The only real evidence that any critic may bring before his gaze is the finished poem.

Quote by Allen Tate

Topics: Allen Tate Quotes

I am not ridiculing verbal mechanisms, dreams, or repressions as origins of poetry; all three...

I am not ridiculing verbal mechanisms, dreams, or repressions as origins of poetry; all three...

So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a...

So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a...

There is probably nothing wrong with art for art's sake if we take the phrase...

There is probably nothing wrong with art for art's sake if we take the phrase...

Poets, in their way, are practical men; they are interested in results.

Poets, in their way, are practical men; they are interested in results.

Narcissism and the Confederate dead cannot be connected logically, or even historically; even were the...

Narcissism and the Confederate dead cannot be connected logically, or even historically; even were the...

Men expect too much, do too little.

Men expect too much, do too little.

Serious poetry deals with the fundamental conflicts that cannot be logically resolved: we can state...

Serious poetry deals with the fundamental conflicts that cannot be logically resolved: we can state...

At twelve I was determined to shoot only For honor; at twenty not to shoot...

At twelve I was determined to shoot only For honor; at twenty not to shoot...

In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader...

In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader...

A poem may be an instance of morality, of social conditions, of psychological history; it...

A poem may be an instance of morality, of social conditions, of psychological history; it...

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

I believe the term modulation denotes in music the uninterrupted shift from one key to...

I believe the term modulation denotes in music the uninterrupted shift from one key to...

We know the particular poem, not what it says that we can restate.

We know the particular poem, not what it says that we can restate.

How does one happen to write a poem: where does it come from? That is...

How does one happen to write a poem: where does it come from? That is...

For some reason most critics have a hard time fixing their minds directly under their...

For some reason most critics have a hard time fixing their minds directly under their...

Experience means conflict, our natures being what they are, and conflict means drama.

Experience means conflict, our natures being what they are, and conflict means drama.

According to its doctors, my one intransigent desire is to have been a Confederate general,...

According to its doctors, my one intransigent desire is to have been a Confederate general,...

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.

Dramatic experience is not logical; it may be subdued to the kind of coherence that...

Dramatic experience is not logical; it may be subdued to the kind of coherence that...