So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet west, The sundown splendid and serene, Death.
William Ernest HenleyRead
Here is the ghost _x000D_ _x000D_ Of a summer that lived for us, _x000D_ _x000D_ Ere is a promise _x000D_ _x000D_ Of summer to be.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the fleeting nature of summer and the hope for its return.
In this quote, William Ernest Henley uses the imagery of summer to express both nostalgia for the past and anticipation for future joys. The 'ghost of a summer' suggests the beautiful moments that have come and gone, while the 'promise of summer to be' offers hope and renewal, embodying the cycle of experiences in life that are both ephemeral and perennial.
Themes
SummerNatureNostalgiaHopeRenewal
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the appreciation of seasonal change.
More from William Ernest Henley
All quotes βIt is the artist's function not to copy but to synthesise: to eliminate from that gross confusion of actuality which is his raw material whatever is accidental, idle, irrelevant, and select for perpetuation that only which is appropriate and immortal.
William Ernest HenleyRead
Were I so tall as to reach the pole or grasp the ocean at a span, I must be measured by my soul. The mind is the standard of the man.
William Ernest HenleyRead
I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
William Ernest HenleyRead
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