--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not usually possible in a poem or a…" description: "\"It is not usually possible in a poem or a story to make the relationship between particular and universal fully explicit. Those who try to do so end up..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/john-berger-1590_ends_it-is-not-usually-possible-in-a-poem-or_670969.jpg" --- # It is not usually possible in a poem or a story to make… ![“It is not usually possible in a poem or a story to make the relationship between particular and universal fully explicit. Those who try to do so end up writing parables.” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/john-berger-1590_ends_it-is-not-usually-possible-in-a-poem-or_670969.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/john-berger-1590_ends_it-is-not-usually-possible-in-a-poem-or_670969.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/john-berger-1590_ends_it-is-not-usually-possible-in-a-poem-or_670969.jpg) > “It is not usually possible in a poem or a story to make the relationship between particular and universal fully explicit. Those who try to do so end up writing parables.” [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to fully articulate the link between specific details and universal truths often results in allegorical storytelling. **In simple terms:** Explicit links become allegories. Key Takeaway Use metaphor to convey universal ideas. Themes art literature philosophy Mood analytical creative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - teaching literature - creative writing - art criticism Key Concepts semiotics metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do metaphors shape understanding? - When is explicit detail preferable? A Different Perspective May limit literal interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Explicit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explicit/) [Parables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parables/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Particular Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-universal-1214973/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Relationship Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship-particular-1125956/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Parables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-parables-5327134/) ## Related quotes > [men are not born with a faculty for the universal and ... women are not reduced at birth to the particular. The universal has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-wittig/men-are-not-born-with-a-faculty-for-the-universal-and-women-are-not/) [Monique Wittig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-wittig/) > [The goodness of a thing created is the perfection of its fitness for the use which it serves. Now that use is either particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/the-goodness-of-a-thing-created-is-the-perfection-of-its-fitness-for/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [I think it's important for a relationship...mine in particular...that you have your own life before you have one together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lynn-sigler/i-think-it-s-important-for-a-relationship-mine-in-particular-that-you/) [Jamie Lynn Sigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lynn-sigler/) > [“What marriage offers - and what fidelity is meant to protect - is the possibility of moments when what we have chosen and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/what-marriage-offers-and-what-fidelity-is-meant-to-protect-is-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I don't know, think for that relationship in particular age doesn't really come into play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-don-t-know-think-for-that-relationship-in-particular-age-doesn-t/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [Sometimes, because of its immediacy, television produces a kind of electronic parable. Berlin, for instance, on the day the Wall was opened. Rostropovich was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/sometimes-because-of-its-immediacy-television-produces-a-kind-of/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Every isolated passion, is, in isolation, insane; sanity may be defined as synthesis of insanities. Every dominant passion generates a dominant fear, the fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/every-isolated-passion-is-in-isolation-insane-sanity-may-be-defined/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-thinks-much-says-but-little-in-proportion-to-his-thoughts-he/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [For me, one of the most disturbing elements of the right wing's political agenda is that it believes that there is one correct spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/for-me-one-of-the-most-disturbing-elements-of-the-right-wing-s/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [Wherever you're from, you adapt to your environment. It definitely made my music a little bit more explicit. Because I really was in North…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-uzi-vert/wherever-you-re-from-you-adapt-to-your-environment-it-definitely-made/) [Lil Uzi Vert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-uzi-vert/) > [It is just because civilization is ever evolving, changing, and becoming more complicated, that experts find it so difficult to define it in explicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-keith/it-is-just-because-civilization-is-ever-evolving-changing-and/) [Arthur Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-keith/) > [“EXPLICIT LIBER REGIS QUONDAM REGIS FUTURI THE BEGINNING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/explicit-liber-regis-quondam-regis-futuri-the-beginning/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [Frank and explicit - that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your own mind and confuse the minds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/frank-and-explicit-that-is-the-right-line-to-take-when-you-wish-to/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I am comfortable talking about sex scenes and stuff, but to me, when it's physically explicit, I do feel prudish and uncomfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-am-comfortable-talking-about-sex-scenes-and-stuff-but-to-me-when-it/) [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/) > [One of the difficulties of photography is that it is much better at being explicit than at being reticent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-difficulties-of-photography-is-that-it-is-much-better-at/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## More by John Berger > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Oil painting did to appearances what capital did to social relations. It reduced everything to the equality of objects. Everything became exchangeable because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/oil-painting-did-to-appearances-what-capital-did-to-social-relations/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We live in a dominant culture of ceaseless Departure and Progress that has so far lasted two or three centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-live-in-a-dominant-culture-of-ceaseless-departure-and-progress/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [My heart born naked was swaddled in lullabies. Later alone it wore poems for clothes. Like a shirt I carried on my back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/my-heart-born-naked-was-swaddled-in-lullabies-later-alone-it-wore/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [ There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other \[the one drawn\]. Picasso drawings are like that... the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/there-s-the-artist-s-intimacy-and-truthfulness-to-himself-but-an/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Traditional Chinese art looked at the Earth from a Confucian mountain top; Japanese art looked closely around screens; Italian Renaissance art surveyed conquered nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/traditional-chinese-art-looked-at-the-earth-from-a-confucian-mountain/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/never-again-shall-a-single-story-be-told-as-though-it-were-the-only/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [In drawing after drawing, pastel after pastel, painting after painting, the contours of Degas's dancing figures become, at a certain point, darkly insistent, tangled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/in-drawing-after-drawing-pastel-after-pastel-painting-after-painting/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-never-look-at-just-one-thing-we-are-always-looking-at-the-relation/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We can become anything. That is why injustice is impossible here. There may be the accident of birth, there is no accident of death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-can-become-anything-that-is-why-injustice-is-impossible-here-there/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Capitalism survives by forcing the majority, whom it exploits, to define their own interests as narrowly as possible. This was once achieved by extensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/capitalism-survives-by-forcing-the-majority-whom-it-exploits-to/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The camera relieves us of the burden of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-camera-relieves-us-of-the-burden-of-memory/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive it in a different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/today-we-see-the-art-of-the-past-as-nobody-saw-it-before-we-actually/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Explore all 214 John Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## More Ends quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. 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