--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human life was rarely shapely, only…" description: "\"“Human life was rarely shapely, only intermittently meaningful, its clumsiness the inevitable consequence of the victory of content over form, of what ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg" --- # Human life was rarely shapely, only intermittently… ![“Human life was rarely shapely, only intermittently meaningful, its clumsiness the inevitable consequence of the victory of content over form, of what and when over how and why.” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg) > ““Human life was rarely shapely, only intermittently meaningful, its clumsiness the inevitable consequence of the victory of content over form, of what and when over how and why.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human existence is imperfect, shaped by content over form, making meaning intermittent and clumsy. **In simple terms:** Life is imperfect, content wins over form. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfection and content. Themes imperfection meaning content vs form existentialism Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - daily life - art creation - personal growth - education Key Concepts philosophical inquiry literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning? - What role does form play? A Different Perspective May lead to nihilism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clumsiness Inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clumsiness-inevitable-4734541/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Intermittently Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intermittently-meaningful-4734542/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Rarely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-rarely-591442/) [Meaningful Clumsiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful-clumsiness-4734540/) [Rarely Shapely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rarely-shapely-4734543/) ## Related quotes > [Life is rarely perfect, but its always pretty darn good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/life-is-rarely-perfect-but-its-always-pretty-darn-good/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Life is rarely about what happened; it's mostly about what we think happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/life-is-rarely-about-what-happened-it-s-mostly-about-what-we-think/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“Life rarely develops as we expect. People surprise us, sometimes in unpleasant ways. They don’t always react as we hope they will or want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-aguirre/life-rarely-develops-as-we-expect-people-surprise-us-sometimes-in/) [A.A. Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-aguirre/) > [“Life is rarely about what you think--it's almost always about what you feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-rowe/life-is-rarely-about-what-you-think-it-s-almost-always-about-what-you/) [Lauren Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-rowe/) > [“That's the problem with life. It rarely gives you neat decisions wrapped up in shiny paper with a bow on top. Most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-vigui/that-s-the-problem-with-life-it-rarely-gives-you-neat-decisions/) [Debbie Viguié](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-vigui/) > [“Life very rarely ever works out perfectly. We have to accept the people we love, flaws and all, and be thankful we got them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-schulte/life-very-rarely-ever-works-out-perfectly-we-have-to-accept-the/) [Liz Schulte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-schulte/) > [“The problem with being young and in a singular place is that one assumes that one will inevitably find oneself in an equally foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/the-problem-with-being-young-and-in-a-singular-place-is-that-one/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“Life rarely works out the way you imagine...It plots when you're not looking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athena/life-rarely-works-out-the-way-you-imagine-it-plots-when-you-re-not/) [Athena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athena/) > [I am a total loser, in every aspect of my life. I rarely go out. I have a great family and we spend all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-hannity/i-am-a-total-loser-in-every-aspect-of-my-life-i-rarely-go-out-i-have/) [Sean Hannity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-hannity/) > [My dear, life rarely gives us what we want at the moment we consider appropriate. Adventures do occur, but not punctually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-ashcroft/my-dear-life-rarely-gives-us-what-we-want-at-the-moment-we-consider/) [Peggy Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-ashcroft/) > [Life is rarely easy, but, with Christ our King, it is always good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/life-is-rarely-easy-but-with-christ-our-king-it-is-always-good/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [“Life as it should be rarely is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gazala/life-as-it-should-be-rarely-is/) [Richard Gazala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gazala/) > [“If you have ever opened a can of worms, boxed yourself into a corner, ended up in hot water, or found yourself in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryrose-wood/if-you-have-ever-opened-a-can-of-worms-boxed-yourself-into-a-corner/) [Maryrose Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryrose-wood/) > [“life rarely finds its exact likeness in a novel, that is hardly fiction’s purpose,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kitamura/life-rarely-finds-its-exact-likeness-in-a-novel-that-is-hardly/) [Katie Kitamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kitamura/) > [Love is such that God grants us one person who we can spend the rest of our life with. It rarely happens that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranbir-kapoor/love-is-such-that-god-grants-us-one-person-who-we-can-spend-the-rest/) [Ranbir Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranbir-kapoor/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Human life was rarely shapely, only intermittently meaningful, its clumsiness the inevitable consequence of the victory of content over form, of what and when over how and why.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salman Rushdie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-intermittently-meaningful-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-intermittently-meaningful-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/salman-rushdie-153_happiness_human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-inter_2184679.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human life was rarely shapely, only intermittently meaningful, its clumsiness the inevitable consequence of…” — Salman Rushdie", "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": "Salman Rushdie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Human life was rarely shapely, only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-intermittently-meaningful-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/human-life-was-rarely-shapely-only-intermittently-meaningful-its/#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 } } ] } ```