“A man cannot say, I will compose poetry. The most poetical mind is one which is naturally adapted to the expression of its own conceptions.”

Emphasising that poetry arises from imaginative temperament rather than deliberate manufacture. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Poetry
• Writing

“We want the creative faculty to imagine that which we know.”

Arguing that imagination is needed not merely to invent but to perceive the significance of what is already known. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Imagination
• Knowledge

“The most glorious poetry that has ever been communicated to the world is probably a feeble shadow of the original conceptions of the poet.”

Reflecting on the inevitable gap between an artist's inspiration and its expression. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Expression
• Poetry

“When composition begins, inspiration is already on the decline.”

A provocative observation about the difficulty of preserving the intensity of inspiration in finished work. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Inspiration
• Writing

“The conscious portions of our natures are unprophetic either of its approach or its departure.”

Suggesting that genuine inspiration arrives and disappears beyond conscious prediction. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Inspiration
• Mystery

“The mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness.”

A memorable image of inspiration as something sudden, mysterious and beyond conscious control. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Imagination
• Inspiration

“Poetry is not like reasoning, a power to be exerted according to the determination of the will. A man cannot say, I will compose poetry.”

Emphasising the involuntary nature of genuine poetic inspiration. · Essay, A Defence of Poetry

• Creativity
• Inspiration
• Poetry