Each memorable verse of a true poet has two or three times the written content.

Musset’s remark points to the idea that strong poetry communicates more than it explicitly states. A “memorable verse” carries implied emotion, imagery, and associations that expand beyond the literal wording—through rhythm, sound, metaphor, and cultural resonance. The line also suggests a distinction between mere versifying and “true” poetry: the latter compresses experience so densely that readers can unfold multiple layers of meaning from a small verbal surface. In this view, poetic greatness lies in suggestiveness and depth, where the unsaid (subtext, atmosphere, implication) is as important as the said.