Give me hunger, pain and want, Shut me out with shame and failure From your doors of gold and fame, Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger! But leave me a little love.
Carl SandburgRead
Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during the moment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry invites interpretation and imagination, allowing readers to glimpse deeper meanings beyond the words.
In this quote, Carl Sandburg illustrates poetry as a metaphorical doorway that can be opened and closed, suggesting that it provides fleeting insights that spark curiosity and speculation. The essence of poetry lies in its ability to evoke emotions and thoughts, encouraging readers to engage their imagination and delve into the layered meanings that reside within each poem.
Themes
PoetryInterpretationImaginationCreativityExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about the role of poetry in conveying complex emotions.
More from Carl Sandburg
All quotes →Nothing happens... but first a dream.
Carl SandburgRead
Read the dictionary from A to Izzard today. Get a vocabulary. Brush up on your diction. See whether wisdom is just a lot of language.
Carl SandburgRead
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Carl SandburgRead
There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.
Carl SandburgRead
A liar goes in fine clothes, a liar goes in rags, a liar is a liar, clothes or no clothes.
Carl SandburgRead
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