--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was raining in the quadrangle, and the…" description: "\"“It was raining in the quadrangle, and the quadrangular sky looked like a grimace of a robot or a god made in our own likeness. The oblique drops of ra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/roberto-bola-o-725_drinking-tea_it-was-raining-in-the-quadrangle-and-the_1483170.jpg" --- # It was raining in the quadrangle, and the quadrangular sky… ![“It was raining in the quadrangle, and the quadrangular sky looked like a grimace of a robot or a god made in our own likeness. The oblique drops of rain slid down the blades of grass in the park, but it would have made no difference if they had slid up. Then the oblique (drops) turned round…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/roberto-bola-o-725_drinking-tea_it-was-raining-in-the-quadrangle-and-the_1483170.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/roberto-bola-o-725_drinking-tea_it-was-raining-in-the-quadrangle-and-the_1483170.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/roberto-bola-o-725_drinking-tea_it-was-raining-in-the-quadrangle-and-the_1483170.jpg) > ““It was raining in the quadrangle, and the quadrangular sky looked like a grimace of a robot or a god made in our own likeness. The oblique drops of rain slid down the blades of grass in the park, but it would have made no difference if they had slid up. Then the oblique (drops) turned round (drops), swallowed up by the earth underpinning the grass, and the grass and the earth seemed to talk, no, not talk, argue, their comprehensible words like crystallized spiderwebs or the briefest crystallized vomitings, a barely audible rustling, as if instead of drinking tea that afternoon, Norton had drunk a steaming cup of peyote.”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rain transforms the landscape into a surreal, almost mechanical tableau, blurring reality and imagination, suggesting nature mirrors human absurdity. **In simple terms:** Rain creates a strange, robot‑like scene reflecting human oddity. Key Takeaway Observe how environment reflects inner states. Themes surrealism nature humanity Mood melancholic introspective Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - creative writing - visual arts - mindfulness practice Key Concepts philosophy literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does surreal imagery affect your perception of reality? - What emotions arise when nature feels artificial? A Different Perspective The vivid description may overwhelm rather than clarify meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drinking tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-tea/) [Drops Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drops-swallowed-5410545/) [Drops Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drops-turned-5410546/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Rain Slid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain-slid-5349683/) [Raining Quadrangle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raining-quadrangle-5410544/) [Swallowed Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed-earth-4147874/) ## Related quotes > [“Here in the forest lay sullen, soot-blackened stones that were the remains of ruined hearths; in abandoned cemeteries were dark headstones that had already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/here-in-the-forest-lay-sullen-soot-blackened-stones-that-were-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [Patch stood over me, and a drop of rain slid from his hair, landing like ice on my collarbone. I felt it slide along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/patch-stood-over-me-and-a-drop-of-rain-slid-from-his-hair-landing/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“Dad's office was actually one of the smaller rooms at Thorne. Inside was pretty nice,though. There was a cherrywood desk and ivory carpets, plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/dad-s-office-was-actually-one-of-the-smaller-rooms-at-thorne-inside/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [Does anybody think these people were just sitting around drinking tea?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/does-anybody-think-these-people-were-just-sitting-around-drinking-tea/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [“...when I closed my eyes and saw her drinking tea and opened them and still could see her, and I wanted so much to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/when-i-closed-my-eyes-and-saw-her-drinking-tea-and-opened-them-and/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“You’ve got to practice meditation when you walk, stand, lie down, sit, and work, while washing your hands, washing the dishes, sweeping the floor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/you-ve-got-to-practice-meditation-when-you-walk-stand-lie-down-sit/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“In Ireland, you go to someone's house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-murphy/in-ireland-you-go-to-someone-s-house-and-she-asks-you-if-you-want-a/) [C.E. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-murphy/) > [“They segued into a more general piece about AIDS. As usual, they started out with footage of some kind of sweaty nightclub in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/they-segued-into-a-more-general-piece-about-aids-as-usual-they/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [I spend my nights just sitting and reading a book and drinking my tea and walking my dog. That's about as exciting as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-spend-my-nights-just-sitting-and-reading-a-book-and-drinking-my-tea/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [“You’re breathing the same air as a bunch of pill-popping manic depressives, alcoholics, and schizophrenics. You’ve been drinking tea with a bunch of crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkland-ciccone/you-re-breathing-the-same-air-as-a-bunch-of-pill-popping-manic/) [Kirkland Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkland-ciccone/) > [“Closing my eyes, I find green mountains and pure water within my own heart. Silently sitting alone and drinking tea, I feel these become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soshitsu-sen-xv/closing-my-eyes-i-find-green-mountains-and-pure-water-within-my-own/) [Soshitsu Sen XV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soshitsu-sen-xv/) > [“With a few exceptions, conservative Christian political activists are as ineffective as White Russian exiles, drinking tea from samovars in their Paris drawing rooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/with-a-few-exceptions-conservative-christian-political-activists-are/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [Perhaps it is while drinking tea that I most of all enjoy the sense of leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/perhaps-it-is-while-drinking-tea-that-i-most-of-all-enjoy-the-sense/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [“Drinking tea with a pinch of imagination!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/50-ways-to-drink-tea/drinking-tea-with-a-pinch-of-imagination/) [50 Ways to Drink Tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/50-ways-to-drink-tea/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) ## More by Roberto Bolaño > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More Drinking tea quotes > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [“Drinking tea with a pinch of imagination!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/50-ways-to-drink-tea/drinking-tea-with-a-pinch-of-imagination/) [50 Ways to Drink Tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/50-ways-to-drink-tea/) > [Perhaps it is while drinking tea that I most of all enjoy the sense of leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/perhaps-it-is-while-drinking-tea-that-i-most-of-all-enjoy-the-sense/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [“With a few exceptions, conservative Christian political activists are as ineffective as White Russian exiles, drinking tea from samovars in their Paris drawing rooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/with-a-few-exceptions-conservative-christian-political-activists-are/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“Closing my eyes, I find green mountains and pure water within my own heart. Silently sitting alone and drinking tea, I feel these become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soshitsu-sen-xv/closing-my-eyes-i-find-green-mountains-and-pure-water-within-my-own/) [Soshitsu Sen XV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soshitsu-sen-xv/) > [“You’re breathing the same air as a bunch of pill-popping manic depressives, alcoholics, and schizophrenics. You’ve been drinking tea with a bunch of crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkland-ciccone/you-re-breathing-the-same-air-as-a-bunch-of-pill-popping-manic/) [Kirkland Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkland-ciccone/) > [I spend my nights just sitting and reading a book and drinking my tea and walking my dog. That's about as exciting as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-spend-my-nights-just-sitting-and-reading-a-book-and-drinking-my-tea/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [“They segued into a more general piece about AIDS. As usual, they started out with footage of some kind of sweaty nightclub in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/they-segued-into-a-more-general-piece-about-aids-as-usual-they/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“In Ireland, you go to someone's house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-murphy/in-ireland-you-go-to-someone-s-house-and-she-asks-you-if-you-want-a/) [C.E. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-murphy/) > [“You’ve got to practice meditation when you walk, stand, lie down, sit, and work, while washing your hands, washing the dishes, sweeping the floor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/you-ve-got-to-practice-meditation-when-you-walk-stand-lie-down-sit/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“...when I closed my eyes and saw her drinking tea and opened them and still could see her, and I wanted so much to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/when-i-closed-my-eyes-and-saw-her-drinking-tea-and-opened-them-and/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [Does anybody think these people were just sitting around drinking tea?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/does-anybody-think-these-people-were-just-sitting-around-drinking-tea/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [“Dad's office was actually one of the smaller rooms at Thorne. Inside was pretty nice,though. There was a cherrywood desk and ivory carpets, plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/dad-s-office-was-actually-one-of-the-smaller-rooms-at-thorne-inside/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [“Most problems could be diminished by the drinking of tea and the thinking through of things that could be done while tea was being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/most-problems-could-be-diminished-by-the-drinking-of-tea-and-the/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I didn't DJ at Liverpool's Ruby Sky nightclub but a couple of newspapers said how great my DJ set was, and how I've straightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-ryder/i-didn-t-dj-at-liverpool-s-ruby-sky-nightclub-but-a-couple-of/) [Shaun Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-ryder/) [Browse all 60 Drinking tea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-tea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was raining in the quadrangle, and the quadrangular sky looked like a grimace of a robot or a god made in our own likeness. The oblique drops of rain slid down the blades of grass in the park, but it would have made no difference if they had slid up. 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