--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: a man who had fallen among thieves lay by…" description: "\"a man who had fallen among thieves lay by the roadside on his back dressed in fifteenthrate ideas wearing a round jeer for a hat\" — e. e. cummings" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png" --- # a man who had fallen among thieves lay by the roadside on… ![“a man who had fallen among thieves lay by the roadside on his back dressed in fifteenthrate ideas wearing a round jeer for a hat” quote by e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png) > “a man who had fallen among thieves lay by the roadside on his back dressed in fifteenthrate ideas wearing a round jeer for a hat” [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal image of a man among thieves, juxtaposing absurdity with vulnerability, reflecting chaotic modern life. **In simple terms:** Absurd scene shows vulnerability. Key Takeaway Embrace absurdity to reveal deeper truths. Themes absurdity vulnerability modern chaos Mood enigmatic thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - art criticism - creative writing - psychology of chaos - social commentary Key Concepts surrealism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does the hat symbolize? - How does absurdity reflect societal disorder? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be overly abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen/) [Fallen Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen-thieves-2224777/) [Hats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hats/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Jeer Hat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jeer-hat-5763768/) [Lays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lays/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Man Fallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-fallen-4209914/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Roadside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roadside/) [Roadside Dressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roadside-dressed-5763767/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves/) [Thieves Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves-lay-5763766/) ## Related quotes > [As a singer, I might have fallen among thieves. I wonder if I'd still be alive by now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/as-a-singer-i-might-have-fallen-among-thieves-i-wonder-if-i-d-still/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [Man has fallen victim to seduction since times immemorial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/man-has-fallen-victim-to-seduction-since-times-immemorial/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [When the black and mortal blood of man has fallen to the ground ... who then can sing spells to call it back again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/when-the-black-and-mortal-blood-of-man-has-fallen-to-the-ground-who/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“I don’t know anything that’s quite so dead as a man who’s fallen three or four thousand feet off the edge of a cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-anything-that-s-quite-so-dead-as-a-man-who-s-fallen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim he would not have chosen a suit by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-chevalier/many-a-man-has-fallen-in-love-with-a-girl-in-a-light-so-dim-he-would/) [Maurice Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-chevalier/) > [Nobody knew the Iron Man had fallen. Night passed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/nobody-knew-the-iron-man-had-fallen-night-passed/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [Getting up quite late in the morning, going and trying to clean my bikes - I have quite a few of them in Ranchi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-up-quite-late-in-the-morning-going-and-trying-to-clean-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open up a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing-or-be-a-bigshot-i-just-want/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Do you think Radiohead is my whole goddamn life? I also have a roadside cart where I sell apples and mincemeat pies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/do-you-think-radiohead-is-my-whole-goddamn-life-i-also-have-a/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [Supermarkets depict abundance; boutiques exclusiveness; roadside stands authenticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/supermarkets-depict-abundance-boutiques-exclusiveness-roadside-stands/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I like to move forward and notice things along the roadside that indicate where I should go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-like-to-move-forward-and-notice-things-along-the-roadside-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And in the evening, everywhere Along the roadside, up and down, I see the golden torches flare Like lighted street-lamps in the town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dempster-sherman/and-in-the-evening-everywhere-along-the-roadside-up-and-down-i-see/) [Frank Dempster Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dempster-sherman/) > [This is a roadside attraction,' said Wednesday. 'One of the finest. Which means it is a place of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/this-is-a-roadside-attraction-said-wednesday-one-of-the-finest-which/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [Fortune is a prize to be won. Adventure is the road to it. Chance is what may lurk in the shadows at the roadside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/fortune-is-a-prize-to-be-won-adventure-is-the-road-to-it-chance-is/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## More by e. e. cummings > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [“I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-d-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-teach-ten-thousand/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [There is no music unless the drum and the drummer are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/there-is-no-music-unless-the-drum-and-the-drummer-are-one/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [“...for life's not a paragraph/ and death, i think, is no parenthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/for-life-s-not-a-paragraph-and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [The symbol of all art is the Prism. The goal is unrealism. The method is destructive. To break up the white light of objective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-symbol-of-all-art-is-the-prism-the-goal-is-unrealism-the-method/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [All ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/all-ignorance-toboggans-into-know-and-trudges-up-to-ignorance-again/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-and-is-and/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/it-s-spring-when-the-world-is-puddle-wonderful/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same sun moon stars rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/women-and-men-both-little-and-small-cared-for-anyone-not-at-all-they/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [O to be in finland/ now that russia's here)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/o-to-be-in-finland-now-that-russia-s-here/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [wholly to be a fool while Spring is in the world my blood approves, and kisses are a far better fate than wisdom lady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/wholly-to-be-a-fool-while-spring-is-in-the-world-my-blood-approves-2/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Art is a mystery. A mystery is something immeasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/art-is-a-mystery-a-mystery-is-something-immeasurable/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/one-day-anyone-died-i-guess-and-noone-stooped-to-kiss-his-face-busy/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [“sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love (all the merry little birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/sweet-spring-is-your-time-is-my-time-is-our-time-for-springtime-is/) [E. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) [Explore all 159 e. e. cummings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) ## More Fallen quotes > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“He’d fallen for her—for her sometimes amusing, sometimes confounding combination of strength, brains, drive, vulnerability, and mile-wide stubborn streak. He’d fallen for the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samanthe-beck/he-d-fallen-for-her-for-her-sometimes-amusing-sometimes-confounding/) [Samanthe Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samanthe-beck/) > [I collect my tools: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, intellect. Night has fallen...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/i-collect-my-tools-sight-smell-touch-taste-hearing-intellect-night/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [Great people are not people who have never fallen down. Greatness has to do with how you get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/great-people-are-not-people-who-have-never-fallen-down-greatness-has/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [However far modern science and techniques have fallen short of their inherent possibilities, they have taught mankind at least one lesson; nothing is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/however-far-modern-science-and-techniques-have-fallen-short-of-their/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [She knows not loves that kissed her She knows not where. Art thou the ghost, my sister, White sister there, Am I the ghost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/she-knows-not-loves-that-kissed-her-she-knows-not-where-art-thou-the/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [Only an empowered personality can distribute the holy name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen souls to worship Krishna. By distributing the holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati/only-an-empowered-personality-can-distribute-the-holy-name-of-the/) [Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati/) > [I was going to say 'my friend Stuart', but I suppose he's not a friend any more. I seem to have lost a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-was-going-to-say-my-friend-stuart-but-i-suppose-he-s-not-a-friend/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [This is a fallen world. People lie, the truth gets distorted, and that's the way it is. What's for dinner ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/this-is-a-fallen-world-people-lie-the-truth-gets-distorted-and-that-s/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [Our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes and I see many of them in the audience here today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/our-nation-honors-its-unbroken-line-of-fallen-heroes-and-i-see-many/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 1,552 Fallen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "a man who had fallen among thieves lay by the roadside on his back dressed in fifteenthrate ideas wearing a round jeer for a hat", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "e. e. cummings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-by-the-roadside-on-his-back/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fallen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-by-the-roadside-on-his-back/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/e-e-cummings-2586_fallen_a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-b_2357874.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“a man who had fallen among thieves lay by the roadside on his back dressed in fifteenthrate ideas wearing a…” — e. e. cummings", "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": "e. e. cummings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "a man who had fallen among...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-by-the-roadside-on-his-back/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/a-man-who-had-fallen-among-thieves-lay-by-the-roadside-on-his-back/#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 } } ] } ```