Sir, what is poetry? Why, Sir, it is much easier to say what it is not…

Samuel Johnson
884 citations
Sir, what is poetry? Why, Sir, it is much easier to say what it is not. We all know what light is; but it is not easy to tell what it is. ✨ In James Boswell 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' (1791) vol. 3, p. 38 (12 April 1776)
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To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity. ✨ Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy (1837). The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: With an Essay on His Life and Genius /c b … ▶
Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement. ✨ 'The Idler' no. 40 (20 January 1759)
The world is seldom what it seems; to man, who dimly sees, realities appear as dreams, and dreams realities.
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Sir, what is poetry? Why, Sir, it is much easier to say what it is not. We all know what light is; but it is not easy to tell what it is. ✨ In James Boswell 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' (1791) vol. 3, p. 38 (12 April 1776)

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