"I would define the poetic effect as the capacity that a text displays for continuing to generate different readings, without ever being completely consumed"

Umberto Eco's quote speaks with the power of poetry and literature to stay relevant and meaningful gradually. He recommends that a text's poetic effect is its capability to be translated in different ways, without ever being fully taken in. This suggests that a poem or piece of literature can be read and re-read, and each time the reader will gain a new understanding or perspective. This is because the text is open to analysis, and can be translucented the lens of the reader's own experiences and beliefs. This is what makes poetry and literature so powerful and ageless; it can be read and re-read, and each time the reader will gain a new insight or understanding. The text will never ever be totally taken in, as it will always have something new to offer.