Poet

Explore 1478 quotes by Poets

The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

Archilochus

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Topic

Hedgehogs and foxes Nature of knowledge Knowledge

Author

Archilochus

Language

Greek

Time

600 BC 600s BC 7th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Archilocus. The Fox and the Hedgehog. c. 650, fragment 103.

Current Citation

Archilocus. Quoted in The Fox and the Hedgehog, written by Isaiah Berlin. Princeton University Press, 2013.

Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings.

John Keats

Lamia

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Topic

Disenchanted world Philosophy

Author

John Keats

Source

Lamia

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Keats, John. "Lamia." Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St Agnes and Other Poems. London: Taylor and Hessey, 1820, pt. 2, I. 234.

Current Citation

Keats, John. "Lamia." John Keats: The Major Works, edited by Elizabeth Cook. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 2, I. 234.

Gossip is mischievous, light and easy to raise, but grievous to bear and hard to get rid of. No gossip ever dies away entirely, if many people voice it: it too is a kind of divinity.

Hesiod

Works and Days

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Topic

Effects of gossip Gossip

Author

Hesiod

Source

Works and Days

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hesiod. Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι [Works and Days]. c. 700 BC, l. 761-764.

Current Citation

Hesiod. "Works and Days." Theogony and Works and Days, translated by M. L. West. Oxford University Press, 2009, l. 761-764.

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.

William Blake

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Topic

Trees Nature Relativism

Author

William Blake

Source

Letters of William Blake

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1799 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Blake, William. "To Rev. Dr. Tussler." 23 Aug. 1799.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "[To] Revd Dr Tusler, 23 Aug. 1799." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake. University of California Press, 2008.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Knickerbocker

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Topic

The soul The afterlife Life Death

Author

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Source

A Psalm of Life The Knickerbocker

Medium

Poem Magazine

Language

English

Time

1838 1830s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, [published anonymously]. "A Psalm of Life." The Knickerbocker. New York: Lewis Gaylord Clark, Oct. 1838, I. 1.

Current Citation

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "A Psalm of Life." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems and Other Writings, edited by J. D. McClatchy. Library of America, 2000, I. 1.

I am dying of thirst by the side of the fountain.

Charles d'Orléans

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Topic

Thirst

Author

Charles d'Orléans

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Paradox Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

French

Time

1440 1440s 15th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 3

Citation

D'Orleans, Charles. "Je meurs de soif en couste la fontaine [I die of thirst beside the fountain]." Poesies de Charles d'Orleans. c. 1440.

If equal affection cannot be
let the more loving one be me.

W.H. Auden

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Topic

Unrequited love Generous love Love

Author

W.H. Auden

Source

The More Loving One

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1957 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Auden, W. H. "The More Loving One." Homage to Clio. ‎Faber and Faber/Random House, 1960.

Against my soul's pure truth why labor you
To make it wander in an unknown field?

William Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors

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Topic

Temptation Dishonesty Honesty Truth

Speaker

Antipholus of Syracuse

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Comedy of Errors

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1594 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors. 1594, Gray's Inn Hall, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Comedy of Errors." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 2.

Human kind
Cannot bear very much reality.

T.S. Eliot

Burnt Norton

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Topic

Facing the truth Delusion Human nature

Author

T.S. Eliot

Source

Burnt Norton Four Quartets

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1936 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Eliot, T. S. “Burnt Norton.” Collected Poems 1909–1935. Harcourt, Brace And Company, 1936, pt. 1.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love,
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

Edgar Allan Poe

New-York Daily Tribune

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Topic

Young love True love Love

Author

Edgar Allan Poe

Source

Annabel Lee New-York Daily Tribune

Medium

Poem Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1849 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." New-York Daily Tribune, 9 Oct. 1849, st. 2.

Current Citation

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Edgar Allen Poe: Poetry and Tales, edited by Patrick F. Quinn. Library of America, 1984, st. 2.

Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.

William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus

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Topic

Mercy

Speaker

Tamora

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Titus Andronicus

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1594 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. Sussex's Men, 1594, The Rose, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Titus Andronicus." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 1.

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!

William Wordsworth

More information about this quote

Topic

Being young Youth

Author

William Wordsworth

Source

The French Revolution, as it Appeared to Enthusiasts

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1809 1800s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wordsworth, William. The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet's Mind. London: Geoffrey Cumberlege, 1805, bk. 11, I. 108.

Current Citation

Wordsworth, William. "The Prelude (1805)." William Wordsworth: The Major Works: including The Prelude, edited by Stephen Gill. Oxford University Press, 2008, bk. 11, l. 108.

Twas only fear first in the world made gods.

Ben Jonson

More information about this quote

Topic

Existence of God God and man God

Speaker

Sejanus

Author

Ben Jonson

Source

Sejanus His Fall

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1603 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Jonson, Ben. Sejanus His Fall. King's Men, 1603, at court, London, England, UK, act 2.

Current Citation

Jonson, Ben. "Sejanus." Ben Jonson: Five Plays, edited by G. A. Wilkes. Oxford University Press, 2009, act 2.

He was not born to shame.
Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit.

William Shakespeare

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Topic

Shamelessness

Speaker

Juliet Capulet

Author

William Shakespeare

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Insult

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. London: John Danter, 1597, act 3, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Romeo and Juliet." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 2.

My soul is an enchanted boat,
Which, like a sleeping swan, doth float
Upon the silver waves of thy sweet singing.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Prometheus Unbound

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Topic

Infatuation Being in love

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Prometheus Unbound

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Prometheus Unbound: A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts with Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, act 2, sc. 5.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, act 2, sc. 5.

If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it;
Every arrow that flies feels the attraction of earth.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Topic

Thinking big Goals

Author

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Source

Elegiac Verse In the Harbor

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1882 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Elegiac Verse." In the Harbor. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1882, st. 11.

Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.

John Donne

More information about this quote

Topic

Beauty fades Beauty Fading love Love

Author

John Donne

Source

Elegy II: The Anagram Elegies (John Donne)

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1631 1630s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Donne, John. "Elegy II: The Anagram." Elegies, edited by E. K. Chambers. Lawrence & Bullen, 1896, I. 27.

Current Citation

Donne, John. "Elegy: The Anagram." Selected Poems. Penguin Classics, 2007, I. 27.

I have not loved the world, nor the world me;
I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bowed
To its idolatries a patient knee.

Lord Byron

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

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Topic

Being true to oneself Personal integrity

Author

Lord Byron

Source

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1818 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lord Byron. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. London: John Murray, 1812-1818, canto 3, st. 113.

Current Citation

Lord Byron. "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." Lord Byron: The Major Works, edited by Jerome J. McGann. Oxford University Press, 2008, canto 3, st. 113.

The atoms of Democritus
And Newton’s particles of light
Are sands upon the Red Sea shore,
Where Israel’s tents do shine so bright.

William Blake

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Topic

Athens and Jerusalem

Author

William Blake

Source

Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1807 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Blake, William. Poem written in his notebook. c. 1792.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "Mock on Mock on Voltaire Rousseau." William Blake: Selected Poems, edited by Nicholas Shrimpton. Oxford University Press, 2019.

To show an unfelt sorrow is an office
Which the false man does easy.

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

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Topic

False appearances

Speaker

Malcolm

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Macbeth

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 2, sc. 3.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 3.