--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want to climb up the blank blue dome as…" description: "\"“I want to climb up the blank blue dome as a man would storm the inside of a circus tent, wildly, dangling, and with a steel knife claw a rent in the t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/annie-dillard-509_risk_i-want-to-climb-up-the-blank-blue-dome-a_2070985.jpg" --- # I want to climb up the blank blue dome as a man would… ![“I want to climb up the blank blue dome as a man would storm the inside of a circus tent, wildly, dangling, and with a steel knife claw a rent in the top, peep, and, if I must, fall.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/annie-dillard-509_risk_i-want-to-climb-up-the-blank-blue-dome-a_2070985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/annie-dillard-509_risk_i-want-to-climb-up-the-blank-blue-dome-a_2070985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/annie-dillard-509_risk_i-want-to-climb-up-the-blank-blue-dome-a_2070985.jpg) > ““I want to climb up the blank blue dome as a man would storm the inside of a circus tent, wildly, dangling, and with a steel knife claw a rent in the top, peep, and, if I must, fall.”” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The metaphor describes a daring, chaotic ascent into the unknown, embracing risk and the possibility of failure. **In simple terms:** Embrace daring, chaotic pursuits despite risk. Key Takeaway Pursue bold, uncertain goals. Themes adventure risk creativity Mood intense dramatic Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - artistic projects - entrepreneurial ventures - extreme sports Key Concepts exploration courage impermanence Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you willing to take? - How do you prepare for possible failure? A Different Perspective Such reckless ambition can lead to harm or loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Circus Tent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-tent-645687/) [Dome Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dome-man-3997591/) [Inside Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inside-circus-3997592/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Want Climb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-climb-402822/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I went camping and borrowed a circus tent by mistake. I didn't notice until I got it set up. People complained because they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-went-camping-and-borrowed-a-circus-tent-by-mistake-i-didn-t-notice/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/the-circus-tent-was-flowing-pale-in-the-rain-like-a-fleshy-flower-lit/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [I have no complaints about my path and the places it has taken me; enough complaints to fill a circus tent about other things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-have-no-complaints-about-my-path-and-the-places-it-has-taken-me/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-circus-circus-is-what-the-whole-hep-world-would-be-doing-saturday/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Shan't I take that anshient circus tent?" said he, pintin' to my umbreller, "and lock it up in the safe?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/shan-t-i-take-that-anshient-circus-tent-said-he-pintin-to-my/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/various/) > [But the soul of touring and the heart of it is basically every day is like putting up a circus tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-benatar/but-the-soul-of-touring-and-the-heart-of-it-is-basically-every-day-is/) [Pat Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-benatar/) > [Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/many-years-ago-the-great-british-explorer-george-mallory-who-was-to/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“I want to climb on top and lace my fingers right down into the marrow of your bones and cast off and fly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-bourne/i-want-to-climb-on-top-and-lace-my-fingers-right-down-into-the-marrow/) [Joanna Bourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-bourne/) > [I am never satisfied; I always want more. I always want to get better. I always want to climb another step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/i-am-never-satisfied-i-always-want-more-i-always-want-to-get-better-i/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [If you want to climb it badly enough, you will. So... why bother ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-scott/if-you-want-to-climb-it-badly-enough-you-will-so-why-bother/) [Doug Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-scott/) > [Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don’t, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/better-to-be-at-the-bottom-of-a-ladder-you-want-to-climb-than-in-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [- Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest, Sir? - Because it is there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-leigh-mallory/why-do-you-want-to-climb-mt-everest-sir-because-it-is-there/) [George Leigh Mallory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-leigh-mallory/) > [I'd rather climb 14a and eat whatever I want than climb 14d and measure out my food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnie-trotter/i-d-rather-climb-14a-and-eat-whatever-i-want-than-climb-14d-and/) [Sonnie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnie-trotter/) > [Those who don't increase you will definitely decrease you. Those who don't want to climb will definitely want you to crawl. Be careful who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-don-t-increase-you-will-definitely-decrease-you-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Am I … not what you were expecting?” Of course, my immediate instinct is to say no. No, you’re not what I was expecting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-stein/am-i-not-what-you-were-expecting-of-course-my-immediate-instinct-is/) [Charlotte Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-stein/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Circus quotes > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [In Roslyn, Pennsylvania, we started our real-life family circus. They provided the inspiration for my cartoons. I provided the perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bil-keane/in-roslyn-pennsylvania-we-started-our-real-life-family-circus-they/) [Bil Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bil-keane/) > [Circus clown. That's a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/circus-clown-that-s-a-new-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [When I was 18 I worked with the Ringling Brothers circus, taking care of menagerie animals. I used to rather deliberately risk my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/when-i-was-18-i-worked-with-the-ringling-brothers-circus-taking-care/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [“If i'm gonna be described as a clown for my actions, I might aswell be a whole circus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bee/if-i-m-gonna-be-described-as-a-clown-for-my-actions-i-might-aswell-be/) [Bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bee/) > [I've had 79 to 80 years of show business. I started when I was 5 with a man called Tom Mix. I didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sidney/i-ve-had-79-to-80-years-of-show-business-i-started-when-i-was-5-with/) [George Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sidney/) > [When I'm on stage, it's really intense. 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