--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason modern poetry is difficult is…" description: "\"The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.\" — Wendy Cope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg" --- # The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the… ![“The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.” quote by Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg) > “The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.” [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem’s complexity serves as a barrier, ensuring that intimate partners, like a poet’s spouse, remain outside the inner artistic world, preserving privacy and mystery. **In simple terms:** Complexity shields personal artistic intent. Key Takeaway Art can be deliberately opaque. Themes privacy artistic autonomy communication intimacy literary criticism Mood wry ironic playful Type aphor humorous observation When to use this quote - a poet writing for a private audience - a writer protecting personal expression - a creative individual dealing with domestic expectations Key Concepts poetry authorial intent relationship dynamics Practical Applications - designing works that resist easy interpretation - using complexity to maintain personal boundaries Questions to Reflect On - Why might an artist choose obscurity over clarity? - How does personal privacy influence creative choices? A Different Perspective Complexity may alienate broader audiences, limiting the poem’s cultural impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-poet-394651/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-poetry/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-wife-394652/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-difficult-394650/) [Poetry is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-is/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [All poetry is difficult to read - The sense of it anyhow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/all-poetry-is-difficult-to-read-the-sense-of-it-anyhow/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“I’m not a poet. But my wife is. She taught me to look for the extraordinary in the simplicity. She taught me about emotion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-probst/i-m-not-a-poet-but-my-wife-is-she-taught-me-to-look-for-the/) [Jennifer Probst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-probst/) > [Poets in our civilization, as it exists at present, must be difficult...The poet must become more and more comprehensive, more allusive, more indirect, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/poets-in-our-civilization-as-it-exists-at-present-must-be-difficult/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [“We turn now to T. S. Eliot," said Mr Varriale, my 11th-grade English teacher, "the most difficult poet in the English language." At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-hawkins/we-turn-now-to-t-s-eliot-said-mr-varriale-my-11th-grade-english/) [Peter S. Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-hawkins/) > [Modern" poetry is, essentially, an extension of romanticism; it is what romantic poetry wishes or finds it necessary to become. It is the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/modern-poetry-is-essentially-an-extension-of-romanticism-it-is-what/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [I keep trying to define 'poetry,' but it's so difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gleeson/i-keep-trying-to-define-poetry-but-it-s-so-difficult/) [Jack Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gleeson/) > [Poetry is difficult, I mean interesting poetry, not confessional babble or emotive propaganda. Reading a new poet is discovering an entire world, what Stevens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/poetry-is-difficult-i-mean-interesting-poetry-not-confessional-babble/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [I love poetry, but I find it so difficult to write well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-susan-rapp/i-love-poetry-but-i-find-it-so-difficult-to-write-well/) [Emily Susan Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-susan-rapp/) > [Paradoxically, the simpler poetry is, the more difficult it becomes for a critic to discuss intelligently. Trained to explicate, the critic often loses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/paradoxically-the-simpler-poetry-is-the-more-difficult-it-becomes-for/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [THE THOUGHTFUL LOVER Deny yourself all half things. Have it or leave it. But it will keep—or it is not worth the having. Never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/the-thoughtful-lover-deny-yourself-all-half-things-have-it-or-leave/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The charge frequently leveled against poetry - that it is difficult, obscure, hermetic and whatnot - indicates not the state of poetry but, frankly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-charge-frequently-leveled-against-poetry-that-it-is-difficult/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [I keep trying to define poetry, but its so difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gleeson/i-keep-trying-to-define-poetry-but-its-so-difficult/) [Jack Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gleeson/) > [The great watershed of modern poetry is French, more than English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/the-great-watershed-of-modern-poetry-is-french-more-than-english/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [As Popa penetrates deeper into his life, with book after book, it begins to look like a Universe passing through a Universe. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/as-popa-penetrates-deeper-into-his-life-with-book-after-book-it/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) ## More by Wendy Cope > [I like buying clothes, especially as I get a tax-deductible allowance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-like-buying-clothes-especially-as-i-get-a-tax-deductible-allowance/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [On Waterloo Bridge where we said our goodbyes, the weather conditions bring tears to my eyes. I wipe them away with a black woolly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/on-waterloo-bridge-where-we-said-our-goodbyes-the-weather-conditions/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [I've never been more famous than I was, suddenly, in 1986.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-ve-never-been-more-famous-than-i-was-suddenly-in-1986/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [In my case, the long gaps between my books have got quite a lot to do with lack of confidence. A lot of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/in-my-case-the-long-gaps-between-my-books-have-got-quite-a-lot-to-do/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [“A Green Song (to sing at the bottle-bank) One green bottle, Drop it in the bank. Ten green bottles, What a lot we drank.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/a-green-song-to-sing-at-the-bottle-bank-one-green-bottle-drop-it-in/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [I used to think all poets were Byronic Mad, bad and dangerous to know. And then I met a few. See Lamb 486:25.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-used-to-think-all-poets-were-byronic-mad-bad-and-dangerous-to-know/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [I always tell students that writing a poem and publishing it are two quite separate things, and you should write what you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-always-tell-students-that-writing-a-poem-and-publishing-it-are-two/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [I like a quiet life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-like-a-quiet-life/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [Bloody Christmas, here again, let us raise a loving cup, peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/bloody-christmas-here-again-let-us-raise-a-loving-cup-peace-on-earth/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [Bloody men are like bloody buses - you wait for about a year and as soon as one approaches your stop two or three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/bloody-men-are-like-bloody-buses-you-wait-for-about-a-year-and-as/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [“Everybody in this room is bored. The poems drag, the voice and gestures irk. He can't be interrupted or ignored. Poor fools, we came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/everybody-in-this-room-is-bored-the-poems-drag-the-voice-and-gestures/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [“Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis It was a dream I had last week And some kind of record seemed vital. I knew it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/making-cocoa-for-kingsley-amis-it-was-a-dream-i-had-last-week-and/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [There is some humour in 'Family Values.' I don't want everyone to think it's not going to make them laugh. But there are quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/there-is-some-humour-in-family-values-i-don-t-want-everyone-to-think/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [I've said what I'm prepared to say in my poems, and then journalists think that you're going to tell them a whole lot more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/i-ve-said-what-i-m-prepared-to-say-in-my-poems-and-then-journalists/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [When a poem doesn't work, the first question to ask yourself is, 'Am I telling the truth?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/when-a-poem-doesn-t-work-the-first-question-to-ask-yourself-is-am-i/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) [Explore all 37 Wendy Cope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Consumers can choose organic cotton grown without pesticides, but it uses more water and requires more land than conventional crops. Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) [Browse all 13,132 Difficult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendy Cope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is-so-that-the-poet-s-wife/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is-so-that-the-poet-s-wife/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/wendy-cope-17267_difficult_the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is_20183.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.” — Wendy Cope", "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": "Wendy Cope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The reason modern poetry is difficult...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is-so-that-the-poet-s-wife/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/the-reason-modern-poetry-is-difficult-is-so-that-the-poet-s-wife/#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 } } ] } ```