--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Using…" description: "\"“He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Fru..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f8/patrick-rothfuss-145_language_he-laid-a-hand-on-my-shoulder-using-word_1172463.jpg" --- # He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Using words to talk of… ![“He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Frustrating.” He lifted his hands high above his head as if stretching for the sky. “But there are other ways to understanding!” he shouted, laughing…” quote by Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f8/patrick-rothfuss-145_language_he-laid-a-hand-on-my-shoulder-using-word_1172463.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f8/patrick-rothfuss-145_language_he-laid-a-hand-on-my-shoulder-using-word_1172463.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f8/patrick-rothfuss-145_language_he-laid-a-hand-on-my-shoulder-using-word_1172463.jpg) > ““He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Frustrating.” He lifted his hands high above his head as if stretching for the sky. “But there are other ways to understanding!” he shouted, laughing like a child. He threw both arms to the cloudless arch of sky above us, still laughing. “Look!” he shouted tilting his head back. “Blue! Blue! Blue!”” [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## 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 describe language with language is paradoxical and confusing, prompting a shift to non‑verbal expression. **In simple terms:** Talking about words with words is impossible; use other ways. Key Takeaway Explore non‑verbal communication. Themes communication creativity language Mood playful inquisitive Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - artistic performance - personal growth - creative brainstorming Key Concepts metaphor self‑reference expression Questions to Reflect On - How can we convey meaning without words? - What role does humor play in learning? A Different Perspective Non‑verbal methods may be misunderstood or limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Lifted Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifted-hands-2324741/) [Shouted Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shouted-laughing-3404191/) [Shouted Tilting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shouted-tilting-3404190/) [Understanding Shouted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-shouted-3404189/) [Using words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-words/) ## Related quotes > [“The truck went on its way in the night and Gedaleh shouted, laughing, "If not this way, how? And if not now, when?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/the-truck-went-on-its-way-in-the-night-and-gedaleh-shouted-laughing/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. 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I'm human, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-w-frank/touch-me-he-instructed-as-he-lifted-her-hands-and-placed-them-on-his/) [S.W. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-w-frank/) > [We have rapidly increasing technology, which is making life very good for people who are good at using words, and not so good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/we-have-rapidly-increasing-technology-which-is-making-life-very-good/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [So you want another story?" Uhh... no. We would like to know what really happened." Doesn't the telling of something always become a story?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/so-you-want-another-story-uhh-no-we-would-like-to-know-what-really/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [A way of using words to say things which could not possibly be said in any other way, things which in a sense do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-way-of-using-words-to-say-things-which-could-not-possibly-be-said/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes a memory is a thing that can't be explained using words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/sometimes-a-memory-is-a-thing-that-can-t-be-explained-using-words/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) ## More by Patrick Rothfuss > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. 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(paraphrased)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/the-point-isn-t-to-win-the-game-the-point-is-to-play-a-beautiful-game/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I was nervous about writing Slow Regard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-nervous-about-writing-slow-regard/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I am no poet. I do not love words for the sake of words. I love words for what they can accomplish. Similarly, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-am-no-poet-i-do-not-love-words-for-the-sake-of-words-i-love-words/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“There is something deeply satisfying in shaping something with your hands. Proper artificing is like a song made solid. It is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-is-something-deeply-satisfying-in-shaping-something-with-your/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [He had a bright, reckless tenor that was always wandering off, looking for notes in the wrong places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/he-had-a-bright-reckless-tenor-that-was-always-wandering-off-looking/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I smiled,"Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes she'll find it strong as iron-bound brass, or gold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-smiled-deoch-my-heart-is-made-of-stronger-stuff-than-glass-when-she/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I have a blog where I keep in touch with my fans. I write about things that are important to me. 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How terrible to live surrounded by the stark, sharp, hollowness of things that simply were enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/but-how-awful-would-that-be-how-terrible-to-live-surrounded-by-the/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [ Here's the thing: Authors live or die by recommendations. \[That's one of the reason I review so many books on Goodreads.\] Giving books you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/here-s-the-thing-authors-live-or-die-by-recommendations-that-s-one-of/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I was pretty poor for a long time. Not \*poor\* poor. But college student poor. I lived for most of my adult life living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-pretty-poor-for-a-long-time-not-poor-poor-but-college-student/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) [Explore all 895 Patrick Rothfuss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. 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Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. 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