T. E. Hulme: Wording

“The unit of significance in the poem is not the word but the phrase or sentence…a poet should consider the effect of the whole poem, not its local felicities.”

T. E. Hulme

Lecture on Modern Poetry (1914)

“A poem is good if it contains a new analogy and startles the reader out of the habit of treating words as counters.”

T. E. Hulme

Speculations (Essays, 1924)

“Poetry is no more, no less than a mosaic of words, so great exactness is required for each one.”

T. E. Hulme

Notes on Language and Style (1929)