--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one…" description: "\"Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or up-rooting, which pulls the word from the language: the other of gravity, which makes it retu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg" --- # Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or… ![“Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or up-rooting, which pulls the word from the language: the other of gravity, which makes it return. The poem is an original and unique creation, but it is also reading and recitation: participation. The poet creates it; the people, by…” quote by Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg) > “Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or up-rooting, which pulls the word from the language: the other of gravity, which makes it return. The poem is an original and unique creation, but it is also reading and recitation: participation. The poet creates it; the people, by recitation, re-create it. Poet and reader are two moments of a single reality.” [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 explores dual forces: elevation that lifts language and gravity that grounds it, showing how creation and recitation intertwine, making poet and reader parts of one reality. **In simple terms:** Poetry balances uplifting and grounding forces, uniting creator and audience. Key Takeaway Engage with both creation and reception of art. Themes art duality participation Mood reflective inspirational Type analysis interpretation When to use this quote - literature classes - poetry readings - creative workshops - community art projects Key Concepts creation recitation collective experience Questions to Reflect On - How does your reading alter the poem’s meaning? - Can you feel the tension between elevation and gravity? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one force can limit depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Create Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-poet-2108868/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Elevation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elevation/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Opposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposing/) [Originals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originals/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [Participation Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation-poet-4092803/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poem Elevation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-elevation-4092802/) [Poem Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-original-3673852/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Recitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recitation/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Return Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-poem-4092804/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) ## Related quotes > [“I wanted to say, with as much sarcasm as I could put into my voice, "Sir, your poem is both original and interesting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helon-habila/i-wanted-to-say-with-as-much-sarcasm-as-i-could-put-into-my-voice-sir/) [Helon Habila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helon-habila/) > [Man is made to create, from the poet to the potter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/man-is-made-to-create-from-the-poet-to-the-potter/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“I am a writer because I write, an author because I create, a poet because the words are in my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-d-gray/i-am-a-writer-because-i-write-an-author-because-i-create-a-poet/) [Wesley D. Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-d-gray/) > [We are shut up in school and college recitation rooms for ten to fifteen years, and come out at last with a bellyful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-shut-up-in-school-and-college-recitation-rooms-for-ten-to/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“No matter how you are taught by your teacher about how to recite a poem, it is impossible to wear your teacher's smiling face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/no-matter-how-you-are-taught-by-your-teacher-about-how-to-recite-a/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The function of Theology? The recitation of the incomprehensible by the unspeakable to pick the pockets of the unthinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-function-of-theology-the-recitation-of-the-incomprehensible-by/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [There is no surer means of calling down God's blessing upon the family than the daily recitation of the Rosary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/there-is-no-surer-means-of-calling-down-god-s-blessing-upon-the/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [Ageing destroys youth, sickness destroys health, degeneration of life destroys all excellent qualities and death destroys life. Even if you are a great runner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/ageing-destroys-youth-sickness-destroys-health-degeneration-of-life/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Have you not often met poor old women who are most faithful to the pious recitation of the Rosary? You also must do all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/columba-marmion/have-you-not-often-met-poor-old-women-who-are-most-faithful-to-the/) [Columba Marmion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/columba-marmion/) > [I've translated two of Bae's novels, A Greater Music and Recitation, which are coming from Open Letter and Deep Vellum in October and January…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/i-ve-translated-two-of-bae-s-novels-a-greater-music-and-recitation/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [Palestinian society is filled with poetry, but not experimental poetry. The Palestinian poetry that people know is not the modernist experimentations, it's certain kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/palestinian-society-is-filled-with-poetry-but-not-experimental-poetry/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [With this recitation of paraphernalia and detritus, O'Brien manages to encapsulate the experience of an army and of a particular war, of a mined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/with-this-recitation-of-paraphernalia-and-detritus-o-brien-manages-to/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [But the gravest difficulty, and perhaps the most important, in poetry meant solely for recitation, is the difficulty of achieving verbal beauty, or rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/but-the-gravest-difficulty-and-perhaps-the-most-important-in-poetry/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [The status quo was rote memorization and recitation in classrooms thronged with passive children who were sternly disciplined when they expressed individual needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/the-status-quo-was-rote-memorization-and-recitation-in-classrooms/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Comedy is grievances. It's a recitation of grievances - whether they're inconsequential, superficial - like "my wife shops too much", or "kids today", all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/comedy-is-grievances-it-s-a-recitation-of-grievances-whether-they-re/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or up-rooting, which pulls the word from the language: the other of gravity, which makes it return. The poem is an original and unique creation, but it is also reading and recitation: participation. The poet creates it; the people, by recitation, re-create it. Poet and reader are two moments of a single reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Octavio Paz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one-of-elevation-or-up-rooting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one-of-elevation-or-up-rooting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/octavio-paz-1790_art_two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one_2895936.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or up-rooting, which pulls the word from the…” — 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": "Two opposing forces inhabit the poem:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one-of-elevation-or-up-rooting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-opposing-forces-inhabit-the-poem-one-of-elevation-or-up-rooting/#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 } } ] } ```