Prior to Wordsworth humor was an essential part of poetry. I mean they don't call them Shakespeare comedies for nothing.

This is a good time to ask apologists for the Islamic regime who degrades Islam? Who imposes stoning forced marriage of underage girls and flogging for not wearing the veil? Do such practices represent Iran's ancient history and culture its ethnic and religious diversity? Its centuries of sensual and subversive poetry?

I think there was a revolution in poetry associated chiefly with Eliot and Pound but maybe it is of the nature of revolutions or of the nature of history that their innovations should later come to look trivial or indistinguishable from technical tricks.

When I arrived at Columbia I gave up acting and became interested in all things French. French poetry French history French literature.

Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.

Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history since its statements are rather of the nature of universals whereas those of history are singulars.

Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history for poetry expresses the universal and history only the particular.

Nobody I think ought to read poetry or look at pictures or statues who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit is suggestiveness.

Real friendship like real poetry is extremely rare - and precious as a pearl.

Some people go to priests others to poetry I to my friends.