--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Westward on the high-hilled plains Where…" description: "\"“Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. ... There, when hue..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/a-e-housman-2-12514_broken-promises_westward-on-the-high-hilled-plains-where_3151871.jpg" --- # Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world… ![“Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. ... There, when hueless is the west And the darkness hushes wide, Where the lad lies down to rest Stands the troubled dream beside. There, on thoughts that once were…” quote by A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/a-e-housman-2-12514_broken-promises_westward-on-the-high-hilled-plains-where_3151871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/a-e-housman-2-12514_broken-promises_westward-on-the-high-hilled-plains-where_3151871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/a-e-housman-2-12514_broken-promises_westward-on-the-high-hilled-plains-where_3151871.jpg) > ““Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. ... There, when hueless is the west And the darkness hushes wide, Where the lad lies down to rest Stands the troubled dream beside. There, on thoughts that once were mine, Day looks down the eastern steep, And the youth at morning shine Makes the vow he will not keep.”” [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet reflects on youthful ambition versus the inevitable compromises of life. **In simple terms:** Youth vows often go unkept as reality intervenes. Key Takeaway Accept that change is part of growth. Themes youth ambition disillusionment time memory Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - career planning - creative pursuits - life transitions Key Concepts poetry nostalgia human nature Questions to Reflect On - What promises have you broken? - How do you reconcile dreams with reality? A Different Perspective Idealism can clash with practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken promises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-promises/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Vows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vows/) [Westward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/westward/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“We sometimes congratulate ourselves at the moment of waking from a troubled dream : it may be so at the moment after death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/we-sometimes-congratulate-ourselves-at-the-moment-of-waking-from-a/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The old charters of Massachusetts, Virginia, and the Carolinas had given title to strips of territory extending from the Atlantic westward to the Pacific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bushnell-hart/the-old-charters-of-massachusetts-virginia-and-the-carolinas-had/) [Albert Bushnell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bushnell-hart/) > [The whole westward expansion myth is seen as romantic. But its a joke, a blot on American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/the-whole-westward-expansion-myth-is-seen-as-romantic-but-its-a-joke/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) > [The whole westward expansion myth is seen as romantic. But it's a joke, a blot on American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/the-whole-westward-expansion-myth-is-seen-as-romantic-but-it-s-a-joke/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) > [American football seems to resemble soccer in that one scores by putting the ball through the opponent's goal; but football, truly is about land.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/american-football-seems-to-resemble-soccer-in-that-one-scores-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Columbus felt the westward tendency more strongly than any before. He obeyed it, and found a New World for Castile and Leon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/columbus-felt-the-westward-tendency-more-strongly-than-any-before-he/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“I vanish westward into smoke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-page/i-vanish-westward-into-smoke/) Geoff Page > [“Westward Trade doesn’t have stalls, sire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-night/westward-trade-doesn-t-have-stalls-sire/) [S.G. Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-night/) > [“We go eastward to realize history, and study the works of art and literature, retracing the steps of the race; we go westward as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-go-eastward-to-realize-history-and-study-the-works-of-art-and-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I always thought millennials are going westward, and they probably won't understand vernacular poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayushmann-khurrana/i-always-thought-millennials-are-going-westward-and-they-probably-won/) [Ayushmann Khurrana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayushmann-khurrana/) > [Westward the star of empire takes its way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/westward-the-star-of-empire-takes-its-way/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Our great national drama was a westward expansion that conquered a native population rather than coexisting with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/our-great-national-drama-was-a-westward-expansion-that-conquered-a/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“I am, a shadow that grows longer as the sun moves, drawn out on a thread of wonder. If I bear burdens they begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/i-am-a-shadow-that-grows-longer-as-the-sun-moves-drawn-out-on-a/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [And in "Elbow Room" the cast sings the glories of westward expansion in the United States, which involved the murder of native peoples and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/and-in-elbow-room-the-cast-sings-the-glories-of-westward-expansion-in/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Early in the 1990s, I flew alone in a dandelion-yellow, single-engine, 180-horsepower Piper Cherokee from Westchester County Airport in New York westward to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/early-in-the-1990s-i-flew-alone-in-a-dandelion-yellow-single-engine/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) ## More by A.E. Housman > [“I to my perils Of cheat and charmer Came clad in armour By stars benign. Hope lies to mortals And most believe her, But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/i-to-my-perils-of-cheat-and-charmer-came-clad-in-armour-by-stars/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“There pass the careless people That call their souls their own: Here by the road I loiter, How idle and alone. Ah, past the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/there-pass-the-careless-people-that-call-their-souls-their-own-here/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/smart-lad-to-slip-betimes-away-from-fields-where-glory-does-not-stay/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Oh on my breast in days hereafter Light the earth should lie, Such weight to bear is now the air, So heavy hangs the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-on-my-breast-in-days-hereafter-light-the-earth-should-lie-such/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Oh many a peer of England brews Livelier liquor than the Muse, And malt does more than Milton can To justify God’s ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-many-a-peer-of-england-brews-livelier-liquor-than-the-muse-and/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“In my own shire, if I was sad Homely comforters I had: The earth, because my heart was sore, Sorrowed for the son she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/in-my-own-shire-if-i-was-sad-homely-comforters-i-had-the-earth/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“If it chance your eye offends you, Pluck it out lad, and be sound: 'Twill hurt, but here are salves to friend you, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/if-it-chance-your-eye-offends-you-pluck-it-out-lad-and-be-sound-twill/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“They say my verse is sad: no wonder. Its narrow measure spans Rue for eternity, and sorrow Not mine, but man's This is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/they-say-my-verse-is-sad-no-wonder-its-narrow-measure-spans-rue-for/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Diffugere Nives Horace, Odes, iv, 7 The snows are fled away, leaves on the shaws And grasses in the mead renew their birth, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/diffugere-nives-horace-odes-iv-7-the-snows-are-fled-away-leaves-on/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market-place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/the-time-you-won-your-town-the-race-we-chaired-you-through-the-market/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Along the field as we came by A year ago, my love and I, The aspen over stile and stone Was talking to itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/along-the-field-as-we-came-by-a-year-ago-my-love-and-i-the-aspen-over/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to have a head, not a pumpkin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/knowledge-is-good-method-is-good-but-one-thing-beyond-all-others-is/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“It nods and curtseys and recovers When the wind blows above, The nettle on the graves of lovers That hanged themselves for love. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/it-nods-and-curtseys-and-recovers-when-the-wind-blows-above-the/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are; The pools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-know-fairer-far-those-are-as/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Iniquity it is; but pass the can. My lad, no pair of kings our mothers bore; Our only portion is the estate of man:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/iniquity-it-is-but-pass-the-can-my-lad-no-pair-of-kings-our-mothers/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) [Explore all 54 A.E. Housman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) ## More Broken promises quotes > [When you are not there in my life its like: Shoes without shoe laces A letter without a stamp A flower with no roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-not-there-in-my-life-its-like-shoes-without-shoe-laces-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are important to another person, they will always find a way to make time for you - no excuses, no lies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-important-to-another-person-they-will-always-find-a-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You took my happiness with you and left this horrible sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-took-my-happiness-with-you-and-left-this-horrible-sadness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Break up was not made for you to cry.. But to take you away from the wrong man who you thought was the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/break-up-was-not-made-for-you-to-cry-but-to-take-you-away-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/) [Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/) > [“Nothing is worse than broken promises.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-amis/nothing-is-worse-than-broken-promises/) [Lily Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-amis/) > [People nowadays act like promises are meant to be broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-nowadays-act-like-promises-are-meant-to-be-broken/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Hours Turned into Days. Days into Weeks, And Weeks into Months. Nothing Has Changed... I'm Still In Love And You're Still Gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/the-hours-turned-into-days-days-into-weeks-and-weeks-into-months/) Pacifiersucker > [I dont feel right when youre gone away. We must have had something real strong, Im tossing and turning all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-feel-right-when-youre-gone-away-we-must-have-had-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You hurt me once..SHAME ON YOU¦you hurt me twice¦SHAME ON ME!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-hurt-me-once-shame-on-you-you-hurt-me-twice-shame-on-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im gonna smile like nothings wrong Talk like everythings perfect Act like its just a dream And pretend like hes not hurting me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-gonna-smile-like-nothings-wrong-talk-like-everythings-perfect-act/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder why people make promises, they won't be able to keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wonder-why-people-make-promises-they-won-t-be-able-to-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The one person my heart needs protecting from is the only person trying to protect it. Who's going to stop YOU from hurting me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/universalclockwork/the-one-person-my-heart-needs-protecting-from-is-the-only-person/) [UniversalClockwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/universalclockwork/) > [Its hard to get over someone you loved so much. But its impossible to realize theyre not yours anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-hard-to-get-over-someone-you-loved-so-much-but-its-impossible-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Its like once youve been hurt, youre so scared to get attached again. Like you have this fear that every person you start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-like-once-youve-been-hurt-youre-so-scared-to-get-attached-again/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 731 Broken promises quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-promises/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. ... There, when hueless is the west And the darkness hushes wide, Where the lad lies down to rest Stands the troubled dream beside. There, on thoughts that once were mine, Day looks down the eastern steep, And the youth at morning shine Makes the vow he will not keep.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A.E. 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