Able Quote by T. S. Eliot
“Yeats was the greatest poet of our times . . . certainly the greatest in this language, and so far as I am able to judge, in any language.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: "The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism", 1933
Yeats stands as the preeminent poet across languages and eras.
In simple terms: Yeats is the greatest poet of our times.
Key Takeaway
Recognize timeless literary excellence.
Themes
literature
greatness
comparative analysis
Mood
analytical
respectful
Type
critical
scholarly
When to use this quote
- academic study
- literary criticism
- education
- cultural discourse
Key Concepts
poetic legacy
critical evaluation
Questions to Reflect On
- What criteria define a poet's greatness?
- How does cultural context affect literary evaluation?
A Different Perspective
Assessments of greatness are subjective.
![“For [W. B.] Yeats magic was not so much a kind of poetry as poetry a kind of magic, and the object of both alike was evocation of energies and knowledge from beyond normal consciousness.” quote by Kathleen Raine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dec/kathleen-raine-24416_poem_for-w-b-yeats-magic-was-not-so-much-a-ki_1799401.jpg)
![“Brilliant. [Lasdun] seems to me certainly among the most gifted, vivid, and deft poets now writing in English, and far better than many who are more famous. His capacities are solidly established; his promise is nearly infinite.” quote by Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/53f/anthony-hecht-35816_brilliant_brilliant-lasdun-seems-to-me-certainly-a_3106037.jpg)
![“the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. [He] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with each other, or with the noise of the typewriter, or the smell of cooking; in the mind of the poet these experiences are always forming new wholes” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/18e/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic_93688.jpg)
