QuoteProject
When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; When the air does laugh with our merry wit, And the green hill laughs with the noise of it.
William Blake
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects the beauty and joy found in nature and the connection between human happiness and the natural world.

In this quote, William Blake portrays a harmonious relationship between nature and human joy. He suggests that the laughter of the woods, streams, and hills mirrors the joyfulness of human spirit, emphasizing how deeply interconnected our emotions are with the environment around us. The imagery of laughing elements in nature illustrates a vibrant scene where every aspect of the landscape participates in the celebration of life, inspiring an appreciation for the beauty and joy that can be found in the world.

Themes

NatureJoyHarmonyHappinessConnection

In practice

Example use cases

Quote this at a nature retreat to inspire participants.

More from William Blake

Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
William BlakeRead
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
William BlakeRead
O thou who passest through our valleys in Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat That flames from their large nostrils! Thou, O Summer, Oft pitchest here thy golden tent, and oft Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
William BlakeRead
Every Night and every Morn Some to Misery are born. Every Morn and every Night Some are born to Sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night.
William BlakeRead
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
William BlakeRead
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
William BlakeRead

Similar quotes

In Kenya women are the first victims of environmental degradation, because they are the ones who walk for hours looking for water, who fetch firewood, who provide food for their families.
Wangari MaathaiRead
...for most people in the [Jewish] Ghetto [of Warsaw] nature lived only in memory -- no parks, birds, or greenery existed in the Ghetto -- and they suffered the loss of nature like a phantom-limb pain, an amputation that scrambled the body's rhythms, starved the senses, and made basic ideas about the world impossible for children to fathom.
Diane AckermanRead
Naturalists, like poets, are born and then made only by years of painstaking observation.
John BurroughsRead
It's a moral question about whether we have the right to exterminate species.
David AttenboroughRead
It gradually became clear that the Green Belt Movement's work with communities to repair the degraded environment could not be done effectively without participants embracing a set of core spiritual values.
Wangari MaathaiRead
It's a perfect wave when small and the most beautiful and scary wave on Earth when it's big, as the swell from deep water hits the shallow reef ledge. A ten-foot high wave and a 30-footer break in the same depth of water.
Kelly SlaterRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.