---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: According to my present theme the writer…"
description: "\"“According to my present theme the writer of imagination would attain closest to the conditions of music not when his words are dissassociated from nat..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/william-carlos-williams-1841_imagination_according-to-my-present-theme-the-writer_2169881.png"
---

#  According to my present theme the writer of imagination…

![“According to my present theme the writer of imagination would attain closest to the conditions of music not when his words are dissassociated from natural objects and specified meanings but when they are liberated from the usual quality of that meaning by transportation into another medium, the…” quote by William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/william-carlos-williams-1841_imagination_according-to-my-present-theme-the-writer_2169881.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/william-carlos-williams-1841_imagination_according-to-my-present-theme-the-writer_2169881.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/william-carlos-williams-1841_imagination_according-to-my-present-theme-the-writer_2169881.png)

> ““According to my present theme the writer of imagination would attain closest to the conditions of music not when his words are dissassociated from natural objects and specified meanings but when they are liberated from the usual quality of that meaning by transportation into another medium, the imagination.””

[William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Imagination reaches a musical quality when language moves beyond literal meaning into a new expressive medium.

**In simple terms:** Imagination is musical when freed from normal meaning.

Key Takeaway

Let words become music.

Themes

creativity language music imagination

Mood

inspired thoughtful

Type

artistic philosophical

When to use this quote

- poetry writing
- experimental literature
- cross‑media art
- creative teaching

Key Concepts

transcendence artistic expression

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you make your writing sound like music?
- What medium could transform your ideas?

A Different Perspective

May lose clarity for those expecting straightforward meaning.

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[Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

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> [The characters in a novel are made up, figments of the writer's imagination. I'm sure this won't come as a surprise to anyone, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-healey/the-characters-in-a-novel-are-made-up-figments-of-the-writer-s/)

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> [“The best thing about being a writer is the writer's imagination, which is, given the day, time, or date, either a paradise or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-sudler/the-best-thing-about-being-a-writer-is-the-writer-s-imagination-which/)

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> [“What I do in writing of any character is to try to enter into the mind, heart, and skin of a human being who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/what-i-do-in-writing-of-any-character-is-to-try-to-enter-into-the/)

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> [Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/description-begins-in-the-writer-s-imagination-but-should-finish-in/)

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Sheldon Friedman

> [“The blank page, otherwise known as the vast playground of the writer's imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-bond/the-blank-page-otherwise-known-as-the-vast-playground-of-the-writer-s/)

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## More by William Carlos Williams

> [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/)

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> [I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/i-think-all-writing-is-a-disease-you-can-t-stop-it/)

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[Explore all 204 William Carlos Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/)

## More Imagination quotes

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> [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/)

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