--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware…" description: "\"Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware of a rhythm, a dance, a fury, which is as yet empty of words.\" — Stephen Spender" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg" --- # Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware of a rhythm, a… ![“Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware of a rhythm, a dance, a fury, which is as yet empty of words.” quote by Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg) > “Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware of a rhythm, a dance, a fury, which is as yet empty of words.” [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing involves an instinctual rhythm and fury that precedes language, awaiting expression. **In simple terms:** Writing feels like a pre‑word rhythm. Key Takeaway Listen to the internal beat before writing. Themes creativity rhythm expression process Mood inspirational introspective Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative blocks - artistic performance - mental preparation Key Concepts intuition artistic flow Questions to Reflect On - How do you capture that rhythm? - When does fury become words? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on rhythm may stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aware Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aware-rhythm-5315690/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Fury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fury/) [Fury Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fury-words-901659/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Aware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-aware-1868918/) ## Related quotes > [I don't remember what they said, only the fury of their words, how the air turned raw and full of welts. Later it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-don-t-remember-what-they-said-only-the-fury-of-their-words-how-the/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I understand a fury in your words But not your words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-understand-a-fury-in-your-words-but-not-your-words/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I understand a fury in your words, But not the words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/othello/i-understand-a-fury-in-your-words-but-not-the-words/) [Othello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/othello/) > [Today when I begin writing I’m aware: something that I don’t understand drives this engine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/today-when-i-begin-writing-i-m-aware-something-that-i-don-t/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [Simply put, meta-writing is writing that is self-conscious, self-reflective, and aware of itself as an artifice. The writer is aware she's writing, and she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-talbot/simply-put-meta-writing-is-writing-that-is-self-conscious-self/) [Jill Talbot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-talbot/) > [At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/at-first-glance-the-rhythm-may-be-confused-with-gaiety-but-when-you/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [“He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. 'If the others found out-' 'If the others found out,' Jason said, 'You'd have that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/he-regarded-jason-as-if-waiting-for-an-attack-if-the-others-found-out/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Interesting, isn’t it? What do you have to say about that, Fury? (Savitar) They’re on crack. (Fury) Anyone else on crack? (Savitar)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/interesting-isn-t-it-what-do-you-have-to-say-about-that-fury-savitar/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/comrades-there-is-no-true-social-revolution-without-the-liberation-of/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [There is no fury like a woman searching for a new lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/there-is-no-fury-like-a-woman-searching-for-a-new-lover/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Hell hath no fury like a frustrated fundamentalist whose God condemned him to "hell" for having "impure thoughts."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-r-burch/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-frustrated-fundamentalist-whose-god/) [Michael R. Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-r-burch/) > [Time is a purgatory that has cleansed all fury from my memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ndor-m-rai/time-is-a-purgatory-that-has-cleansed-all-fury-from-my-memories/) [Sándor Márai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ndor-m-rai/) > [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [If you're texting Magnus to say 'I think u r kewl,' I'm going to kill you." "Who's Magnus?" Max inquired. "He's a warlock," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-you-re-texting-magnus-to-say-i-think-u-r-kewl-i-m-going-to-kill/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Stephen Spender > [I think continually of those who were truly great . Who, from the womb, remembered the soul 's history Through corridors of light where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/i-think-continually-of-those-who-were-truly-great-who-from-the-womb/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [History is the ship carrying living memories to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/history-is-the-ship-carrying-living-memories-to-the-future/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [All that you can imagine you already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/all-that-you-can-imagine-you-already-know/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Since we are what we are, what shall we be But what we are? We are, we have Six feet and seventy years, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/since-we-are-what-we-are-what-shall-we-be-but-what-we-are-we-are-we/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [One of my great surprises when I was in America was about twenty-five years ago in Harvard, hearing Randall Jarrell deliver a bitter attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/one-of-my-great-surprises-when-i-was-in-america-was-about-twenty-five/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [What is precious is never to forget, The delight of the blood drawn from ancient springs, Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/what-is-precious-is-never-to-forget-the-delight-of-the-blood-drawn/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [I think continually of those who were truly great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/i-think-continually-of-those-who-were-truly-great/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [If you get to a certain age, all people want to know about you is people you knew. ...An American student once said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/if-you-get-to-a-certain-age-all-people-want-to-know-about-you-is/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [There is a certain justice in criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/there-is-a-certain-justice-in-criticism/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Involved in my own entrails and a crust Turning a pitted surface towards a space, I am a world that watches through a sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/involved-in-my-own-entrails-and-a-crust-turning-a-pitted-surface/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Although Poets are vain and ambitious, their vanity and ambition are of the purest kind attainable in this world. They are ambitious to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/although-poets-are-vain-and-ambitious-their-vanity-and-ambition-are/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/great-poetry-is-always-written-by-somebody-straining-to-go-beyond/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [My brothers and sister and I were brought up in an atmosphere which I would describe as 'Puritan decadence'. Puritanism names the behaviour which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/my-brothers-and-sister-and-i-were-brought-up-in-an-atmosphere-which-i/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [“Him I delight in accepts joy as joy; He is richened by sorrow as a river by its bends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/him-i-delight-in-accepts-joy-as-joy-he-is-richened-by-sorrow-as-a/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [I think of those who were truly great. The names of those who in their lives fought for life, Who wore at their hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/i-think-of-those-who-were-truly-great-the-names-of-those-who-in-their/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) [Explore all 64 Stephen Spender quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) ## More Empty quotes > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/) [Jamgon Kongtrul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamgon-kongtrul/) > [Education turns an empty mind into an open mind. It turns information into behavioural transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-khera/education-turns-an-empty-mind-into-an-open-mind-it-turns-information/) [Shiv Khera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-khera/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I get letters every year from women who think Valentine's Day is an empty exercise, but are ironically pretty exercised when their boyfriends neglect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-get-letters-every-year-from-women-who-think-valentine-s-day-is-an/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) [Browse all 3,081 Empty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware of a rhythm, a dance, a fury, which is as yet empty of words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Spender" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-of-a-rhythm-a-dance-a-fury/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Empty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-of-a-rhythm-a-dance-a-fury/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75d/stephen-spender-10665_empty_sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-o_1467266.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes when I am writing, I am aware of a rhythm, a dance, a fury, which is as yet empty of words.” — Stephen Spender", "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": "Stephen Spender", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes when I am writing, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-of-a-rhythm-a-dance-a-fury/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/sometimes-when-i-am-writing-i-am-aware-of-a-rhythm-a-dance-a-fury/#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 } } ] } ```