--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thinking in prose is different. I gained…" description: "\"Thinking in prose is different. I gained an immense amount of respect for people who write prose, and also felt even more sure that the thinking partic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/matthew-zapruder-12762_different_thinking-in-prose-is-different-i-gained_278209.png" --- # Thinking in prose is different. I gained an immense amount… ![“Thinking in prose is different. I gained an immense amount of respect for people who write prose, and also felt even more sure that the thinking particular to poetry is essential to my life. I need to think, to explore, to question, in poetry. Without that feeling, I am, in some ultimate way, lost.” quote by Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/matthew-zapruder-12762_different_thinking-in-prose-is-different-i-gained_278209.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/matthew-zapruder-12762_different_thinking-in-prose-is-different-i-gained_278209.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/matthew-zapruder-12762_different_thinking-in-prose-is-different-i-gained_278209.png) > “Thinking in prose is different. I gained an immense amount of respect for people who write prose, and also felt even more sure that the thinking particular to poetry is essential to my life. I need to think, to explore, to question, in poetry. Without that feeling, I am, in some ultimate way, lost.” [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prose and poetry demand distinct thinking; poetry provides essential questioning and exploration that prose alone may lack. **In simple terms:** Poetry fuels deep questioning; prose differs. Key Takeaway Embrace poetry for self‑discovery. Themes creativity self‑exploration literature Mood reflective inspired Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - academic study - creative retreats Key Concepts Poetic thinking critical inquiry Questions to Reflect On - How does poetry change your perception of everyday life? - What aspects of prose could benefit from poetic thinking? A Different Perspective Poetry may feel inaccessible to some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I suppose that's how it looks in prose. But it's very different if you look at it through poetry…and I think it's nicer…' Anne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-suppose-that-s-how-it-looks-in-prose-but-it-s-very-different-if-you/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [I suppose people might consider me a 'loose' reader, as I seem willing to read anything of quality thinking and prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-suppose-people-might-consider-me-a-loose-reader-as-i-seem-willing/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [A pop song is a condensed version of a life in three minutes, whereas, when you go to write your prose, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/a-pop-song-is-a-condensed-version-of-a-life-in-three-minutes-whereas/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I would say that when I write prose I'm a more socially responsible person. I'm much more a citizen of the world. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/i-would-say-that-when-i-write-prose-i-m-a-more-socially-responsible/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [The decision to write in prose instead of poetry is made more by the readers than by writers. Almost no one is interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/the-decision-to-write-in-prose-instead-of-poetry-is-made-more-by-the/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [In high school, in 1956, at the age of sixteen, we were not taught "creative writing." We were taught literature and grammar. So no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/in-high-school-in-1956-at-the-age-of-sixteen-we-were-not-taught/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The language of prose is very different than the language of cinema, so the movie has to successfully translate what was in the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-language-of-prose-is-very-different-than-the-language-of-cinema/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [And write what you love - dont feel pressured to write serious prose if what you like is to be funny. You're a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/and-write-what-you-love-dont-feel-pressured-to-write-serious-prose-if/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Why do you always write poetry? Why do you not write prose? Prose is so much more difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/why-do-you-always-write-poetry-why-do-you-not-write-prose-prose-is-so/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [My friends tell me that I am an intruder, that I don't really write when I attempt poetry. But those of my friends who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-friends-tell-me-that-i-am-an-intruder-that-i-don-t-really-write/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I first wanted to be a writer, I learned to write prose by reading poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/when-i-first-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i-learned-to-write-prose-by/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“If you must write prose or poems, the words you use should be your own. Don't plagiarize or take 'on loan'. There's always someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-must-write-prose-or-poems-the-words-you-use-should-be-your-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a background writing screenplays and teleplays. I've tried to write prose and fiction but never really completed anything I thought worthy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-imperioli/i-have-a-background-writing-screenplays-and-teleplays-i-ve-tried-to/) [Michael Imperioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-imperioli/) > [Habit is the best thing for you if you’re trying to write prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cheuse/habit-is-the-best-thing-for-you-if-you-re-trying-to-write-prose/) Alan Cheuse > [Because I write prose, when I sat down to write a comic, it feels like my brain's working differently. It actually feels like different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-mina/because-i-write-prose-when-i-sat-down-to-write-a-comic-it-feels-like/) [Denise Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-mina/) ## More by Matthew Zapruder > [It is funny, and also a bit sad, that poets are so often asked to justify our vocation. There seems to be something vaguely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/it-is-funny-and-also-a-bit-sad-that-poets-are-so-often-asked-to/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [The question does arise if how and why to write poetry in this time. It feels both completely essential and also quite difficult. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/the-question-does-arise-if-how-and-why-to-write-poetry-in-this-time/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [That name, SUN BEAR, just sounds like an ideogram to me. Super resonant. 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I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/somewhere-back-a-whiskey-or-so-ago-i-wrote-that-thinking-was-a-real/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [If freedom in the imagination is a privilege, it's one I believe everyone should have, as a basic human right. I also believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/if-freedom-in-the-imagination-is-a-privilege-it-s-one-i-believe/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [So for whatever reason those short lines just felt right to me, in my physical self. They were right for the movement of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/so-for-whatever-reason-those-short-lines-just-felt-right-to-me-in-my/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [I wanted to write not exclusively for (or against) poets or scholars, though many of them are people, too! But that was not my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/i-wanted-to-write-not-exclusively-for-or-against-poets-or-scholars/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [Reading a poem is a real thing, a worthy thing. 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