--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've been fascinated over the years by…" description: "\"I've been fascinated over the years by the way refrains work. Think, say, of the refrains in Yeats' ballads. Ideally, each time the refrain comes back ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/edward-hirsch-1614_back_i-ve-been-fascinated-over-the-years-by-t_1861404.png" --- # I've been fascinated over the years by the way refrains… ![“I've been fascinated over the years by the way refrains work. Think, say, of the refrains in Yeats' ballads. Ideally, each time the refrain comes back in a poem, it is both the same and different. It works by counterpoint and reiteration. It accrues meaning.” quote by Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/edward-hirsch-1614_back_i-ve-been-fascinated-over-the-years-by-t_1861404.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/edward-hirsch-1614_back_i-ve-been-fascinated-over-the-years-by-t_1861404.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc4/edward-hirsch-1614_back_i-ve-been-fascinated-over-the-years-by-t_1861404.png) > “I've been fascinated over the years by the way refrains work. Think, say, of the refrains in Yeats' ballads. Ideally, each time the refrain comes back in a poem, it is both the same and different. It works by counterpoint and reiteration. It accrues meaning.” [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes how poetic refrains function as both repetition and variation, creating depth through counterpoint and reiteration. **In simple terms:** Refrains repeat and change, adding meaning. Key Takeaway Use repeated motifs with variation to enrich work. Themes poetry structure repetition variation meaning Mood analytical instructive Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - music composition - public speaking Key Concepts literary analysis creative technique counterpoint Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance repetition and novelty? - What motifs can you vary for impact? A Different Perspective Risk of over‑reliance on repetition reducing originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) [Counterpoint Reiteration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counterpoint-reiteration-2508486/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Refrain Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrain-comes-2508485/) [Refrains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrains-1259261/) [Refrains Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrains-work-2508484/) [Refrains Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refrains-yeats-2508483/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“The true stingy is that who refrains from greeting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imam-hussein-ibn-ali-al-shaheed/the-true-stingy-is-that-who-refrains-from-greeting/) [Imam Hussein Ibn Ali al-Shaheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imam-hussein-ibn-ali-al-shaheed/) > [The idea of how to read a poem is based on the idea that poetry needs you as a reader. That the experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-idea-of-how-to-read-a-poem-is-based-on-the-idea-that-poetry-needs/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Except for memory, time would have no meaning at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/except-for-memory-time-would-have-no-meaning-at-all/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [The meaning of this is, that whomsoever we love, in him we find our own soul in the highest sense. 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They don't usually come at the very beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/and-my-experience-is-the-best-titles-for-me-emerge-in-the-process-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“I did not know the work of mourning Is like carrying a bag of cement Up a mountain at night The mountaintop is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-did-not-know-the-work-of-mourning-is-like-carrying-a-bag-of-cement/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Fall" Fall, falling, fallen. That’s the way the season Changes its tense in the long-haired maples That dot the road; the veiny hand-shaped leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/fall-fall-falling-fallen-that-s-the-way-the-season-changes-its-tense/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I find great consolation in having a lot of poetry books around. 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It is not a career but a calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/poetry-is-a-vocation-it-is-not-a-career-but-a-calling/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [You're shadowed by your own dream, especially as you get older, of trying to create something that will last in poetry. And so, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/you-re-shadowed-by-your-own-dream-especially-as-you-get-older-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [The attention deficit disorder of the culture is very distressing in America now and I think it puts a lot of things at risk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-attention-deficit-disorder-of-the-culture-is-very-distressing-in/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Now, as I've gotten older I've been able to write more quickly. 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So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [It's what the people wanted at the time, but the country could not be half-segregated and half-integrated, just as it could not be half-slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wallace/it-s-what-the-people-wanted-at-the-time-but-the-country-could-not-be/) [George Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wallace/) > [I've always stuck my arms behind my back anyway when trying to block a shot in the penalty area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/i-ve-always-stuck-my-arms-behind-my-back-anyway-when-trying-to-block/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ewing/i-m-sure-at-some-point-i-will-get-back-into-coaching-but-right-now-i/) [Patrick Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ewing/) > [Any time someone achieves success before they've earned it, it always comes back to haunt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/any-time-someone-achieves-success-before-they-ve-earned-it-it-always/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. 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