--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I composed those verses I was…" description: "\"“When I composed those verses I was preoccupied less with music than with an experience—an experience in which that beautiful musical allegory had show..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/hermann-hesse-130_life_when-i-composed-those-verses-i-was-preoc_1430734.jpg" --- # When I composed those verses I was preoccupied less with… ![“When I composed those verses I was preoccupied less with music than with an experience—an experience in which that beautiful musical allegory had shown its moral side, had become an awakening and a summons to a life vocation. The imperative form of the poem which specially displeases you is not…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/hermann-hesse-130_life_when-i-composed-those-verses-i-was-preoc_1430734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/hermann-hesse-130_life_when-i-composed-those-verses-i-was-preoc_1430734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/hermann-hesse-130_life_when-i-composed-those-verses-i-was-preoc_1430734.jpg) > ““When I composed those verses I was preoccupied less with music than with an experience—an experience in which that beautiful musical allegory had shown its moral side, had become an awakening and a summons to a life vocation. The imperative form of the poem which specially displeases you is not the expression of a command and a will to teach but a command and warning directed towards myself. Even if you were not fully aware of this, my friend, you could have read it in the closing lines. I experienced an insight, you see, a realization and an inner vision, and wished to impress and hammer the moral of this vision into myself. That is the reason why this poem has remained in my memory. Whether the verses are good or bad they have achieved their aim, for the warning has lived on within me and has not been forgotten. It rings anew for me again to-day, and that is a wonderful little experience which your scorn cannot take away from me.”” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem serves as a personal moral compass, an inner warning that persists and guides the poet despite external criticism. **In simple terms:** The poem is a personal moral warning that stays with the poet. Key Takeaway Heed your inner moral calls. Themes self‑discovery inner voice artistic purpose Mood introspective determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - personal growth - therapy sessions Key Concepts moral awakening self‑reflection creative inspiration Questions to Reflect On - What inner warnings guide you? - How do you balance personal insight with external feedback? A Different Perspective Self‑warnings may become rigid, limiting openness to new perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composed Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composed-verses-5018123/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memory Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-verses-5093424/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Realization Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization-inner-3019083/) [Reason Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-poem-5093425/) [Verses Preoccupied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses-preoccupied-5093426/) ## Related quotes > [“I know a person who, though no poet, composed some verses in a very short time, which were full of feeling and admirably descriptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-teresa-de-jes-s/i-know-a-person-who-though-no-poet-composed-some-verses-in-a-very/) [Santa Teresa de Jesús](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-teresa-de-jes-s/) > [“Actually, an important part of self-knowledge is that it gives one a better realization of the inner strength that can be called upon, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/actually-an-important-part-of-self-knowledge-is-that-it-gives-one-a/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. 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The imperative form of the poem which specially displeases you is not the expression of a command and a will to teach but a command and warning directed towards myself. Even if you were not fully aware of this, my friend, you could have read it in the closing lines. I experienced an insight, you see, a realization and an inner vision, and wished to impress and hammer the moral of this vision into myself. That is the reason why this poem has remained in my memory. Whether the verses are good or bad they have achieved their aim, for the warning has lived on within me and has not been forgotten. 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