--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you think of things that influenced…" description: "\"When you think of things that influenced your life, Mother Goose influenced more people than almost any other thing, the rhythms of those poems. Everyt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/grace-paley-3243_geese_when-you-think-of-things-that-influenced_2605022.jpg" --- # When you think of things that influenced your life, Mother… ![“When you think of things that influenced your life, Mother Goose influenced more people than almost any other thing, the rhythms of those poems. Everything after that was a bare imitation of some of those mysterious and materialistic poems.” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/grace-paley-3243_geese_when-you-think-of-things-that-influenced_2605022.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/grace-paley-3243_geese_when-you-think-of-things-that-influenced_2605022.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/grace-paley-3243_geese_when-you-think-of-things-that-influenced_2605022.jpg) > “When you think of things that influenced your life, Mother Goose influenced more people than almost any other thing, the rhythms of those poems. Everything after that was a bare imitation of some of those mysterious and materialistic poems.” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mother Goose poems shaped many lives, and later works often imitate their rhythmic, materialistic style. **In simple terms:** Mother Goose’s rhythm influenced countless writers. Key Takeaway Study rhythmic patterns in early influences. Themes culture education literature Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type literary educational When to use this quote - teaching poetry - writing workshops - literary criticism Key Concepts rhythm imitation childhood influence Questions to Reflect On - How does early rhythm affect your creative style? - What can you create beyond imitation? A Different Perspective Imitation can limit originality if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Materialistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialistic/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother goose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-goose/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Stravinsky used Mother Goose. He was influenced by Mother Goose, indirectly, but very beautifully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyorgy-ligeti/stravinsky-used-mother-goose-he-was-influenced-by-mother-goose/) [Gyorgy Ligeti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyorgy-ligeti/) > [I describe my look as a blend of mother goose, cinderella, and the local hooker!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-describe-my-look-as-a-blend-of-mother-goose-cinderella-and-the/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [If the bible myth of Jonah in the whale and the Mother Goose myth of Jack and the Beanstalk were switched at birth so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/if-the-bible-myth-of-jonah-in-the-whale-and-the-mother-goose-myth-of/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Rock and roll is a music, and why should a music contribute to ... juvenile delinquency? If people are going to be juvenile delinquents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/rock-and-roll-is-a-music-and-why-should-a-music-contribute-to/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Mother Goose is on the loose, stealing lines from Lenny Bruce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/mother-goose-is-on-the-loose-stealing-lines-from-lenny-bruce/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [“The peasant of early modern France inhabited a world of step-mothers and orphans, of inexorable, unending toil, and of brutal emotions, both raw and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/the-peasant-of-early-modern-france-inhabited-a-world-of-step-mothers/) [Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/) > [Don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/don-t-kill-the-goose-that-lays-the-golden-egg/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [I do not believe in god because I do not believe in Mother Goose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-do-not-believe-in-god-because-i-do-not-believe-in-mother-goose/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Mother Goose, she's on the skids. Sure ain't happy, neither are the kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/mother-goose-she-s-on-the-skids-sure-ain-t-happy-neither-are-the-kids/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [I came across Mother Goose, so I turned her loose, she was screaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jethro-tull/i-came-across-mother-goose-so-i-turned-her-loose-she-was-screaming/) [Jethro Tull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jethro-tull/) > [Why the hell are we conditioned into the smooth strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world, Alice-in-Wonderland fable, only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/why-the-hell-are-we-conditioned-into-the-smooth-strawberry-and-cream/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [If someone came up with a new idea for a pantomime that worked, then that would be great but we shouldn't step away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-rowe/if-someone-came-up-with-a-new-idea-for-a-pantomime-that-worked-then/) [Clive Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-rowe/) > [One of the things that's influenced me musically was my experience at Brown University. I was surrounded by musicians that I really admired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-loeb/one-of-the-things-that-s-influenced-me-musically-was-my-experience-at/) [Lisa Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-loeb/) > [I've been able to have broad kind of education and all sorts of different music and a lot of kind of films and also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-price/i-ve-been-able-to-have-broad-kind-of-education-and-all-sorts-of/) [Steven Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-price/) > [You sing about the things you're influenced by. So we've been big into sci-fi since we were kids, things like Star Trek etc. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dino-cazares/you-sing-about-the-things-you-re-influenced-by-so-we-ve-been-big-into/) [Dino Cazares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dino-cazares/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Geese quotes > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. 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Indeed, my experiments have proven to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-reasoning-animal-such-is-the-claim-i-think-it-is-open-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Oh, but I like my geese. Like cats, they can't be told what to do, and like dogs, they're loyal, and like people, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/oh-but-i-like-my-geese-like-cats-they-can-t-be-told-what-to-do-and/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [The goose that lays golden eggs has been considered a most valuable possession. But even more profitable is the privilege of taking the golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/the-goose-that-lays-golden-eggs-has-been-considered-a-most-valuable/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [Once the forest has been removed and the swamp starts being drained, that organic matter begins to oxidise and give off continuing emissions. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-ford-seymour/once-the-forest-has-been-removed-and-the-swamp-starts-being-drained/) Frances Ford Seymour > [“I'm scared of the geese. When I was five, my mom took me down there to feed those horrible beasts and one of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-rae-miller/i-m-scared-of-the-geese-when-i-was-five-my-mom-took-me-down-there-to/) [Leah Rae Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-rae-miller/) > [While man exclaims, "See all things for my use!" "See man for mine!" replies a pamper'd goose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/while-man-exclaims-see-all-things-for-my-use-see-man-for-mine-replies/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To bring about a genuine political realignment, Republicans must kill the Government Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs - the very Goose they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/to-bring-about-a-genuine-political-realignment-republicans-must-kill/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [In the world outside this glass room, songbirds are feeding and resting in the trees. Some will take off tonight and not land until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/in-the-world-outside-this-glass-room-songbirds-are-feeding-and/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Let the long contention cease! / Geese are swans, and swans are geese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/let-the-long-contention-cease-geese-are-swans-and-swans-are-geese/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [When I swing at a golf ball right, my mind is blank and my body is loose as a goose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-snead/when-i-swing-at-a-golf-ball-right-my-mind-is-blank-and-my-body-is/) [Sam Snead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-snead/) > [You can't have employment and despise employers ... 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