Renowned English Romantic poet John Keats once made a perceptive comment regarding the difference between his and Lord Byron's writing. By doing this, he brought attention to how distinctive his creative process is.

Keats was addressing the notion that, despite being significant literary figures, he and Byron took distinct approaches to their poetry. According to him, Byron's skill was in portraying reality, bringing vivid characters and scenes to life in a way that readers could feel immediate and authentic. Keats suggested that this approach is similar to painting a perfect picture of what is in front of one's eyes.

But because he concentrated on the realm of imagination, Keats thought his own work was more difficult. Keats aimed to investigate the invisible terrain of the mind and emotions rather than merely depicting reality as it is. This necessitated delving deeply into subjective emotions and abstract ideas, creating images with words that are only found in the mind.

Consider two painters standing in front of the same landscape to demonstrate this distinction. One painter accurately captures every detail of what they see in order to create a depiction. The other artist creates a world where feelings and dreams come to life by using their imagination to paint scenes that are outside of the visible horizon. The second painter faces the difficult task of using their brushstrokes to transform intangible ideas into tangible reality, even though both pieces are impressive in and of themselves.

This viewpoint from Keats emphasizes his conviction that imaginative art is more challenging but also immensely fulfilling. Creating new worlds and concepts instead of just recording what already exists takes a lot of reflection and imagination.