--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think, though, that…" description: "\"I think, though, that perspective-awareness may follow from a kind of speaking that also came into my work more recently - the \"assay\" poems (some labe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/jane-hirshfield-2649_abstraction_i-think-though-that-perspective-awarenes_1834874.png" --- # I think, though, that perspective-awareness may follow… ![“I think, though, that perspective-awareness may follow from a kind of speaking that also came into my work more recently - the "assay" poems (some labeled that, some not) that engage an abstraction or object from multiple angles.” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/jane-hirshfield-2649_abstraction_i-think-though-that-perspective-awarenes_1834874.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/jane-hirshfield-2649_abstraction_i-think-though-that-perspective-awarenes_1834874.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/jane-hirshfield-2649_abstraction_i-think-though-that-perspective-awarenes_1834874.png) > “I think, though, that perspective-awareness may follow from a kind of speaking that also came into my work more recently - the "assay" poems (some labeled that, some not) that engage an abstraction or object from multiple angles.” [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exploring objects from multiple angles through spoken poetry expands awareness and deepens understanding. **In simple terms:** Seeing things from many sides broadens insight. Key Takeaway Practice multi‑angle observation in creative work. Themes creativity perception language Mood inquisitive inspirational Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - visual arts - critical analysis Key Concepts polyphony abstraction Questions to Reflect On - What new angles can you apply to familiar subjects? - How does speaking alter your perception? A Different Perspective Focusing on one perspective can also yield depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I think perspective is a necessary, amazing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-think-perspective-is-a-necessary-amazing-thing/) [Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/) > [I think my perspective on my age is really irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ziering/i-think-my-perspective-on-my-age-is-really-irrelevant/) [Ian Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-ziering/) > [“I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won’t tell them that people are starving in China or anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/i-think-that-if-i-ever-have-kids-and-they-are-upset-i-won-t-tell-them-3/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [And I think I have a perspective about Hollywood that you don't see very often in the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/and-i-think-i-have-a-perspective-about-hollywood-that-you-don-t-see/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [I have a hard time thinking of men trying to sing my songs, because I think my perspective is definitely feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/i-have-a-hard-time-thinking-of-men-trying-to-sing-my-songs-because-i/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Like Sam said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/maybe-it-s-good-to-put-things-in-perspective-but-sometimes-i-think-2/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“Sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sometimes-i-think-that-the-only-perspective-is-to-really-be-there/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [When I became vegan 5 years ago, it was truly eye opening. I think it's all about perspective, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-von-d/when-i-became-vegan-5-years-ago-it-was-truly-eye-opening-i-think-it-s/) [Kat Von D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-von-d/) > [Women hold themselves back because they don't think their perspective matters. I'm here to tell you that you're not just robbing yourself when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-palmieri/women-hold-themselves-back-because-they-don-t-think-their-perspective/) [Jennifer Palmieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-palmieri/) > [Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/maybe-it-s-good-to-put-things-in-perspective-but-sometimes-i-think/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I think my perspective is unique, and I want to make sure that perspective is memorialized and preserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-darden/i-think-my-perspective-is-unique-and-i-want-to-make-sure-that/) [Christopher Darden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-darden/) > [“We naturally think from our own perspective, from a point of view which tends to privilege our position. Fairness implies the treating of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-elder/we-naturally-think-from-our-own-perspective-from-a-point-of-view/) Linda Elder > [“It's much easier to not know things sometimes. Things change and friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody. I wanted to laugh. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/it-s-much-easier-to-not-know-things-sometimes-things-change-and/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [Whatever it is that I do, it's a lot easier for me to accomplish it when I truly feel the need for it. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose/whatever-it-is-that-i-do-it-s-a-lot-easier-for-me-to-accomplish-it/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose/) > [Take the time in your life to think about who you are from your own perspective and not someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden/take-the-time-in-your-life-to-think-about-who-you-are-from-your-own/) [Isaiah Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden/) ## More by Jane Hirshfield > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Habit, laziness, and fear conspire to keep us comfortably within the familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/habit-laziness-and-fear-conspire-to-keep-us-comfortably-within-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-order-to-gain-anything-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The same words come from each mouth differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-same-words-come-from-each-mouth-differently/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Your fate is to be yourself, both punishment and crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/your-fate-is-to-be-yourself-both-punishment-and-crime/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/near-even-a-candle-the-visible-heat-so-it-is-with-a-person-in-love/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) [Explore all 156 Jane Hirshfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. 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