--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have frequently noticed in myself a…" description: "\"I have frequently noticed in myself a tendency to a diffuse style; a disposition to push my metaphors too far, employing a multitude of words to height..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg" --- # I have frequently noticed in myself a tendency to a… ![“I have frequently noticed in myself a tendency to a diffuse style; a disposition to push my metaphors too far, employing a multitude of words to heighten the patness of the image, and so making of it a conceit rather than a metaphor, a fault copiously illustrated in the poetry of Cowley, Waller…” quote by Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg) > “I have frequently noticed in myself a tendency to a diffuse style; a disposition to push my metaphors too far, employing a multitude of words to heighten the patness of the image, and so making of it a conceit rather than a metaphor, a fault copiously illustrated in the poetry of Cowley, Waller, Donne, and others of that ilk.” [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes his tendency to over‑extend metaphors, turning them into conceits. **In simple terms:** He over‑uses metaphors, making them conceits. Key Takeaway Simplify poetic language. Themes writing poetry style Mood critical introspective Type analytical educational When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - editing - literary analysis Key Concepts metaphor conceit literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - When does a metaphor become a conceit? - How to balance richness and clarity? A Different Perspective Complex language can obscure meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/donne/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [And as we leave Donne and Walton on the shores of Metahemeralism, we wave a fond farewell to those famous chums of yore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-as-we-leave-donne-and-walton-on-the-shores-of-metahemeralism-we/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Dr Donne's verses are like the peace of God; they pass all understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-james-i/dr-donne-s-verses-are-like-the-peace-of-god-they-pass-all/) [King James I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-james-i/) > [I was clever enough to know that John Donne was offering something that was awfully enjoyable. I just wasn't clever enough to actually enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-was-clever-enough-to-know-that-john-donne-was-offering-something/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Heaven deprives me of a wife who never caused me any other grief than that of her death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-xiv/heaven-deprives-me-of-a-wife-who-never-caused-me-any-other-grief-than/) [Louis XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-xiv/) > [“Loin de parler quand on me paie, et de me taire quand on me donne rien.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/loin-de-parler-quand-on-me-paie-et-de-me-taire-quand-on-me-donne-rien/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“Operation of love with metaphysical rays Done by Donne with less traditional ways Couplet by Mk Bhutta”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecturer-m-k-bhutta-poet/operation-of-love-with-metaphysical-rays-done-by-donne-with-less/) [Lecturer M K Bhutta Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecturer-m-k-bhutta-poet/) > [“A human being without the proper empathy or feeling is the same as an android built so as to lack it, either by design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-human-being-without-the-proper-empathy-or-feeling-is-the-same-as-an/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I didn't want to be the archetypal sponging brother-in-law, so I didn't go into acting when I got to the States. I thought, 'No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mahoney/i-didn-t-want-to-be-the-archetypal-sponging-brother-in-law-so-i-didn/) [John Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mahoney/) > [Gascoigne, Ben Jonson, Greville, Raleigh, Donne, Poets who wrote great poems, one by one, And spaced by many years, each line an act Through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvor-winters/gascoigne-ben-jonson-greville-raleigh-donne-poets-who-wrote-great/) [Yvor Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvor-winters/) > [“L'homme prend et rejette; la femme se donne, et on ne reprend pas, ou on reprend mal, ce qu'on a une fois donné”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/l-homme-prend-et-rejette-la-femme-se-donne-et-on-ne-reprend-pas-ou-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sad fact is that I love Dickens and Donne and Keats and Eliot and Forster and Conrad and Fitzgerald and Kafka and Wilde…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-sad-fact-is-that-i-love-dickens-and-donne-and-keats-and-eliot-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A man, engaged in his simple reflections in everyday life, will comprehend neither the possibility, nor the benefits of self-sacrifice, but, when given ("qu'on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/a-man-engaged-in-his-simple-reflections-in-everyday-life-will/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [All problems have to be solved eventually by ONESELF, and that's where all your lovely John Donne stuff turns out to be a load…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-williams/all-problems-have-to-be-solved-eventually-by-oneself-and-that-s-where/) [Kenneth Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-williams/) > [Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631 He was the Word that spake it; He took the bread and brake it; And what that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/commemoration-of-john-donne-priest-poet-1631-he-was-the-word-that/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) ## More by Sidney Lanier > [Out of the hills of Habersham, Down the valleys of Hall, I hurry amain to reach the plain; Run the rapid and leap the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/out-of-the-hills-of-habersham-down-the-valleys-of-hall-i-hurry-amain/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [Look out, Death: I am coming.-Art thou not glad? what talks we'll have.-What memories of old battles.-Come, bring the bowl, Death; I am thirsty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/look-out-death-i-am-coming-art-thou-not-glad-what-talks-we-ll-have/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh-hen flies, In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the marsh and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/i-will-fly-in-the-greatness-of-god-as-the-marsh-hen-flies-in-the/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [Music means harmony, harmony means love. Love means God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/music-means-harmony-harmony-means-love-love-means-god/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [But Thee, but Thee, O sovereign Seer of time, But Thee, O poets' Poet, Wisdom's Tongue, But Thee, O man's best Man, O love's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/but-thee-but-thee-o-sovereign-seer-of-time-but-thee-o-poets-poet/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [If you want to be found stand where the seeker seeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/if-you-want-to-be-found-stand-where-the-seeker-seeks/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [Well: Love and Pain Be kinfolks twain; Yet would, Oh would I could Love again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/well-love-and-pain-be-kinfolks-twain-yet-would-oh-would-i-could-love/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [If a man made himself an expert in any particular branch of human activity, there would result the strong tendency that a peculiar aptitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/if-a-man-made-himself-an-expert-in-any-particular-branch-of-human/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [O Trade, O Trade! Would thou wert dead!The time needs heart - 'tis tired of head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/o-trade-o-trade-would-thou-wert-dead-the-time-needs-heart-tis-tired/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [But I cannot bring myself to believe that I was intended for a musician, because it seems so small a business in comparison with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/but-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-believe-that-i-was-intended-for-a/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [The sun is a-wait at the ponderous gate of the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/the-sun-is-a-wait-at-the-ponderous-gate-of-the-west/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [Leap through the Mystery of death as the circus-rider leaps through the papered hoop ... find Life ambling along beneath us on the Other Side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/leap-through-the-mystery-of-death-as-the-circus-rider-leaps-through/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [As the woodpecker taps in a spiral quest From the root to the top of the tree, Then flies to another tree, So have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/as-the-woodpecker-taps-in-a-spiral-quest-from-the-root-to-the-top-of/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [Into the woods, my Master went, Clean forspent, forspent, Into the woods my Master came, Forspent with love and shame. But the olives they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/into-the-woods-my-master-went-clean-forspent-forspent-into-the-woods/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [When I hear music, it seems to me that all the sins of my life pass slowly by me with veiled faces, lay their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/when-i-hear-music-it-seems-to-me-that-all-the-sins-of-my-life-pass/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) [Explore all 30 Sidney Lanier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) ## More Conceit quotes > [“A session of boasting won't attract any real friends.  It will set you up on a pedestal, however, making you a clearer target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-session-of-boasting-won-t-attract-any-real-friends-it-will-set-you/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Conceit is a sure sign of insecurity; humility denotes awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivaya-subramuniyaswami/conceit-is-a-sure-sign-of-insecurity-humility-denotes-awareness/) [Sivaya Subramuniyaswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivaya-subramuniyaswami/) > [Conceit is a weird disease - it makes everybody sick except the guy who has it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/conceit-is-a-weird-disease-it-makes-everybody-sick-except-the-guy-who/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [History repeats the old conceits, the glib replies, the same defeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/history-repeats-the-old-conceits-the-glib-replies-the-same-defeats/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [Being carefree, you can fit in anywhere. If you’re not carefree you keep on bumping up against things. Your life becomes so narrow, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/being-carefree-you-can-fit-in-anywhere-if-you-re-not-carefree-you/) [Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/) > [This man, who for twenty-five years has been reading and writing about art, and in all that time has never understood anything about art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/this-man-who-for-twenty-five-years-has-been-reading-and-writing-about/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [There is nothing like a good bit of pain for taking the conceit out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/there-is-nothing-like-a-good-bit-of-pain-for-taking-the-conceit-out/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [If you want to conquer conceit, do not desire praise, laurels, nice garments, respect, favor, but like to be blamed and slandered by people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/if-you-want-to-conquer-conceit-do-not-desire-praise-laurels-nice/) [Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/) > [The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-smaller-the-mind-the-greater-the-ego/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-man-thinks-he-is-not-conceited-he-is-very-conceited-indeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is simple ignorance, which is the source of lighter offenses, and double ignorance, which is accompanied by a conceit of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/there-is-simple-ignorance-which-is-the-source-of-lighter-offenses-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Jesus regularly visualized the success of his efforts ... 'I always do what pleases God.' ... Was this conceit? Or was it enlightened creativity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-beth-jones/jesus-regularly-visualized-the-success-of-his-efforts-i-always-do/) [Laurie Beth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-beth-jones/) > [“Took long enough,” she called out, not wanting to admit how the sight of him made her throat hitch, how the man was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/took-long-enough-she-called-out-not-wanting-to-admit-how-the-sight-of/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) [Browse all 360 Conceit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have frequently noticed in myself a tendency to a diffuse style; a disposition to push my metaphors too far, employing a multitude of words to heighten the patness of the image, and so making of it a conceit rather than a metaphor, a fault copiously illustrated in the poetry of Cowley, Waller, Donne, and others of that ilk.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sidney Lanier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-tendency-to-a-diffuse-style-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conceit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-tendency-to-a-diffuse-style-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/sidney-lanier-20472_conceit_i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-te_2414075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have frequently noticed in myself a tendency to a diffuse style; a disposition to push my metaphors too…” — Sidney Lanier", "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": "Sidney Lanier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have frequently noticed in myself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-tendency-to-a-diffuse-style-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/i-have-frequently-noticed-in-myself-a-tendency-to-a-diffuse-style-a/#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 } } ] } ```