Quotation by

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry that is, prose = words in their best order - poetry = the best words in the best order.

Poetry

Understanding this quote AI Analysis

Coleridge is saying that prose is about arranging words clearly and effectively, while poetry takes this further by choosing the most powerful and beautiful words and putting them together in the most perfect way. He wants young poets to focus not just on clever ideas but on carefully selecting and ordering words to create true poetry.

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