One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
Kings are falling like leaves this autumn.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the inevitable changes and losses that occur over time, likening the downfall of powerful figures to the natural shedding of leaves in autumn.
This quote from George R. R. Martin encapsulates the cycle of change and impermanence in both nature and human power. Just as leaves fall from trees in autumn, signifying the end of a season, so too do kings and powerful individuals face downfall, reminding us of the transient nature of power and the inevitability of change in life. It suggests that no matter how high one rises, they can also fall, highlighting the fragility of status and position.
Themes
ChangeFallPowerImpermanenceAutumn
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of power in politics, this quote can illustrate how leaders are not as permanent as they may seem.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes βI hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: βNot today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.β He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. βI wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
Similar quotes
Our generation has the ability and the responsibility to make our ever-more connected world a more hopeful, stable and peaceful place.
Natalie PortmanRead
Yet when we achieved, and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory to remake it in the likeness of the former world they knew. Youth could win, but had not learned to keep: and was pitiably weak against age. We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and a new earth, and they thanked us kindly and made their peace.
T. E. LawrenceRead
I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh, cruel, world. And I saw a little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never to let her go.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
When I was maybe eight or nine years old, I first learned about the climate crisis in school. My teachers taught me about it and we saw films and pictures of plastic in the ocean and extreme weather events. Those pictures were just stuck in my head; I thought, there is no point in anything.
Greta ThunburgRead
During my youth, the idea of moving from Lebanon was unthinkable. Then I began to realise I might have to go, like my grandfather, uncles and others who left for America, Egypt, Australia, Cuba.
Amin MaaloufRead
Each book I write is a shout into the silence and a prayer and a plea for change.
Jacqueline WoodsonRead