"To say a poem is absolute is saying nothing, because an ink blot can be absolute. Yet you put into it what you like. So it becomes totally relative"
- Nicholas Mosley
About this Quote
This quote by Nicholas Mosley speaks with the concept that poetry is subjective and open to interpretation. He suggests that a poem is not outright, as an ink blot can be, due to the fact that it depends on the reader to decide what the poem implies. He suggests that the poem is relative, as it is based upon the reader's own analysis. This concept is further reinforced by the idea that the reader can take into the poem whatever they like, making it a highly individual experience. Mosley's quote highlights the charm of poetry, as it enables readers to discover their own significance in the words. It also speaks to the power of poetry, as it can stimulate different emotions and concepts in different people. Eventually, this quote serves as a suggestion that poetry is a distinct and powerful form of expression that can be interpreted in several ways.
"Of the individual poems, some are more lyric and some are more descriptive or narrative. Each poem is fixed in a moment. All those moments written or read together take on the movement and architecture of a narrative"
"The heart of the matter seems to me to be the direct interaction between one's making a poem in English and a poem in the language that one understands and values. I don't see how you can do it otherwise"
"The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to prove or disprove anything, but to deliver a poem that reveals much about the process taken"
"Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them"
"The figure a poem makes. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom... in a clarification of life - not necessarily a great clarification, such as sects and cults are founded on, but in a momentary stay against confusion"