It is the job of poetry to clean up our word-clogged reality by creating silences around things.
Stephane MallarmeRead
The pure work implies the disappearance of the poet as speaker, who hands over to the words.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The poet becomes a vessel for their words, allowing the language to take center stage.
In this quote, Stéphane Mallarmé suggests that true artistry occurs when the poet steps aside, allowing their words to speak for themselves. This disappearance of the poet as a speaker emphasizes the importance of the language and the reader's interpretation, creating a space where poetry transcends the author and becomes an independent entity.
Themes
PoetryLanguageArtistryExpressionCreation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a poetry workshop to encourage writers to focus on the power of their words.
More from Stephane Mallarme
All quotes →As for me, Poetry takes the place of love, because it is enamored of itself, and because this self-lust has a delightful dying fall in my soul.
Stephane MallarmeRead
The poetic act consists of suddenly seeing that an idea splits up into a number of equal motifs and of grouping them; they rhyme.
Stephane MallarmeRead
A soul trembling to sit by a hearth so bright, To exist again, it’s enough if I borrow from Your lips the breath of my name you murmur all night.
Stephane MallarmeRead
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