--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My gentle Reader, I perceive / How…" description: "\"“My gentle Reader, I perceive / How patiently you’ve waited, / And now I fear that you expect / Some tale will be related. / O Reader! had you in your ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg" --- # My gentle Reader, I perceive / How patiently you’ve… ![“My gentle Reader, I perceive / How patiently you’ve waited, / And now I fear that you expect / Some tale will be related. / O Reader! had you in your mind / Such stores as silent thought can bring, / O gentle Reader! you would find / A tale in every thing.” quote by William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg) > ““My gentle Reader, I perceive / How patiently you’ve waited, / And now I fear that you expect / Some tale will be related. / O Reader! had you in your mind / Such stores as silent thought can bring, / O gentle Reader! you would find / A tale in every thing.”” [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers seek stories, but the world already offers narratives in every object, inviting imagination. **In simple terms:** Every thing holds a story for the reader. Key Takeaway Find meaning in everyday surroundings. Themes imagination reading storytelling patience observation Mood contemplative inspired Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - mindfulness practice - tourism Key Concepts Literary criticism aesthetic philosophy phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - What ordinary object inspires you? - How does this perspective change your reading? A Different Perspective Interpretation may be overly romanticized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gentle Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle-reader-302152/) [Perceive Patiently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive-patiently-4224861/) [Reader Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-mind-1219754/) [Reader Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-perceive-4224862/) [Silent Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent-thought-2022054/) ## Related quotes > [O Reader! had you in your mind Such stores as silent thought can bring, O gentle Reader! you would find A tale in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/o-reader-had-you-in-your-mind-such-stores-as-silent-thought-can-bring/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Gentle reader, I was born upon the water - not upon the salt and angry ocean, but upon the fresh and rapid-flowing river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-marryat/gentle-reader-i-was-born-upon-the-water-not-upon-the-salt-and-angry/) [Frederick Marryat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-marryat/) > [The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can-3/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Here follows the substance of what I said, written out entirely for your benefit. Pay attention to it, or you will be all abroad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/here-follows-the-substance-of-what-i-said-written-out-entirely-for/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“There was freedom of speech in this era," James Oliver reminds the gentle reader, "so long as you were prepared to pay for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-oliver/there-was-freedom-of-speech-in-this-era-james-oliver-reminds-the/) [James A. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-oliver/) > [“The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Here, I pause to offer a prayer for my gentle reader: May you never, ever, have to get a divorce in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/here-i-pause-to-offer-a-prayer-for-my-gentle-reader-may-you-never/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [We were that generation called silent, but we were silent neither, as some thought, because we shared the period's official optimism nor, as others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/we-were-that-generation-called-silent-but-we-were-silent-neither-as/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Does it break my heart, of course, every moment of every day, into more pieces than my heart was made of, I never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/does-it-break-my-heart-of-course-every-moment-of-every-day-into-more-2/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/when-to-the-sessions-of-sweet-silent-thought-i-summon-up-remembrance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Sometimes it's better to remain silent and thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-it-s-better-to-remain-silent-and-thought-a-fool-then-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak out and confirm that you didn't do the assigned readings before the strategic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/better-to-remain-silent-and-thought-a-fool-than-to-speak-out-and/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“After a time, I had only a handful of words left... Does it break my heart, of course, every moment of every day, into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/after-a-time-i-had-only-a-handful-of-words-left-does-it-break-my/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one's mouth and remove all doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-better-to-remain-silent-and-be-thought-a-fool-than-open-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Wordsworth > [Spade! Thou art a tool of honor in my hands. I press thee, through a yielding soil, with pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/spade-thou-art-a-tool-of-honor-in-my-hands-i-press-thee-through-a/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Brothers all In honour, as in one community, Scholars and gentlemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/brothers-all-in-honour-as-in-one-community-scholars-and-gentlemen/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The eye— it cannot choose but see; we cannot bid the ear be still; our bodies feel, where'er they be, against or with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-eye-it-cannot-choose-but-see-we-cannot-bid-the-ear-be-still-our/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, Are a substantial world, both pure and good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/dreams-books-are-each-a-world-and-books-we-know-are-a-substantial/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Now when the primrose makes a splendid show, And lilies face the March-winds in full blow, And humbler growths as moved with one desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/now-when-the-primrose-makes-a-splendid-show-and-lilies-face-the-march/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Where are your books? - that light bequeathed To beings else forlorn and blind! Up! up! and drink the spirit breathed From dead men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/where-are-your-books-that-light-bequeathed-to-beings-else-forlorn-and/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Knowledge and increase of enduring joy From the great Nature that exists in works Of mighty Poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/knowledge-and-increase-of-enduring-joy-from-the-great-nature-that/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The common growth of Mother Earth Suffices me,-her tears, her mirth, Her humblest mirth and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-common-growth-of-mother-earth-suffices-me-her-tears-her-mirth-her/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [And he is oft the wisest manWho is not wise at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/and-he-is-oft-the-wisest-manwho-is-not-wise-at-all/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The oldest man he seemed that ever wore grey hairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-oldest-man-he-seemed-that-ever-wore-grey-hairs/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“She was a Phantom of delight When first she gleam'd upon my sight; A lovely Apparition, sent To be a moment's ornament: Her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/she-was-a-phantom-of-delight-when-first-she-gleam-d-upon-my-sight-a/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“If the time should ever come when what is now called science, thus familiarised to men, shall be ready to put on, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/if-the-time-should-ever-come-when-what-is-now-called-science-thus/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Truth takes no account of centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/truth-takes-no-account-of-centuries/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/i-have-felt-a-presence-that-disturbs-me-with-the-joy-of-elevated/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Like thoughts whose very sweetness yielded proof that they were born for immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/like-thoughts-whose-very-sweetness-yielded-proof-that-they-were-born/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) [Explore all 587 William Wordsworth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## More Gentle Reader quotes > [“Here, I pause to offer a prayer for my gentle reader: May you never, ever, have to get a divorce in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/here-i-pause-to-offer-a-prayer-for-my-gentle-reader-may-you-never/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“There was freedom of speech in this era," James Oliver reminds the gentle reader, "so long as you were prepared to pay for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-oliver/there-was-freedom-of-speech-in-this-era-james-oliver-reminds-the/) [James A. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-oliver/) > [The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Here follows the substance of what I said, written out entirely for your benefit. Pay attention to it, or you will be all abroad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/here-follows-the-substance-of-what-i-said-written-out-entirely-for/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [O Reader! had you in your mind Such stores as silent thought can bring, O gentle Reader! you would find A tale in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/o-reader-had-you-in-your-mind-such-stores-as-silent-thought-can-bring/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Gentle reader, I was born upon the water - not upon the salt and angry ocean, but upon the fresh and rapid-flowing river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-marryat/gentle-reader-i-was-born-upon-the-water-not-upon-the-salt-and-angry/) [Frederick Marryat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-marryat/) > [The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can-3/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Browse all 9 Gentle Reader quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle-reader-302152/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My gentle Reader, I perceive / How patiently you’ve waited, / And now I fear that you expect / Some tale will be related. / O Reader! had you in your mind / Such stores as silent thought can bring, / O gentle Reader! you would find / A tale in every thing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Wordsworth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patiently-you-ve-waited-and-now-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gentle Reader" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patiently-you-ve-waited-and-now-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/william-wordsworth-403_gentle-reader_my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patientl_2915971.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My gentle Reader, I perceive / How patiently you’ve waited, / And now I fear that you expect / Some tale…” — William Wordsworth", "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": "William Wordsworth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“My gentle Reader, I perceive /...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patiently-you-ve-waited-and-now-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/my-gentle-reader-i-perceive-how-patiently-you-ve-waited-and-now-i/#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 } } ] } ```