---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the 1970s, for example, I found myself…"
description: "\"In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to relish the poetry of Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Wyatt, and getting a handle on poetry of plain..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png"
---

#  In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to…

![“In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to relish the poetry of Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Wyatt, and getting a handle on poetry of plainer speech than I had dwelt with heretofore. Which led me into a new appreciation of middle &#91;William Butler &#93; Yeats, of the short three-beat line…” quote by Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png)

> “In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to relish the poetry of Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Wyatt, and getting a handle on poetry of plainer speech than I had dwelt with heretofore. Which led me into a new appreciation of middle \[William Butler \] Yeats, of the short three-beat line and forward-driving syntax, and that paid in, in turn, to a poem like Casualty in Field Work. The traffic, however, was usually the other way. My teaching was animated by what I was reading and being excited by as a poet.”

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Exploring diverse poets broadened his literary taste, leading to deeper appreciation and new creative insights.

**In simple terms:** Reading varied poetry expands understanding.

Key Takeaway

Read widely to enrich your own writing.

Themes

literature growth inspiration

Mood

introspective enthusiastic

Type

analytical inspirational

When to use this quote

- college literature courses
- personal reading groups
- writing workshops
- literary criticism

Key Concepts

poetic forms intertextuality creative development

Questions to Reflect On

- Which poet changed your perspective most?
- How does varied reading influence your own work?

A Different Perspective

Overexposure to one style can limit originality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/andrew/) [Animated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animated/) [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beats/) [Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butler-yeats-1619060/) [Butlers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butlers/) [Casualties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casualties/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Handle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handle/) [Handle Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handle-poetry-5749372/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Plainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-plainer-5749373/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Relish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relish/) [Relish Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relish-poetry-5749374/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Syntax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/syntax/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Traffic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yeats/)

## Related quotes

> [When I was starting to write, the great influence was T.S. Eliot and after that William Butler Yeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-i-was-starting-to-write-the-great-influence-was-t-s-eliot-and/)

[Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/)

> [“We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather around us, that they may see their own images, and so live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/we-can-make-our-minds-so-like-still-water-that-beings-gather-around/)

[Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/)

> [William Butler Yeats Through all the lying days of my youth I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun; Now I may wither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/william-butler-yeats-through-all-the-lying-days-of-my-youth-i-swayed/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [“Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before —William Butler Yeats”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kiernan-lewis/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul-2/)

[Susan Kiernan-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kiernan-lewis/)

> [“The poet William Butler Yeats said, “We taste and feel and see the truth. We do not reason ourselves into it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawson-church/the-poet-william-butler-yeats-said-we-taste-and-feel-and-see-the/)

[Dawson Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawson-church/)

> [ \[William Butler\] Yeats has the phrase Hodos Chameliontos, chameleon-like, in that you don't know where the beginning or the middle or the end is,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/william-butler-yeats-has-the-phrase-hodos-chameliontos-chameleon-like/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

> [I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-liked-yeats-that-wild-irishman-i-really-loved-his-love-of-language/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [I have a bit of a love affair with fairy tales and some of the ideas of Irish mythology, like Oscar Wilde and W.B.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hozier/i-have-a-bit-of-a-love-affair-with-fairy-tales-and-some-of-the-ideas/)

[Hozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hozier/)

> [I wanted to see who this Yeats person was, and I said to my mother, 'I want a book by this person.' And she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-wanted-to-see-who-this-yeats-person-was-and-i-said-to-my-mother-i/)

[Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/)

> [“May she be granted beauty and yet not Beauty to make a stranger’s eye distraught. —W. B. YEATS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-johnston/may-she-be-granted-beauty-and-yet-not-beauty-to-make-a-stranger-s-eye/)

[Tim Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-johnston/)

> [“David McKay, 1900. Wolfe, Thomas. Look Homeward, Angel. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1929. Yeats, William Butler. A Vision”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/david-mckay-1900-wolfe-thomas-look-homeward-angel-new-york-simon-and/)

[James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/)

> [“I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-alvarez/i-balanced-all-brought-all-to-mind-the-years-to-come-seemed-waste-of/)

[Al Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-alvarez/)

> [Yeats, protected to some extent by the Nationalistic movement, wrote out of a somewhat protected world, and so his work does not touch life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/yeats-protected-to-some-extent-by-the-nationalistic-movement-wrote/)

[Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/)

> [“ . . . after twenty centuries of stony sleep, what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats-2/after-twenty-centuries-of-stony-sleep-what-rough-beast-its-hour-come/)

[W. B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats-2/)

> [I didn't want to be like Yeats; I wanted to be Yeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berryman/i-didn-t-want-to-be-like-yeats-i-wanted-to-be-yeats/)

[John Berryman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berryman/)

## More by Adam Kirsch

> [“According to Proust, one proof that we are reading a major new writer is that his writing immediately strikes us as ugly. Only minor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/according-to-proust-one-proof-that-we-are-reading-a-major-new-writer/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [The unadmitted reason why traditional readers are hostile to e-books is that we still hold the superstitious idea that a book is like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/the-unadmitted-reason-why-traditional-readers-are-hostile-to-e-books/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [Once a poet calls his myth a myth, he prevents the reader from treating it as a reality; we use the word 'myth' only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/once-a-poet-calls-his-myth-a-myth-he-prevents-the-reader-from/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [Teaching and writing have tended to proceed on parallel lines, but there have been times when there was indeed carry-over from the classroom to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/teaching-and-writing-have-tended-to-proceed-on-parallel-lines-but/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [So how can a poet-an intelligent, serious poet-write mystical verse now? The poetry of Adam Zagajewski provides the beginning of an answer to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/so-how-can-a-poet-an-intelligent-serious-poet-write-mystical-verse/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [“To those who fought World War II, it was plain enough that Allied bombs were killing huge numbers of German civilians, that Churchill was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/to-those-who-fought-world-war-ii-it-was-plain-enough-that-allied/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [With luck, a writer capable of producing both Slouching Towards Kalamazoo and The Blood of the Lamb will not remain unappreciated for long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/with-luck-a-writer-capable-of-producing-both-slouching-towards/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [“Drakulić titled her book “They Would Never Hurt a Fly,” after Arendt’s description of a typical Nazi functionary who “does not regard himself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/drakuli-titled-her-book-they-would-never-hurt-a-fly-after-arendt-s/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [“The lesson Arendt drew was that a beautiful soul is not enough, for "it was precisely the soul for which life showed no consideration."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/the-lesson-arendt-drew-was-that-a-beautiful-soul-is-not-enough-for-it/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

> [“Theory sometimes seems to me a way of taking revenge on literature—the critic masters the text and rewrites it in his own image, instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/theory-sometimes-seems-to-me-a-way-of-taking-revenge-on-literature/)

[Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

[Explore all 11 Adam Kirsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/)

## More Andrew quotes

> [ When Andrew \[Ridgeley\] first met my family, he heard my mom calling me "Yorgos." He just abbreviated it to Yog, and unfortunately it stuck.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-michael/when-andrew-ridgeley-first-met-my-family-he-heard-my-mom-calling-me/)

[George Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-michael/)

> [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/)

[Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/)

> [We should look at the Twitter records of Andrew Fraser. Clearly, the ship was on remote control, because he spent all of his time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-newman/we-should-look-at-the-twitter-records-of-andrew-fraser-clearly-the/)

[Campbell Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-newman/)

> [There may be an art to conversation, and some are better at it than others, but conversation's virtue lies in randomness and possibility: people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/there-may-be-an-art-to-conversation-and-some-are-better-at-it-than/)

[Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/)

> [“I saw what Andrew did in our family. I saw that he came in and listened and watched and understood who we were, each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-saw-what-andrew-did-in-our-family-i-saw-that-he-came-in-and/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [I'm a Conservative, but I talk for the ordinary working classes. I get on with the boys at the pub, but I can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-jones/i-m-a-conservative-but-i-talk-for-the-ordinary-working-classes-i-get/)

[Vinnie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-jones/)

> [Good intentions do not guarantee good results. Somehow Andrew Keates turns works of merit into evenings of entertainment. Don't call him a dramaturge, call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gambaccini/good-intentions-do-not-guarantee-good-results-somehow-andrew-keates/)

[Paul Gambaccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gambaccini/)

> [I do not wanna write a song like 'Coathanger' so Andrew Breitbart can rage against me on his web site. It's not my idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-parker/i-do-not-wanna-write-a-song-like-coathanger-so-andrew-breitbart-can/)

[Graham Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-parker/)

> [I was born in St. Andrew's and raised in Kingston then I attended the Alpha Boy's school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-dekker/i-was-born-in-st-andrew-s-and-raised-in-kingston-then-i-attended-the/)

[Desmond Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-dekker/)

> [“Andrew raised an eyebrow in appreciation. “Damn…what is it with this town?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-gregory/andrew-raised-an-eyebrow-in-appreciation-damn-what-is-it-with-this/)

[Amy Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-gregory/)

> [In the years since The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin, Voinovich has sharpened his satire, and Monumental Propaganda is a novel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kalfus/in-the-years-since-the-life-and-extraordinary-adventures-of-private/)

[Ken Kalfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kalfus/)

> [When have you ever seen a one on one match up on this platform? Andrew Luck on offense…going against J.J. Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cowher/when-have-you-ever-seen-a-one-on-one-match-up-on-this-platform-andrew/)

[Bill Cowher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cowher/)

> [ Like all bad drivers, he \[Henry Andrews\] thought he was the best driver in the world... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/like-all-bad-drivers-he-henry-andrews-thought-he-was-the-best-driver/)

[Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/)

> [I've met a lot of famous people that I just thought were so unbelievable. For me, meeting Julie Andrews was probably the highlight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-benanti/i-ve-met-a-lot-of-famous-people-that-i-just-thought-were-so/)

[Laura Benanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-benanti/)

> [“He looked back at the page, got one last glimpse before the match blew itself out. Going to find you today, Andrew. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/he-looked-back-at-the-page-got-one-last-glimpse-before-the-match-blew/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

[Browse all 290 Andrew quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/andrew/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to relish the poetry of Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Wyatt, and getting a handle on poetry of plainer speech than I had dwelt with heretofore. Which led me into a new appreciation of middle [William Butler ] Yeats, of the short three-beat line and forward-driving syntax, and that paid in, in turn, to a poem like Casualty in Field Work. The traffic, however, was usually the other way. My teaching was animated by what I was reading and being excited by as a poet.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Adam Kirsch"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself-learning-to-relish-the-poetry/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Andrew"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself-learning-to-relish-the-poetry/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/adam-kirsch-38562_andrew_in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself_1542775.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In the 1970s, for example, I found myself learning to relish the poetry of Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas…” — Adam Kirsch",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Adam Kirsch",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In the 1970s, for example, I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself-learning-to-relish-the-poetry/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/in-the-1970s-for-example-i-found-myself-learning-to-relish-the-poetry/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
