--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was only one huge world with no…" description: "\"“There was only one huge world with no back to it A world like a sun One day it broke into tiny pieces They were the words of the language we now speak..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg" --- # There was only one huge world with no back to it A world… ![“There was only one huge world with no back to it A world like a sun One day it broke into tiny pieces They were the words of the language we now speak Pieces that will never come together Broken mirrors where the world sees itself shatterered” quote by Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg) > ““There was only one huge world with no back to it A world like a sun One day it broke into tiny pieces They were the words of the language we now speak Pieces that will never come together Broken mirrors where the world sees itself shatterered”” [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## 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 reflects on fragmentation of language and perception, suggesting that meaning is shattered like broken mirrors, preventing a unified view of reality. **In simple terms:** Language and perception are fragmented, preventing a whole view. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of language and seek multiple perspectives. Themes fragmentation perception language reality Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - translation work - cross‑cultural communication - art criticism Key Concepts postmodernism semiotics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape your view of the world? - Can fragmented perspectives be reconciled? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overemphasize disunity, ignoring moments of shared understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-mirror/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [Bad luck isn't brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/bad-luck-isn-t-brought-by-broken-mirrors-but-by-broken-minds/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [“Broken vows are like broken mirrors. They leave those who held to them bleeding and staring at fractured images of themselves. (pg. 161)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/broken-vows-are-like-broken-mirrors-they-leave-those-who-held-to-them-2/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [No broken mirrors, I can't see myself broke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/no-broken-mirrors-i-can-t-see-myself-broke/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [Broken vows are like broken mirrors. They leave those who held to them bleeding and staring at fractured images of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/broken-vows-are-like-broken-mirrors-they-leave-those-who-held-to-them/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [We are our memory, we are that chimerical museum of shifting shapes, that pile of broken mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/we-are-our-memory-we-are-that-chimerical-museum-of-shifting-shapes/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Broken mirrors can become one of the most beautiful mosaics on ceilings and walls. Broken to become beautiful! God can repair and restore our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/broken-mirrors-can-become-one-of-the-most-beautiful-mosaics-on/) Pacifiersucker > [“Pain had a way of breaking time down. I thought about the next minute, the next hour. There wasn't enough space in my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/pain-had-a-way-of-breaking-time-down-i-thought-about-the-next-minute/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Language, at least, may give up the secrets of life and death, leading us through the maze to the original Word as monster or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/language-at-least-may-give-up-the-secrets-of-life-and-death-leading/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [They can romanticize us so, mirrors, and that is their secret: what a subtle torture it would be to destroy all the mirrors in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/they-can-romanticize-us-so-mirrors-and-that-is-their-secret-what-a/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“If you look at it the other way round, that's the only reason why this world is inside of me. Maybe it's a paradox,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-look-at-it-the-other-way-round-that-s-the-only-reason-why-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I used to live in a room full of mirrors; all I could see was me. I take my spirit and I crash my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/i-used-to-live-in-a-room-full-of-mirrors-all-i-could-see-was-me-i/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [Well, Smoke n' Mirrors has very much a world music flavor and it doesn't park itself in one country. It borrows heavily from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ritenour/well-smoke-n-mirrors-has-very-much-a-world-music-flavor-and-it-doesn-2/) [Lee Ritenour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ritenour/) > [There comes a point in your life when you realize how quickly time goes by, and how quickly it has gone. Then it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/there-comes-a-point-in-your-life-when-you-realize-how-quickly-time/) [Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/) > [“What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and thry recede on the plain til you see their specks dispersing? - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/what-is-that-feeling-when-you-re-driving-away-from-people-and-thry/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [To be able to make a minute difference in this huge world is a big thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/to-be-able-to-make-a-minute-difference-in-this-huge-world-is-a-big/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) ## More by Octavio Paz > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I thought that the world was a vast system of signs, a conversation between giant beings. My actions, the cricket's saw, the star's blink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-thought-that-the-world-was-a-vast-system-of-signs-a-conversation/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Changes are inseparable from democracy. To defend democracy is to defend the possibility of change; in turn, changes alone can strengthen democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/changes-are-inseparable-from-democracy-to-defend-democracy-is-to/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Grace is gratuitous; it is a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/grace-is-gratuitous-it-is-a-gift/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Death is the mother of forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/death-is-the-mother-of-forms/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [It is not proper to project our feelings onto things or to attribute our own sensations and passions to them. Can it also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/it-is-not-proper-to-project-our-feelings-onto-things-or-to-attribute/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Without democracy freedom is a chimera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/without-democracy-freedom-is-a-chimera/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“I went to the little window and inhaled the country air. One could hear the breathing of the night, feminine, enormous. ("The Blue Bouquet")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-went-to-the-little-window-and-inhaled-the-country-air-one-could/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cloth. Their beauty is inseparable from their function. Handicrafts belong to a world existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/a-glass-pitcher-a-wicker-basket-a-tunic-of-coarse-cloth-their-beauty/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Between going and staying the day wavers, in love with its own transparency. The circular afternoon is now a bay where the world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/between-going-and-staying-the-day-wavers-in-love-with-its-own/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Two bodies face to face Are at times two waves And the night is an ocean. Two bodies face to face Are sometimes two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-bodies-face-to-face-are-at-times-two-waves-and-the-night-is-an/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/writers-you-know-are-the-beggars-of-western-society/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/solitude-is-the-profoundest-fact-of-the-human-condition/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“...you are you and your body of steam, you and your face of night, you and your hair, unhurried lightning, you cross the street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/you-are-you-and-your-body-of-steam-you-and-your-face-of-night-you-and/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) [Explore all 150 Octavio Paz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## More Broken mirror quotes > [Bad luck isn't brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/bad-luck-isn-t-brought-by-broken-mirrors-but-by-broken-minds/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [A break-up is like a broken mirror, its better to leave it broken that hurt yourself trying to fix it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney/a-break-up-is-like-a-broken-mirror-its-better-to-leave-it-broken-that/) [Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney/) > [A locked door, a rusty razor, a towel stained with red. A folded note, a broken mirror, and a young girl lays there dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-locked-door-a-rusty-razor-a-towel-stained-with-red-a-folded-note-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A broken mirror in your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hawthorne-heights/a-broken-mirror-in-your-life/) [Hawthorne Heights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hawthorne-heights/) > [Breakup is like a broken mirror, it's better to leave it broken, than hurt yourself trying to fix it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/breakup-is-like-a-broken-mirror-it-s-better-to-leave-it-broken-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A broken mirror a bleeding fist a silver blade against a wrist tears falling down to lips un-kissed, she's not the kind you'll come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-broken-mirror-a-bleeding-fist-a-silver-blade-against-a-wrist-tears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even though I try to be a good girl, it's no use. I can see the shattering memories around me. They were never there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-though-i-try-to-be-a-good-girl-it-s-no-use-i-can-see-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trust is like a broken mirror, you can put it back together, but you can still see all the cracks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-palmer/trust-is-like-a-broken-mirror-you-can-put-it-back-together-but-you/) Kyle Palmer > [A break up is like a broken mirror. It is better to leave it broken than to hurt yourself trying to put it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-break-up-is-like-a-broken-mirror-it-is-better-to-leave-it-broken/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A break up is like a broken mirror. It is better to leave it broken than hurt yourself trying to fix it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-break-up-is-like-a-broken-mirror-it-is-better-to-leave-it-broken-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the edges of the steel blade as Iron glamour flared around her, a maelstrom of deadly power. I saw her lips move, a name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/the-edges-of-the-steel-blade-as-iron-glamour-flared-around-her-a/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [A break up is like broken mirror. It is better to leave it broken than hurt yourself to fix it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-break-up-is-like-broken-mirror-it-is-better-to-leave-it-broken-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the talcum on the floor around him he could see the imprints of his mother's feet. She had moved from side to side,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard-3/in-the-talcum-on-the-floor-around-him-he-could-see-the-imprints-of/) J G Ballard > [“It's funny. Looking back, none of it seems to matter now, those moments of yearning, craving to belong with people I thought mattered. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harris/it-s-funny-looking-back-none-of-it-seems-to-matter-now-those-moments/) [Rebecca Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harris/) > [A broken mirror A bleeding fist Wishing it didnt have to come down to this](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-broken-mirror-a-bleeding-fist-wishing-it-didnt-have-to-come-down-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 57 Broken mirror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-mirror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was only one huge world with no back to it A world like a sun One day it broke into tiny pieces They were the words of the language we now speak Pieces that will never come together Broken mirrors where the world sees itself shatterered”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Octavio Paz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-back-to-it-a-world-like-a-sun/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broken mirror" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-back-to-it-a-world-like-a-sun/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/octavio-paz-1790_broken-mirror_there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-ba_222905.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was only one huge world with no back to it A world like a sun One day it broke into tiny pieces They…” — Octavio Paz", "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": "Octavio Paz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There was only one huge world...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-back-to-it-a-world-like-a-sun/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/there-was-only-one-huge-world-with-no-back-to-it-a-world-like-a-sun/#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 } } ] } ```