There was an old woman tossed up in a basket Seventeen…
““There was an old woman tossed up in a basket Seventeen times as high as the moon Where she was going, I could not but ask it, For in her hand she carried a broom ‘Old woman, old woman, old woman,’ quoth I, ‘Oh whither, oh whither, oh whither so high?’ ‘To sweep the cobwebs from the sky, But I’ll be with you by and by.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
An old woman climbs impossibly high, symbolizing futile ambition and the desire to cleanse the heavens.
In simple terms: Ambition can be absurd.
Key Takeaway
Question the purpose of lofty goals.
Themes
ambition
myth
absurdity
purification
Mood
dreamy
cautionary
Type
mythic
inspirational
When to use this quote
- career aspirations
- political campaigns
- personal perfectionism
- spiritual quests
Key Concepts
mythology
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- What “brooms” do you carry?
- When is reaching high worthwhile?
A Different Perspective
May ignore practical limits.