--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A poet can write about a man slaying a…" description: "\"A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man pushing a button that releases a bomb.\" — W. H. Auden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/w-h-auden-856_dragon_a-poet-can-write-about-a-man-slaying-a-d_2251299.png" --- # A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not… ![“A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man pushing a button that releases a bomb.” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/w-h-auden-856_dragon_a-poet-can-write-about-a-man-slaying-a-d_2251299.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/w-h-auden-856_dragon_a-poet-can-write-about-a-man-slaying-a-d_2251299.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/w-h-auden-856_dragon_a-poet-can-write-about-a-man-slaying-a-d_2251299.png) > “A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man pushing a button that releases a bomb.” [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry struggles to capture modern, abstract horrors **In simple terms:** Poetry can’t fully describe complex, unseen threats Key Takeaway Use vivid imagery for abstract concepts Themes poetry war technology Mood thoughtful serious Type literary critical When to use this quote - literary analysis - war journalism - ethical debates Key Concepts symbolism ethical critique Questions to Reflect On - What images best convey hidden dangers? - How can poetry address modern threats? A Different Perspective Metaphors may oversimplify reality ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragon/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Give that man what he doesn’t even know he wants—which is everything that’s you—and you’ll be just fine. Now, get going. Put that armor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-march/give-that-man-what-he-doesn-t-even-know-he-wants-which-is-everything/) [Meghan March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-march/) > [Well I'm the Prince and I'm sort of slaying a dragon - which is something I've never done before, obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-beckham/well-i-m-the-prince-and-i-m-sort-of-slaying-a-dragon-which-is/) [David Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-beckham/) > [Everything I try to do is about slaying that dragon of shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/everything-i-try-to-do-is-about-slaying-that-dragon-of-shame/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [The chances are that, in the course of his lifetime, the major poet will write more bad poems than the minor, simply because major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-chances-are-that-in-the-course-of-his-lifetime-the-major-poet/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Slaying the dragon of delay is no sport for the short-winded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/slaying-the-dragon-of-delay-is-no-sport-for-the-short-winded/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [No one begs you to be a poet or write a 1000-page poem. You have to be fueled by a drive, a conviction -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/no-one-begs-you-to-be-a-poet-or-write-a-1000-page-poem-you-have-to-be/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [A shrieking rise of power rushed into my pathways, rocking me against the wall. Ido's body slammed into mine. He was not going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-goodman/a-shrieking-rise-of-power-rushed-into-my-pathways-rocking-me-against/) [Alison Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-goodman/) > [It is one thing to write as poet and another to write as a historian: the poet can recount or sing about things not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-one-thing-to-write-as-poet-and-another-to-write-as-a-historian/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poet is he who can write some pure mythology today without the aid of posterity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-poet-is-he-who-can-write-some-pure-mythology-today-without-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [One can't write for all readers. A poet cannot write for people who don't like poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/one-can-t-write-for-all-readers-a-poet-cannot-write-for-people-who/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [In order to write poetry, you must first invent a poet who will write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-machado/in-order-to-write-poetry-you-must-first-invent-a-poet-who-will-write/) [Antonio Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-machado/) > [If I were a poet, I would write you a love poem a day. If I were a singer, I would sing you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-were-a-poet-i-would-write-you-a-love-poem-a-day-if-i-were-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A hundred cabinet-makers in London can work a table or a chair equally well; but no one poet can write verses with such spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/a-hundred-cabinet-makers-in-london-can-work-a-table-or-a-chair-2/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [A hundred cabinet-makers in London can work a table or a chair equally well; but noone poet can write verses with such spirit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/a-hundred-cabinet-makers-in-london-can-work-a-table-or-a-chair/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“If I were a poet, that’s what I’d write about. People who worked in the middle of the night. Men who loaded trains, emergency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/if-i-were-a-poet-that-s-what-i-d-write-about-people-who-worked-in-the/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) ## More by W. H. Auden > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The commonest ivory tower is that of the average man, the state of passivity towards experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-commonest-ivory-tower-is-that-of-the-average-man-the-state-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Harrow the house of the dead; look shining at New styles of architecture, a change of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/harrow-the-house-of-the-dead-look-shining-at-new-styles-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [If age, which is certainly Just as wicked as youth, look any wiser, It is only that youth is still able to believe It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/if-age-which-is-certainly-just-as-wicked-as-youth-look-any-wiser-it/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [“Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/those-to-whom-evil-is-done-do-evil-in-return/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-and-the-public-know-what-all-schoolchildren-learn-those-to-whom/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [How happy the lot of the mathematician. He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/how-happy-the-lot-of-the-mathematician-he-is-judged-solely-by-his/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/perhaps-there-is-only-one-cardinal-sin-impatience-because-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The windiest militant trash Important Persons shout Is not so crude as our wish: What mad Nijinsky wrote About Diaghilev Is true of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-windiest-militant-trash-important-persons-shout-is-not-so-crude/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/time-and-fevers-burn-away-individual-beauty-from-thoughtful-children/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-hunt-for-symbols-in-a-fairy-tale-is-absolutely-fatal/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) [Explore all 344 W. H. Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## More Dragon quotes > [ “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus \[ never tickle a sleeping dragon \]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/draco-dormiens-nunquam-titillandus-never-tickle-a-sleeping-dragon/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-you-banish-the-dragons-you-banish-the-heroes/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/i-especially-like-the-songs-hurry-up-and-the-curse-of-castle-dragon/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [“You must see her pucker when she’s a dragon.” “This pucker can light your ass on fire, missy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-woods/you-must-see-her-pucker-when-she-s-a-dragon-this-pucker-can-light/) [Adrienne Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-woods/) > [“I will always be within reach if you need me, little one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-von/i-will-always-be-within-reach-if-you-need-me-little-one/) [A.R. Von](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-von/) > [“Unable to help herself, she traced the tat, startled by the black and red ink mixed together. But it was the dragon design itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-grant/unable-to-help-herself-she-traced-the-tat-startled-by-the-black-and/) [Donna Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-grant/) > [The Soyuz is probably only slightly smaller than the Dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-walker/the-soyuz-is-probably-only-slightly-smaller-than-the-dragon/) [Shannon Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-walker/) > [Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fairy-tales-are-more-than-true-not-because-they-tell-us-that-dragons/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [To have dragons one must have change; that is the first principle of dragon lore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/to-have-dragons-one-must-have-change-that-is-the-first-principle-of/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I know how the birds fly, how the fishes swim, how animals run. But there is the Dragon. I cannot tell how it mounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/i-know-how-the-birds-fly-how-the-fishes-swim-how-animals-run-but/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [It was always that detail that drove me. Ever since I was a little kid, I used to get into the nitty gritty... when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-base/it-was-always-that-detail-that-drove-me-ever-since-i-was-a-little-kid/) [Graeme Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-base/) > [Holly is alive,' thought Foaly 'My princess lives,'exulted Orion. 'And we're chasing a dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/holly-is-alive-thought-foaly-my-princess-lives-exulted-orion-and-we/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) [Browse all 704 Dragon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man pushing a button that releases a bomb.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. H. 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