an insane craft ...

"Literature – especially poetry – is a so much more improbable art! How can that insane craft ever succeed?– To bestow an aesthetic expressiveness (that is, in a natural way) upon those 'words of the tribe' Mallarmé railed against – where linguists agree in recognizing only a small portion of expressiveness and a very large portion of arbitrary signification ..."

"But when the poet has succeeded in his initial alchemy and has made words expressive, the greater part of his task is done: In this respect, literature, which is a difficult art, enjoys at least that advantage. It's endeavor is so arduous that the weight it bears is hardly a danger. There are a great number of books entirely lacking in art; there are a few books possessing enormous art."

(Christian Metz, "The Cinema: Language or Language System." Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema." Trans. Michael Taylor. p. 77-78)