“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood”

This quote from T S Elliot essentially says that good poetry can evoke emotions and feelings that resonate with its readers at a level that cannot immediately be put into words.

Often when we come across a beautiful work of art, a poem, or a speech, there is something within us that clicks or resonates with what is being shown. We feel a connection, even though if asked, we might not be able to describe it.

Good poetry often creates that feeling in its readers. It can create an emotional, sensory experience that goes beyond the logic of an idea that we grasp. It gives a more immediate feeling of connection, even when we are still processing and comprehending what we have read.

This is often how great quotes interact with people as a whole. The general populace are not the people who articulate meaning through beautiful language or ideas. The people who write the great speeches and poems do that.

Because the poets and orators and speechwriters have that gift, they can write or say things that immediately grabs the common man, with an idea that resonates even before we fully understand it.

So for the aspiring poets, communicating an idea that can be understood is vital, but communicating at a visceral level might be even more important.