Heart, we will forget him, You and I, tonight! You must forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light.
Emily DickinsonRead
If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry evokes deep emotional responses that cannot be easily warmed or comforted by mundane experiences.
Emily Dickinson's quote expresses the profound impact that poetry can have on a person, suggesting that powerful literature can elicit such intense feelings that it leaves one feeling cold, unable to be warmed by anything else. This speaks to the transformative nature of poetry, capable of reaching the depths of human emotion and experience in ways that are unique and profound.
Themes
PoetryEmotionArtLiteratureExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at a literary festival, one might quote Dickinson to emphasize the emotional depth of literature.
More from Emily Dickinson
All quotes βI held a jewel in my fingers And went to sleep. The day was warm, and winds were prosy; I said: "'T will keep." I woke and chid my honest fingers,β The gem was gone; And now an amethyst remembrance Is all I own.
Emily DickinsonRead
I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time. The steeples swam in amethyst, The news like squirrels ran. The hills untied their bonnets, The bobolinks begun. Then I said softly to myself, "That must have been the sun!
Emily DickinsonRead
My best Acquaintances are those With Whom I spoke no Word
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This is the Hour of Lead- Remembered, if outlived, As freezing persons, recollect the Snow- First-Chill-then Stupor- then the letting go---
Emily DickinsonRead
Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.
Emily DickinsonRead
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