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All books are either dreams or swords, you can cut, or you can drug, with words.
Amy Lowell
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Books can be powerful tools for both inspiration and influence.

In this quote, Amy Lowell suggests that books have the dual capacity to inspire readers, akin to dreams, and to empower or challenge them, much like swords. Words possess the ability to heal or soothe (like a drug) or to provoke thought and create change (like a cutting sword), emphasizing the profound impact literature can have on individuals and society.

Themes

BooksDreamsSwordsWordsInspirationPower

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the importance of education, one might say, 'As Amy Lowell said, all books are either dreams or swords, showing how literature can inspire and transform lives.'

More from Amy Lowell

Happiness: We rarely feel it. I would buy it, beg it, steal it, Pay in coins of dripping blood For this one transcendent good.
Amy LowellRead
I am tired, Beloved, of chafing my heart against the want of you; of squeezing it into little inkdrops, And posting it.
Amy LowellRead

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