse/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [There is no such thing as an absolute truth to be discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-absolute-truth-to-be-discovered/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) [Explore all 13 T. E. Hulme quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) ## More Analogies quotes > [I always use the analogy that when you go to a jeans store and put on a new pair of jeans, it's a pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-always-use-the-analogy-that-when-you-go-to-a-jeans-store-and-put-on/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) > [ Kanye \[West\] just says the funniest analogies that are so random. I should start keeping a book - in 20 years, I'll have a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/kanye-west-just-says-the-funniest-analogies-that-are-so-random-i/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [Historical analogy is the last refuge of people who can't grasp the current situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/historical-analogy-is-the-last-refuge-of-people-who-can-t-grasp-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [For some people, getting pregnant is as easy as catching cold." And there certainly was an analogy there: Colds and babies were both caused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/for-some-people-getting-pregnant-is-as-easy-as-catching-cold-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [That is why the analogy of stealing does not work. With a thief, we want to know how much money he or she stole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/that-is-why-the-analogy-of-stealing-does-not-work-with-a-thief-we/) [Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/) > [The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-nude-does-not-simply-represent-the-body-but-relates-it-by-analogy/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [His lessons were chock-full of analogies for a variety of musical situations. Those little things were my favorites. 'No . . . that's too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-laureano/his-lessons-were-chock-full-of-analogies-for-a-variety-of-musical/) [Manny Laureano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-laureano/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Imagination runs out. But it makes sense, right? We probably just imagine things based on what we already know, and we run out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/imagination-runs-out-but-it-makes-sense-right-we-probably-just/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [Apt analogies are among the most formidable weapons of the rhetorician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/apt-analogies-are-among-the-most-formidable-weapons-of-the-rhetorician/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [In my photographic work I'm generally attracted to places that contain memories, history, atmospheres and stories. I'm interested in the places where people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/in-my-photographic-work-i-m-generally-attracted-to-places-that/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [There is then no analogy whatever between the operations of the Chess-Player, and those of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage , and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-then-no-analogy-whatever-between-the-operations-of-the-chess/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [The real achievement in discoveries... is seeing an analogy where no one saw one before... The essence of discovery is that unlikely marriage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-real-achievement-in-discoveries-is-seeing-an-analogy-where-no-one/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [The expressive techniques of painting are capable of conveying an analogy but not an impossible photograph of a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-vuillard/the-expressive-techniques-of-painting-are-capable-of-conveying-an/) [Edouard Vuillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-vuillard/) [Browse all 311 Analogies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as counters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. E. Hulme" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-analogy-and-startles-the-reader/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Analogies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-analogy-and-startles-the-reader/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/t-e-hulme-35225_analogies_a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-anal_1627918.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as…” — T. E. Hulme", "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": "T. E. Hulme", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A poem is good if it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-analogy-and-startles-the-reader/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/a-poem-is-good-if-it-contains-a-new-analogy-and-startles-the-reader/#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 } } ] } ```