Arany János - Győrei Zsolt (szerk.): The trill of the nightingale (Budapest, 2019)

V - „'Tis enough if it shines for me” - A Word of Caution (Thomas Cooper)

A Word of Caution

What I have learned from poets skilled I pass on now to you as warning:

Don’t drape your verse with flounce or frill, Or pomp and plush adornment.

But speak with strength, and name your child By its own name, speak as with kindred, If fitting, speak with accents mild,

And don’t be too longwinded.

Sometimes to sink a stubborn nail A single word does just as well,

As florid lines by wordsmiths pale,

Who summon heaven, earth, and hell, And lose their voices while they yell.