...we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail among sacred islands of the mad till death shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.
Sylvia PlathRead
I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow, the million moving shapes and cul-de-sacs of shadow. There was shadow in bureau drawers and closets and suitcases, and shadow under houses and trees and stones, and shadow at the back of people's eyes and smiles, and shadow, miles and miles and miles of it, on the night side of the earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the beauty and complexity found in shadows, suggesting that there is depth in darkness.
In this quote, Sylvia Plath emphasizes the multifaceted nature of shadows, portraying them as not merely dark spaces, but as full of movement, shapes, and hidden meanings. The mention of shadows in various locations, from physical spaces to the expressions of people, indicates that beauty and intrigue can exist in the overlooked and often dismissed aspects of life, inviting a deeper exploration of the world around us.
Themes
ShadowBeautyDepthDarknessMovement
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about art, one might quote this to emphasize the beauty found in unconventional subjects.
More from Sylvia Plath
All quotes →The hardest thing, I think, is to live richly in the present, without letting it be tainted & spoiled out of fear for the future or regret for a badly-managed past.
Sylvia PlathRead
It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative--which ever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.
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You walked in, laughing, tears welling confused, mingling in your throat. How can you be so many women to so many people, oh you strange girl?
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I keep wanting to crawl back into the womb.
Sylvia PlathRead
It's the living, the eating, the sleeping that everyone needs. Ideas don't matter so much after all. My three best friends are Catholic. I can't see their beliefs, but I can see the things they love to do on earth. When you come right down to it, I do believe in the freedom of the individual.
Sylvia PlathRead
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