--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought…" description: "\"“Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in sensuous detail, so that for him there is no really abstract thinking; men, he thinks, 'should ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg" --- # Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in… ![“Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in sensuous detail, so that for him there is no really abstract thinking; men, he thinks, 'should be satisfied with the use of these days, seeing all things accounted by their showes, and nothing esteemed of, that is not delightfull and pleasing…” quote by Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg) > ““Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in sensuous detail, so that for him there is no really abstract thinking; men, he thinks, 'should be satisfied with the use of these days, seeing all things accounted by their showes, and nothing esteemed of, that is not delightfull and pleasing to commune sense' ( Prefatory Letter). But on the other hand the details of the physical universe become translucent from the pulsing light of varied human experience which is seen behind it. His 'haunt and the main region of (his) song' is the inner life of man and it is described in the symbolism of human figures clothed in raiment iridescent with innumerable associations. His art is a development of the mediaeval.”” [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spenser emphasizes sensory detail over abstraction, using vivid symbolism to explore inner human experience, linking physical reality to emotional perception. **In simple terms:** Spenser values sensory detail and symbolism to reveal inner life. Key Takeaway Appreciate the power of sensory detail in art and thought. Themes literature symbolism human experience perception artistic style Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type interpretive educational When to use this quote - poetry analysis - creative writing - art criticism - education - interpretive workshops Key Concepts sensory detail symbolic representation inner life Questions to Reflect On - How does sensory detail shape our understanding of abstract ideas? - In what ways can symbolism bridge physical and emotional realms? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on abstraction may miss emotional depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-thinking/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Human experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/) [Inner life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-life/) [Life Of Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-of-man/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spenser/) ## Related quotes > [“Troubled men both, he thinks, Wriothesley and Riche, and alike in some ways, sidling around the peripheries of their own souls, tapping at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/troubled-men-both-he-thinks-wriothesley-and-riche-and-alike-in-some/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Men are meant for women and women were meant for men. Anyone who thinks else, is wrong. Adam and Eve! NOT, Adam and Steve!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-are-meant-for-women-and-women-were-meant-for-men-anyone-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The most interesting inconsistency in thought is connected with the Bower of Bliss. This passage--the twelfth canto of the second Book--is probably the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/the-most-interesting-inconsistency-in-thought-is-connected-with-the/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“We have then, in the first part of The Faerie Queene, four of the seven deadly sins depicted in the more important passages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/we-have-then-in-the-first-part-of-the-faerie-queene-four-of-the-seven/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“We have, then, three Books wholly and one partially written before, and two after, the Preface; and only one of the first four is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/we-have-then-three-books-wholly-and-one-partially-written-before-and/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [I think, first and foremost ,Marie Antoinette was intellectually impoverished. She really had never been introduced to the notion of abstract thinking - of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/i-think-first-and-foremost-marie-antoinette-was-intellectually/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [Thinking - in particular abstract thinking, which most of us are introduced to through the study of mathematics and literature - helps us learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/thinking-in-particular-abstract-thinking-which-most-of-us-are/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [“The most dangerous thing about an academic education is that it enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract thinking instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-an-academic-education-is-that-it/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Common Core math standards seem unaware that children are not miniaturized adults, who are absolutely incapable of certain kinds of cognition. For example, genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/common-core-math-standards-seem-unaware-that-children-are-not/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [There are all kinds of features that will become part of cell phones that will help us offload the more laborious things of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/there-are-all-kinds-of-features-that-will-become-part-of-cell-phones/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [“The abstract thinking of the world is never to be expected of persons in high places...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/the-abstract-thinking-of-the-world-is-never-to-be-expected-of-persons/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [“I began to realize that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis,” he later said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/i-began-to-realize-that-an-intuitive-understanding-and-consciousness/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There are three categories of criteria that an individual must meet in order to be diagnosed with ASD. The categories are listed below along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/there-are-three-categories-of-criteria-that-an-individual-must-meet/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [Art - when it is really doing what it should do - teaches abstract thinking; it teaches teamwork; it teaches people to actually think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-t-jones/art-when-it-is-really-doing-what-it-should-do-teaches-abstract/) [Bill T. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-t-jones/) > [“The brain works in a holistic, cooperative way that makes our basest desire or most abject fear as expressive of who we are as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/the-brain-works-in-a-holistic-cooperative-way-that-makes-our-basest/) [David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/) ## More by Janet Spens > [“We have, then, three Books wholly and one partially written before, and two after, the Preface; and only one of the first four is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/we-have-then-three-books-wholly-and-one-partially-written-before-and/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“Most critics agree with the seventeenth-century printer who gave them to the world, that the Mutabilitie Cantos seem to be part of some following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/most-critics-agree-with-the-seventeenth-century-printer-who-gave-them/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“The aim I have set before me in this book is to give back to English readers the understanding of and delight in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/the-aim-i-have-set-before-me-in-this-book-is-to-give-back-to-english/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“The Faerie Queene was intended by its author to be a philosophical poem and was so regarded by his contemporaries and immediate successors, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/the-faerie-queene-was-intended-by-its-author-to-be-a-philosophical/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“We have then, in the first part of The Faerie Queene, four of the seven deadly sins depicted in the more important passages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/we-have-then-in-the-first-part-of-the-faerie-queene-four-of-the-seven/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“Now the twelfth canto of Book II is an almost literal translation from Tasso description in the Jerusalem Delivered of the island of Armida.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/now-the-twelfth-canto-of-book-ii-is-an-almost-literal-translation/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“The sin of Book I is at first sight more obscure, but it is particularly significant. We have seen that there appear to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/the-sin-of-book-i-is-at-first-sight-more-obscure-but-it-is/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) > [“The most interesting inconsistency in thought is connected with the Bower of Bliss. This passage--the twelfth canto of the second Book--is probably the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/the-most-interesting-inconsistency-in-thought-is-connected-with-the/) [Janet Spens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) [Explore all 9 Janet Spens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/) ## More Abstract thinking quotes > [“The brain works in a holistic, cooperative way that makes our basest desire or most abject fear as expressive of who we are as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/the-brain-works-in-a-holistic-cooperative-way-that-makes-our-basest/) [David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/) > [Art - when it is really doing what it should do - teaches abstract thinking; it teaches teamwork; it teaches people to actually think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-t-jones/art-when-it-is-really-doing-what-it-should-do-teaches-abstract/) [Bill T. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-t-jones/) > [“There are three categories of criteria that an individual must meet in order to be diagnosed with ASD. The categories are listed below along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/there-are-three-categories-of-criteria-that-an-individual-must-meet/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [“I began to realize that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis,” he later said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/i-began-to-realize-that-an-intuitive-understanding-and-consciousness/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The abstract thinking of the world is never to be expected of persons in high places...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/the-abstract-thinking-of-the-world-is-never-to-be-expected-of-persons/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [There are all kinds of features that will become part of cell phones that will help us offload the more laborious things of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/there-are-all-kinds-of-features-that-will-become-part-of-cell-phones/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [“Common Core math standards seem unaware that children are not miniaturized adults, who are absolutely incapable of certain kinds of cognition. For example, genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/common-core-math-standards-seem-unaware-that-children-are-not/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [“The most dangerous thing about an academic education is that it enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract thinking instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-an-academic-education-is-that-it/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Thinking - in particular abstract thinking, which most of us are introduced to through the study of mathematics and literature - helps us learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/thinking-in-particular-abstract-thinking-which-most-of-us-are/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [I think, first and foremost ,Marie Antoinette was intellectually impoverished. She really had never been introduced to the notion of abstract thinking - of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/i-think-first-and-foremost-marie-antoinette-was-intellectually/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [“He wasn't normally conscious of it, but there was one part of his body that was extremely sensitive, somewhere along his back. This soft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/he-wasn-t-normally-conscious-of-it-but-there-was-one-part-of-his-body/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [One of the problems with watching TV is that you've got a fairly low level of language operating all the time. Quite a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/one-of-the-problems-with-watching-tv-is-that-you-ve-got-a-fairly-low/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Recounting the narrative of our personal story in a methodical and chronological manner helps us see our life in a historical perspective. Telling our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/recounting-the-narrative-of-our-personal-story-in-a-methodical-and/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [I began to realize that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis. Intuition is a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-began-to-realize-that-an-intuitive-understanding-and-consciousness-2/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“To become aware of what is constant in the flux of nature and life is the first step in abstract thinking. The recognition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hellmut-and-richard-welhelm/to-become-aware-of-what-is-constant-in-the-flux-of-nature-and-life-is/) Hellmut and Richard Welhelm [Browse all 25 Abstract thinking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-thinking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in sensuous detail, so that for him there is no really abstract thinking; men, he thinks, 'should be satisfied with the use of these days, seeing all things accounted by their showes, and nothing esteemed of, that is not delightfull and pleasing to commune sense' ( Prefatory Letter). But on the other hand the details of the physical universe become translucent from the pulsing light of varied human experience which is seen behind it. His 'haunt and the main region of (his) song' is the inner life of man and it is described in the symbolism of human figures clothed in raiment iridescent with innumerable associations. His art is a development of the mediaeval.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janet Spens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-is-steeped-in-sensuous-detail/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract thinking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-is-steeped-in-sensuous-detail/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/janet-spens-44231_abstract-thinking_thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-i_2988867.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in sensuous detail, so that for him there is no really…” — Janet Spens", "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": "Janet Spens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-spens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-is-steeped-in-sensuous-detail/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-spens/thus-on-the-one-hand-spenser-s-thought-is-steeped-in-sensuous-detail/#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 } } ] } ```