The vain poet is of the opinion that nothing of his can be too much: he sends to you basketful after basketful of juiceless fruit, covered with scentless flowers.

Prose on certain occasions can bear a great deal of poetry; on the other hand, poetry sinks and swoons under a moderate weight of prose.

As to the pure mind all things are pure, so to the poetic mind all things are poetical.

The true poet is a friendly man. He takes to his arms even cold and inanimate things, and rejoices in his heart.

He who would be the tongue of this wide land Must string his harp with chords of sturdy iron And strike it with a toil-imbrowned hand.

A poem should not mean But be.

Poetry is the plough that turns up time in such a way that the abyssal strata of time, its black earth, appear on the surface.

The crown of literature is poetry. It is its end and aim. It is the sublimest activity of the human mind. It is the achievement of beauty and delicacy. The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes.

The arrogance of poets is only a defense; doubt gnaws the greatest among them; they need our testimony to escape despair.

The poem is the dream made flesh, in a two-fold sense: as work of art, and as life, which is a work of art.