Inspiration is the moment, feeling, idea, or inner impulse that stirs a poet to begin writing or to see language in a fresh way. It may arrive suddenly or grow slowly through memory, observation, emotion, or reading. Poets often describe inspiration as the spark behind a poem, but finished poems still depend on craft, revision, and choice.
Example
A cold streetlamp flickered on the wet road,
and suddenly the empty bus stop
became a small island of yellow light
where one lost glove could tell a story.
Related Definitions
[n] the act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases) as in breathing
[n] arousing to a particular emotion or action
[n] a product of your creative thinking and work; "he had little respect for the inspirations of other artists"; "after years of work his brainchild was a tangible reality"
[n] (theology) a special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings; "they believe that the books of Scripture were written under divine guidance"
[n] a sudden intuition as part of solving a problem
[n] arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity
Related Terms
a priori knowledge, afflatus, air current, ambition, animating spirit, animation, animus, anticipation, apocalypse, Apollo, Apollo Musagetes, Aqua-Lung, ardor, arousal, artificial respiration, artistic imagination, aspiration, assurance, asthmatic wheeze,