John Milton on poetry

Deep versed in books and shallow in himself.

Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.

To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.

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