--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've learned that my readings of others'…" description: "\"I've learned that my readings of others' work often has little connection to their intentions. This doesn't mean that my response is wrong, and it does..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/alice-fulton-36910_books_i-ve-learned-that-my-readings-of-others_3152073.png" --- # I've learned that my readings of others' work often has… ![“I've learned that my readings of others' work often has little connection to their intentions. This doesn't mean that my response is wrong, and it doesn't make the author's views less right. Poets, like their poems, are "hopeful monsters".” quote by Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/alice-fulton-36910_books_i-ve-learned-that-my-readings-of-others_3152073.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/alice-fulton-36910_books_i-ve-learned-that-my-readings-of-others_3152073.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/alice-fulton-36910_books_i-ve-learned-that-my-readings-of-others_3152073.png) > “I've learned that my readings of others' work often has little connection to their intentions. This doesn't mean that my response is wrong, and it doesn't make the author's views less right. Poets, like their poems, are "hopeful monsters".” [Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding a work's intent differs from personal reaction; both can coexist. **In simple terms:** Interpretation vs. intent. Key Takeaway Respect both author and reader perspectives. Themes interpretation intent literature Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading groups - creative writing - critical analysis Key Concepts hermeneutics authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal insight with authorial intent? - When is it okay to reinterpret a work? A Different Perspective Readers may impose meanings that distort original meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Author Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-views-2322783/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Like Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-poems-572090/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Poems Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-hopeful-5662258/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-like-473821/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Readings Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readings-work-5662259/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [Like the philosopher, the author views his task as one of establishing a clear connection between life and history, and of making the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lion-feuchtwanger/like-the-philosopher-the-author-views-his-task-as-one-of-establishing/) [Lion Feuchtwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lion-feuchtwanger/) > [I feel the most natural thing is for music to come that way because it's sort of like poetry. Though I do think with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-feel-the-most-natural-thing-is-for-music-to-come-that-way-because/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/we-read-poetry-because-the-poets-like-ourselves-have-been-haunted-by/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [Poets, like the blind, can see in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/poets-like-the-blind-can-see-in-the-dark/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“The seasonal urge is strong in poets. Milton wrote chiefly in winter. 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Kurup and Yusufali Kechery in my career; they wrote meaningful lyrics, which made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohan-sithara/i-am-happy-that-i-could-collaborate-with-poets-like-o-n-v-kurup-and/) [Mohan Sithara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohan-sithara/) > [I also want to sing the lyrics penned by poets like Srijato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-gannguli/i-also-want-to-sing-the-lyrics-penned-by-poets-like-srijato/) [Jeet Gannguli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-gannguli/) > [Poets like painters, thus unskilled to trace The naked nature and the living grace, With gold and jewels cover ev'ry part, And hide with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poets-like-painters-thus-unskilled-to-trace-the-naked-nature-and-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More by Alice Fulton > [Nothing will unfold for us unless we move toward what looks to us like nothing: faith is a cascade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-fulton/nothing-will-unfold-for-us-unless-we-move-toward-what-looks-to-us/) [Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) > [While you’re alive there’s no time for minor amazements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-fulton/while-you-re-alive-there-s-no-time-for-minor-amazements/) [Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) > [At least embarrasement is not an imitation. 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It is so ample, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-fulton/silence-is-so-steadfast-you-know-it-is-so-ample-after-all/) [Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) > [Anguish is the universal language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-fulton/anguish-is-the-universal-language/) [Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) [Explore all 12 Alice Fulton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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