--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the sun shouts and people abound One…" description: "\"When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there were the ages of stone and the age of bronze And the iron age; iron the unstable metal; Steel ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg" --- # When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there… ![“When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there were the ages of stone and the age of bronze And the iron age; iron the unstable metal; Steel made of iron, unstable as his mother; the tow-ered-up cities Will be stains of rust on mounds of plaster. Roots will not pierce the heaps for a time…” quote by Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg) > “When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there were the ages of stone and the age of bronze And the iron age; iron the unstable metal; Steel made of iron, unstable as his mother; the tow-ered-up cities Will be stains of rust on mounds of plaster. Roots will not pierce the heaps for a time, kind rains will cure them, Then nothing will remain of the iron age And all these people but a thigh-bone or so, a poem Stuck in the world's thought, splinters of glass In the rubbish dumps, a concrete dam far off in the mountain...” [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) ## 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 the fleeting nature of human civilizations, likening their rise and fall to unstable metals that eventually rust and disappear, leaving only fragments in memory. **In simple terms:** Civilizations rise and fall, leaving only remnants. Key Takeaway Recognize impermanence and value the present. Themes impermanence civilization legacy environment history Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - urban decay - archaeology - environmental planning - historical reflection - artistic inspiration Key Concepts entropy mortality human hubris ecology Questions to Reflect On - What modern "iron age" are we building? - How can we preserve meaning amid decay? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex societal changes and ignore resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Bronze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-bronze-1958895/) [Age Iron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-iron-2006817/) [Bone Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bone-poem-2157634/) [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Bronze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronze/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Concrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concrete/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Dams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dams/) [Dump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dump/) [Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasses/) [Iron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron/) [Iron Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron-age-1577057/) [Iron Unstable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron-unstable-2157633/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Metals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metals/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pierce/) [Plasters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plasters/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Rubbish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubbish/) [Rust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rust/) [September](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/september/) [Splinters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinters/) [Stains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stains/) [Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Thighs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thighs/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tow/) [Unstable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unstable/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We have had the stone age; we have had the iron age; and now we have the sky age, and the sky telegraph, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/we-have-had-the-stone-age-we-have-had-the-iron-age-and-now-we-have/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [ “\[describing Aaron, hero's brother\] His hair was shorter and lighter, and his eyes were more green than blue. And even though he was tall,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/describing-aaron-hero-s-brother-his-hair-was-shorter-and-lighter-and/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [“For here now is the age of iron. Never by daytime will there be an end to hard work and pain, nor in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/for-here-now-is-the-age-of-iron-never-by-daytime-will-there-be-an-end/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Reader, pray that soon this Iron Age Will crumble, and Beauty escape the rusting cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/reader-pray-that-soon-this-iron-age-will-crumble-and-beauty-escape/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [“Religious moderates seem to believe that what we need is not radical insight and innovation in these areas but a mere dilution of Iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-moderates-seem-to-believe-that-what-we-need-is-not-radical/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Our ancestors have travelled the iron age; the golden is before us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-henri-bernardin-de-saint-pierre/our-ancestors-have-travelled-the-iron-age-the-golden-is-before-us/) [Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-henri-bernardin-de-saint-pierre/) > [Children hop around Phylakopi on sea-polished pebbles the size of bean bags and bask themselves, alongside the lizards, astride the sturdily built walls of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/children-hop-around-phylakopi-on-sea-polished-pebbles-the-size-of/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“Egypt was rich in copper ore, which, as the base of bronze, had been valuable through the entire Meditarranean world. By 1150 B.C., however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/egypt-was-rich-in-copper-ore-which-as-the-base-of-bronze-had-been/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [Beauty in this Iron Age must turn, From fluid living rainbow shapes to torn, And sootened fragments, ashes in an urn, On whose gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/beauty-in-this-iron-age-must-turn-from-fluid-living-rainbow-shapes-to/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [In a sense, my grandmother was living in the Iron Age. There was no system of writing among the nomads. Metal artifacts were rare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/in-a-sense-my-grandmother-was-living-in-the-iron-age-there-was-no/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [The past was still a Golden Age, of ignorance, while the present is an Iron Age of willful bliss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/the-past-was-still-a-golden-age-of-ignorance-while-the-present-is-an/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [We've had the Iron Age, the Stone Age, this is the pissin' about age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/we-ve-had-the-iron-age-the-stone-age-this-is-the-pissin-about-age/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Stone Age. Bronze Age. Iron Age. We define entire epics of humanity by the technology they use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/stone-age-bronze-age-iron-age-we-define-entire-epics-of-humanity-by/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [The tow pillars of democratic government are the primacy of the law and the budget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-tow-pillars-of-democratic-government-are-the-primacy-of-the-law/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > ['Botanicula' tells the story of a group of twigs, nuts, and leaves trying to escape with the life essence of a tree in tow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/botanicula-tells-the-story-of-a-group-of-twigs-nuts-and-leaves-trying/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) ## More by Robinson Jeffers > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity, heavily thickening to empire, I And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/while-this-america-settles-in-the-mould-of-its-vulgarity-heavily/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Happy people die whole, they are all dissolved in a moment, they have had what they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/happy-people-die-whole-they-are-all-dissolved-in-a-moment-they-have/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“The Atlantic is a stormy moat, and the Mediterranean, The blue pool in the old garden, More than five thousand years has drunk sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/the-atlantic-is-a-stormy-moat-and-the-mediterranean-the-blue-pool-in/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“The broken pillar of the wing jags from the clotted shoulder, The wing trails like a banner in defeat, No more to use the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/the-broken-pillar-of-the-wing-jags-from-the-clotted-shoulder-the-wing/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [As for me, I would rather be a worm in a wild apple than a son of man. But we are what we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/as-for-me-i-would-rather-be-a-worm-in-a-wild-apple-than-a-son-of-man/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Oh heavy change. The world deteriorates like a rotting apple, worms and a skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/oh-heavy-change-the-world-deteriorates-like-a-rotting-apple-worms-and/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Truly men hate the truth; they'd liefer meet a tiger on the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/truly-men-hate-the-truth-they-d-liefer-meet-a-tiger-on-the-road/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [I've changed my ways a little, I cannot now Run with you in the evenings along the shore, Except in a kind of dream,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/i-ve-changed-my-ways-a-little-i-cannot-now-run-with-you-in-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Why does insanity always twist the great answers? Because only tormented persons want truth. Man is an animal like other animals, wants food and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/why-does-insanity-always-twist-the-great-answers-because-only/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“One existence, one music, one organism, one life, one God: star-fire and rock-strength, the sea's cold flow And man's dark soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/one-existence-one-music-one-organism-one-life-one-god-star-fire-and/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [We might remember ... not to fear death; it is the only way to be cleansed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/we-might-remember-not-to-fear-death-it-is-the-only-way-to-be-cleansed/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Hear the music, the thunder of the wings. Love the wild swan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/hear-the-music-the-thunder-of-the-wings-love-the-wild-swan/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [If millions are born millions must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/if-millions-are-born-millions-must-die/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [That public men publish falsehoods Is nothing new. That America must accept Like the historical republics corruption and empire Has been known for years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/that-public-men-publish-falsehoods-is-nothing-new-that-america-must/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) [Explore all 79 Robinson Jeffers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there were the ages of stone and the age of bronze And the iron age; iron the unstable metal; Steel made of iron, unstable as his mother; the tow-ered-up cities Will be stains of rust on mounds of plaster. Roots will not pierce the heaps for a time, kind rains will cure them, Then nothing will remain of the iron age And all these people but a thigh-bone or so, a poem Stuck in the world's thought, splinters of glass In the rubbish dumps, a concrete dam far off in the mountain...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robinson Jeffers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-one-thinks-there-were-the-ages/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-one-thinks-there-were-the-ages/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/robinson-jeffers-8592_age_when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-on_1816263.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there were the ages of stone and the age of bronze And the…” — Robinson Jeffers", "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": "Robinson Jeffers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When the sun shouts and people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-one-thinks-there-were-the-ages/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/when-the-sun-shouts-and-people-abound-one-thinks-there-were-the-ages/#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 } } ] } ```