--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One demands two things of a poem…" description: "\"One demands two things of a poem. Firstly, it must be a well-made verbal object that does honor to the language in which it is written. Secondly, it mu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/w-h-auden-856_books_one-demands-two-things-of-a-poem-firstly_1966399.jpg" --- # One demands two things of a poem. Firstly, it must be a… ![“One demands two things of a poem. Firstly, it must be a well-made verbal object that does honor to the language in which it is written. Secondly, it must say something significant about a reality common to us all, but perceived from a unique perspective. What the poet says has never been said…” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/w-h-auden-856_books_one-demands-two-things-of-a-poem-firstly_1966399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/w-h-auden-856_books_one-demands-two-things-of-a-poem-firstly_1966399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/w-h-auden-856_books_one-demands-two-things-of-a-poem-firstly_1966399.jpg) > “One demands two things of a poem. Firstly, it must be a well-made verbal object that does honor to the language in which it is written. Secondly, it must say something significant about a reality common to us all, but perceived from a unique perspective. What the poet says has never been said before, but, once he has said it, his readers recognize its validity for themselves.” [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 must be skillful and reveal a universal truth from a fresh viewpoint. **In simple terms:** Poems need craft and new insight. Key Takeaway Create art that teaches and astonishes. Themes art truth originality Mood introspective analytical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - education - public speaking Key Concepts aesthetics epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What unique perspective can you offer? - How does craft affect meaning? A Different Perspective Subjectivity may limit universal acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry by famous poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-by-famous-poets/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Unique perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique-perspective/) ## Related quotes > [What the poet says has never been said before, but, once he has said it, his readers recognize its validity for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/what-the-poet-says-has-never-been-said-before-but-once-he-has-said-it/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Poetry is a really helpful instrument. It's so physical; the musicality becomes a sort of expression of the body. The mind is there too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/poetry-is-a-really-helpful-instrument-it-s-so-physical-the-musicality/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [There are three things, after all, that a poem must reach: the eye, the ear, and what we may call the heart or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-are-three-things-after-all-that-a-poem-must-reach-the-eye-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [I do think the author ought to be able to give a good reason for the way things are in his poem. Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/i-do-think-the-author-ought-to-be-able-to-give-a-good-reason-for-the/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [They're very different things, a poem and a song, you wouldn't think they would be, but they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cooper-clarke/they-re-very-different-things-a-poem-and-a-song-you-wouldn-t-think/) [John Cooper Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cooper-clarke/) > [The importance of poetry is not measured, finally, by what the poet says but by how he says it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/the-importance-of-poetry-is-not-measured-finally-by-what-the-poet/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [“A true poet does not say 'azure'; a true poet says 'blue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/else-lasker-schuler/a-true-poet-does-not-say-azure-a-true-poet-says-blue/) [Else Lasker-Schüler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/else-lasker-schuler/) > [“America is a dream. The poet says it was promises. The people say it is promises—that will come true. 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And Poet," she says, and I want tot say, You have seen him and you didn't want him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-ve-almost-seen-him-and-poet-she-says-and-i-want-tot-say-you-have/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [There is an old Latin quotation in regard to the poet which says 'Poeta nascitur non fit' the translation of which is- the poet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-devlin/there-is-an-old-latin-quotation-in-regard-to-the-poet-which-says/) [Joseph Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-devlin/) > [“And the poet says that by starlight You come seeking, in the night, the flowers that you picked And that he has seen on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/and-the-poet-says-that-by-starlight-you-come-seeking-in-the-night-the/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) ## 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. 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Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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