Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them.

The metaphor treats poetry as an instrument played directly on human feeling: the “heartstrings” suggest both vulnerability and resonance, while “making music” implies patterned, crafted expression rather than raw emotion alone. The line distinguishes poetry from mere sentiment by emphasizing transformation—emotion is not simply displayed but shaped into art with rhythm, harmony, and control. It also hints at poetry’s communicative power: like music, it can move people across differences of language or experience by appealing to shared affect. In this view, a poem succeeds when it elicits feeling and organizes it into an aesthetic experience that lingers.