--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The oldest principle of composition…" description: "\"The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything.\" — Richard Powers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg" --- # The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything. ![“The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything.” quote by Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg) > “The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything.” [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The fundamental rule of composition is to repeat elements, reinforcing structure and coherence. **In simple terms:** Repeat elements to create cohesive composition. Key Takeaway Use repetition for clarity. Themes composition structure repetition writing design Mood educational practical Type instructional analytical When to use this quote - advertising - music - visual art - technical documentation Key Concepts pattern recognition aesthetic theory communication principles Questions to Reflect On - When does repetition enhance versus hinder? - What balance works for your audience? A Different Perspective Over‑repetition can become monotonous or redundant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/) [Composition Repeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition-repeat-4000750/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Oldest Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oldest-principle-4000752/) [Principle Composition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle-composition-4000751/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Repeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeat/) [Repeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeats/) [Repetition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repetition/) ## Related quotes > [“Analyze and correct your past mistakes before they paralyze your future! An undiscovered error will always crave for repetition. Kick out errors; enjoy a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/analyze-and-correct-your-past-mistakes-before-they-paralyze-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [It is sometimes necessary to repeat what all know. All mapmakers should place the Mississippi in the same location and avoid originality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/it-is-sometimes-necessary-to-repeat-what-all-know-all-mapmakers/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If you repeat something, it can become pointless. Some things can repeat and be endlessly fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/if-you-repeat-something-it-can-become-pointless-some-things-can/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [When you repeat yourself so many times, even if you're speaking the truth, the repetition starts to feel false. Sometimes, you just feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-you-repeat-yourself-so-many-times-even-if-you-re-speaking-the/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [In the "Intervention" section of the book we go into that looping from a battery of positions (where healer and sufferer are blurred). I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/in-the-intervention-section-of-the-book-we-go-into-that-looping-from/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [“Try. Fail. Fall. Get up. Fail again. Learn something. Get up again. Try again. Fail again. Learn more. Get back up Again Again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/try-fail-fall-get-up-fail-again-learn-something-get-up-again-try/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“i propose a repetition. please repeat your proposition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joesph-gordon-levitt/i-propose-a-repetition-please-repeat-your-proposition/) [Joesph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joesph-gordon-levitt/) > [“Repeated elements encourage comparison of like objects and force our eye to follow from one element to the next, even when those elements only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-field/repeated-elements-encourage-comparison-of-like-objects-and-force-our/) [Joshua Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-field/) > [“You never want to see kids repeat your own mistakes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/you-never-want-to-see-kids-repeat-your-own-mistakes/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [That human existence should repeat itself, well and good, but that it should repeat itself like a hackneyed tune, or a record a drunkard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/that-human-existence-should-repeat-itself-well-and-good-but-that-it/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [“A lot of the situations that we put ourselves in are similar to a cat in a yard full of dogs. We rarely ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/a-lot-of-the-situations-that-we-put-ourselves-in-are-similar-to-a-cat/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Gertrude Stein, all courage and will, is a soldier of minimalism. Her work, unlike the resonating silences in the art of Samuel Beckett, embodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/gertrude-stein-all-courage-and-will-is-a-soldier-of-minimalism-her/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/when-subject-matter-is-forced-to-fit-into-preconceived-patterns-there/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I really like the idea of banality and repetition being used to generate the image, which are simple and unobstructed and not captivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-aitken/i-really-like-the-idea-of-banality-and-repetition-being-used-to/) [Doug Aitken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-aitken/) > [“Even though I know it's wrong, you turned my life into a country song and I keep playin' it, on repeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caisey-quinn/even-though-i-know-it-s-wrong-you-turned-my-life-into-a-country-song/) [Caisey Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caisey-quinn/) ## More by Richard Powers > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“It seemed to me that half of life’s problems would be solved if one of us had a vagina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/it-seemed-to-me-that-half-of-life-s-problems-would-be-solved-if-one/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Information may travel at light speed, but meaning spreads at the speed of dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/information-may-travel-at-light-speed-but-meaning-spreads-at-the/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/science-is-not-about-control-it-is-about-cultivating-a-perpetual/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [What we can do should never by itself determine what we choose to do, yet this is the way technology tends to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/what-we-can-do-should-never-by-itself-determine-what-we-choose-to-do/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I really like science because it seems to be that place where you get the big picture, everything connects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-really-like-science-because-it-seems-to-be-that-place-where-you-get/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [For me, university was just awful because it was closing one door after the other of all these candy shops of professional possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/for-me-university-was-just-awful-because-it-was-closing-one-door/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [We will live with racism for ever. But senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/we-will-live-with-racism-for-ever-but-senses-of-self-senses-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Reading is the last act of secular prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/reading-is-the-last-act-of-secular-prayer/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Time passes, as the novelist says. The single most useful trick of fiction for our repair and refreshment: the defeat of time. A century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/time-passes-as-the-novelist-says-the-single-most-useful-trick-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [A book is still atemporal. It is you, in silence, hearing voices in your head, unfolding at a time that has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/a-book-is-still-atemporal-it-is-you-in-silence-hearing-voices-in-your/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [My dream has always been to suspend myself in space when I write, and lying horizontal in bed is the closest to doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/my-dream-has-always-been-to-suspend-myself-in-space-when-i-write-and/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Je ne fais aucun mal en restant ici. I do no harm by remaining here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/je-ne-fais-aucun-mal-en-restant-ici-i-do-no-harm-by-remaining-here/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [The use of music is to remind us how short a time we have a body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-use-of-music-is-to-remind-us-how-short-a-time-we-have-a-body/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Explore all 84 Richard Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## More Composition 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/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/a-composition-is-always-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts-in-other-words/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Though I cannot claim to be a Christian in the sectarian sense, the example of Jesus suffering is a factor in the composition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/though-i-cannot-claim-to-be-a-christian-in-the-sectarian-sense-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I always look at money not as a motivating factor but as an element in the composition. You can't ignore it, but you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/i-always-look-at-money-not-as-a-motivating-factor-but-as-an-element/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Musical compositions, it should be remembered, do not inhabit certain countries, certain museums, like paintings and statues. The Mozart Quintet is not shut up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-rabaud/musical-compositions-it-should-be-remembered-do-not-inhabit-certain/) [Henri Rabaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-rabaud/) > [Science does not enter a chaotic society to put order into it anymore, to simplify its composition, and to put an end to controversies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/science-does-not-enter-a-chaotic-society-to-put-order-into-it-anymore/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If you really want to be a good archaeologist, you have to understand ancient DNA; you have to understand chemical analysis to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/if-you-really-want-to-be-a-good-archaeologist-you-have-to-understand/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) > [Oil companies are radical because they're willing to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/oil-companies-are-radical-because-they-re-willing-to-alter-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Composition is definitely what I'm born to do, and it came last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-friedman/composition-is-definitely-what-i-m-born-to-do-and-it-came-last/) [David Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-friedman/) [Browse all 766 Composition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Powers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repeat-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repeat-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/richard-powers-8111_composition_the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repe_2882269.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything.” — Richard Powers", "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": "Richard Powers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The oldest principle of composition: repeat...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repeat-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-oldest-principle-of-composition-repeat-everything/#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 } } ] } ```