““One cannot say that a major poet writes better poems than a minor; on the contrary the chances are that, in the course of his lifetime, the major poet will write more bad poems than the minor.... To qualify as major, a poet, it seems to me, must satisfy about three and a half of the following five conditions. 1. He must write a lot. 2. His poems must show a wide range in subject matter and treatment. 3. He must exhibit an unmistakable originality of vision and style. 4. He must be a master of verse technique. 5. In the case of all poets we distinguish between their juvenilia and their mature work, but [the major poet's] process of maturing continues until he dies....””
