William Wordsworth on poetry

We must be free or die, who speak the tongue
That Shakespeare spake; the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held.

To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

And ‘t is my faith, that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

Poetry is what gets lost in translation.

Robert Frost1874–1963

Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.

T. S. Eliot1888–1965“Philip Massinger”, a biographical essay, in The Sacred Wood (1920)

Poetry too is a little incarnation, giving body to what had been before invisible and inaudible.

C. S. Lewis1898–1963Reflections on the Psalms