# Books whose titles are taken from poetry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845 "2009-05-27T21:01:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/1 "2009-05-27T21:01:47Z")
I was thinking about how you can’t copyright a title, which explains why there are so many books and movies with the same titles. Does this extend to not being able to legally prevent someone from using a line of poetry ( **not** the title of the poem) as the title of their book? Assuming that’s true, can you think of any book titles like that? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/2 "2009-05-27T21:13:27Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Does this extend to not being able to legally prevent someone from using a line of poetry ( **not** the title of the poem) as the title of their book? If it’s short enough to be used as the title of a book, then it’s probably the kind of short phrase that isn’t subject to copyright law. See here – [What Does Copyright Protect? (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office](http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html) and here – [http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ34.pdf](http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ34.pdf) – > [@](#): > > Names, titles, and short phrases or expressions are not subject to copyright protection. **Even if a name, title, or short phrase is novel or distinctive or if it lends itself to a play on words, it cannot be protected by copyright.** The Copyright Office cannot register claims to exclusive rights in brief combinations of words such as: > • Names of products or services > • Names of businesses, organizations, or groups (including the name of a group of performers) > • Names of pseudonyms of individuals (including pen name or stage name) > • Titles of works > • Catchwords, catchphrases, mottoes, slogans, or short advertising expressions > • Mere listings of ingredients, as in recipes, labels, or formulas. When a recipe or formula is accompanied by explanation or directions, the text directions may be copyrightable, but the recipe or formula itself remains uncopyrightable. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/3 "2009-05-27T21:16:02Z")
That brings up the age-old question: are song lyrics poetry? Because while I am certain that there have been novels with titles taken from song lyrics, tho I cant think of any now, I myself have almost completed a novel whose title references a song. So on the offhand chance I should get published I might count! ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/4 "2009-05-27T21:47:44Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That brings up the age-old question: are song lyrics poetry? Because while I am certain that there have been novels with titles taken from song lyrics, tho I cant think of any now, I myself have almost completed a novel whose title references a song. So on the offhand chance I should get published I might count! \*\*Wally Lamb \*\*uses song lyrics for the titles of all of his books: She’s Come Undone (from “Undun” by The Guess Who) I Know This Much is True (From the song by the same name by Spandau Ballet) The Hour I First Believed (from Amazing Grace) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/5 "2009-05-27T22:16:14Z")
\*\*The Widening Gyre, \*\*by Robert Parker, a Spencer novel. From the William Butler Yeats poem, _The Second Coming_. > [@](#): > > TURNING and turning in the widening gyre > The falcon cannot hear the falconer; > Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; . . . ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/6 "2009-05-27T22:19:03Z")
A fair number of Star Trek (TOS at least) episode titles were bits from poems or plays. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/7 "2009-05-27T22:31:30Z")
If you just want a phrase taken from poetry used as a book title, there are tons of these. [Here’s a list from Shakespeare alone.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_titles_of_works_based_on_Shakespearean_phrases) If you want an entire line, that narrows it down a bit, but there must be some. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/8 "2009-05-27T23:11:59Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > \*\*The Widening Gyre, \*\*by Robert Parker, a Spencer novel. Which reminds me of **The Golden Apples of the Sun** by Ray Bradbury. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/9 "2009-05-27T23:18:31Z")
And reminds me of almost every Spencer novel. ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/10 "2009-05-27T23:30:25Z")
There’s _Lord of the Rings_ from _Beowulf_. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/11 "2009-05-28T00:05:54Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > \*\*The Widening Gyre, \*\*by Robert Parker, a Spencer novel. > > From the William Butler Yeats poem, _The Second Coming_. And reminds me of [Things Fall Apart](http://www.amazon.com/Things-Fall-Apart-Chinua-Achebe/dp/0385474547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243468966&sr=1-1). I came into this thread to post **The Widening Gyre**. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/12 "2009-05-28T00:16:54Z")
Not to mention **Slouching Towards Bethlehem** by Joan Didion. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/13 "2009-05-28T00:22:48Z")
And Hemingway’s **For Whom the Bell Tolls** is from a John Donne poem. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/14 "2009-05-28T00:32:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Which reminds me of The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury. Or, for that matter, _Something Wicked This Way Comes_. If we expand to short stories, then just off the top of my head, there’s also “Inconstant Moon”, by Niven, and “That Thou Should Pay Homage to him”, by Asimov (both Shakespeare also). ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/15 "2009-05-28T02:41:31Z")
I believe the poem that produced the most titles is [Andrew Marvell’s "To His Coy Mistress."](http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/marvell/coy.htm)Some that I know of: World enough, and time By the tide of Humber Vaster than empires, and more slow A fine and private place Time’s winged chariot I imagine there might be more, though it looks like “The Iron Gates of Life” is available to all you writers out there. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/16 "2009-05-28T03:26:05Z")
As to the copyright issue – using a line of a poem for a title is generally considered fair use, since a major factor is how much of the work is taken. I doubt anyone has ever called an author on it, even if the poem was copyrighted. Norman Spinrad had a story called “No Direction Home” and used it as a title for an anthology of his stories, but Bob Dylan never made an issue of it. John Barth named **The Sot-Weed Factor** after a poem by the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/17 "2009-05-28T11:47:43Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > \*\*The Widening Gyre, \*\*by Robert Parker, a Spencer novel. > > From the William Butler Yeats poem, _The Second Coming_. And, indeed, from the same verse, [The Centre Cannot Hold](http://freespace.virgin.net/diri.gini/thcentre.htm) by **Brian Stableford** ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/18 "2009-05-28T11:52:42Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > which explains why there are so many books and movies with the same titles I’d be curious to hear what titles you’re thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/19 "2009-05-28T12:39:09Z")
\*Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae \*by Ernest Dowson. The third stanza: I have forgot much, Cynara! **gone with the wind** , Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng, Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind; But I was desolate and sick of an old passion, Yea, all the time, because the dance was long: I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845/20 "2009-05-28T12:40:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Or, for that matter, _Something Wicked This Way Comes_. Another MacBeth reference: Alistair Maclean’s _The Way to Dusty Death_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-whose-titles-are-taken-from-poetry/497845.md?page=2)