--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would say poetry is language charged…" description: "\"“I would say poetry is language charged with emotion. It's words, rhythmically organized . . . A poem is a complete little universe. It exists separate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/william-carlos-williams-1841_poem_i-would-say-poetry-is-language-charged-w_692034.png" --- # I would say poetry is language charged with emotion. It's… ![“I would say poetry is language charged with emotion. It's words, rhythmically organized . . . A poem is a complete little universe. It exists separately. Any poem that has any worth expresses the whole life of the poet. It gives a view of what the poet is.” quote by William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/william-carlos-williams-1841_poem_i-would-say-poetry-is-language-charged-w_692034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/william-carlos-williams-1841_poem_i-would-say-poetry-is-language-charged-w_692034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/william-carlos-williams-1841_poem_i-would-say-poetry-is-language-charged-w_692034.png) > ““I would say poetry is language charged with emotion. It's words, rhythmically organized . . . A poem is a complete little universe. It exists separately. Any poem that has any worth expresses the whole life of the poet. It gives a view of what the poet is.”” [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry condenses emotion into structured language, creating a self‑contained world that reflects the poet’s entire experience. **In simple terms:** Poetry is emotional, organized language forming a small universe. Key Takeaway Read poems to glimpse a poet’s life. Themes poetry emotion artistic expression Mood inspired reflective Type literary educational When to use this quote - literature classes - personal journaling - creative workshops - reading groups Key Concepts literary form subjectivity creative writing Questions to Reflect On - What emotions are hardest to convey in poetry? - How does structure shape feeling? A Different Perspective Poetry may not capture all aspects of life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Organized Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized-poem-5496157/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-language/) [Say Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-poetry-1097376/) [Whole life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-life/) ## Related quotes > [Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I see only science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-seurat/some-say-they-see-poetry-in-my-paintings-i-see-only-science/) [Georges Seurat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-seurat/) > [“Some say; “Poetry is what gets lost in translation!” In this sense, my life is a bitter poem. But that is the force of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fereidoon-yazdi/some-say-poetry-is-what-gets-lost-in-translation-in-this-sense-my/) [Fereidoon Yazdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fereidoon-yazdi/) > [The Divine Comedy is a political poem and when you say poetry is not about - he's always quoted out of context, that "poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/the-divine-comedy-is-a-political-poem-and-when-you-say-poetry-is-not/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [Joy is a part of my process. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that poetry, as a practice, necessitates a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/joy-is-a-part-of-my-process-in-fact-i-d-go-so-far-as-to-say-that/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [I often say poetry was my first love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-often-say-poetry-was-my-first-love/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [There's no difference between lyrics and poetry. Words are words. The only difference is the people who are in academic positions and call themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/there-s-no-difference-between-lyrics-and-poetry-words-are-words-the/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I always say that one's poetry is a solace to oneself and a nuisance to one's friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/i-always-say-that-one-s-poetry-is-a-solace-to-oneself-and-a-nuisance/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [What will they say about my poetry who never touched my blood?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/what-will-they-say-about-my-poetry-who-never-touched-my-blood/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [What will they say about my poetry who never touched my blood? Que diran de mi poesia los que no tocaron mi sangre?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/what-will-they-say-about-my-poetry-who-never-touched-my-blood-que/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I had no one to help me, but the T. S. Eliot helped me. So when people say that poetry is a luxury, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-had-no-one-to-help-me-but-the-t-s-eliot-helped-me-so-when-people/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Most great books have been about striving in some sense. In a sense, money is the great topic of the novel. You couldn't necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/most-great-books-have-been-about-striving-in-some-sense-in-a-sense/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [What shall I say about poetry? What shall I say about those clouds, or about the sky? Look; look at them; look at it!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/what-shall-i-say-about-poetry-what-shall-i-say-about-those-clouds-or/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [Perhaps you don't desire poetry as much as you would like to have my torchy knowledge of your possible futures, but I dare say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/perhaps-you-don-t-desire-poetry-as-much-as-you-would-like-to-have-my/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“It is safe to say that poetry cannot be translated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-ma-guerrero/it-is-safe-to-say-that-poetry-cannot-be-translated/) [Leon Ma. Guerrero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-ma-guerrero/) > [You've often heard me say - perhaps too often - that poetry is what is lost in translation. It is also what is lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/you-ve-often-heard-me-say-perhaps-too-often-that-poetry-is-what-is/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More by William Carlos Williams > [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Death will be late to bring us aid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/death-will-be-late-to-bring-us-aid/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [What power has love but forgiveness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/what-power-has-love-but-forgiveness/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/i-think-all-writing-is-a-disease-you-can-t-stop-it/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/the-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“You're a romanticist. What do you think a man is, a papaya? To digest your dinner? 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But poetry is the machine which drives it, pruned to a perfect economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/prose-may-carry-a-load-of-ill-defined-matters-like-a-ship-but-poetry/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [It is not what you say that matters but the manner in which you say it; there lies the secret of the ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/it-is-not-what-you-say-that-matters-but-the-manner-in-which-you-say/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“And a church spire sketched on the sky, of sheet metal and open beams, to resemble a church spire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/and-a-church-spire-sketched-on-the-sky-of-sheet-metal-and-open-beams/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) [Explore all 204 William Carlos Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## More Poem quotes > [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [“Whatever you want," he said. 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She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A day which passed without a poem from my pen I considered lost and misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/a-day-which-passed-without-a-poem-from-my-pen-i-considered-lost-and/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“The gift of words, the source of enjoyment, the source of delight that comes within and the unfading beauty and energy of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/the-gift-of-words-the-source-of-enjoyment-the-source-of-delight-that/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [“Memories of past. Heartaches of old. Courage of brass. 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