Give me hunger, pain and want, Shut me out with shame and failure From your doors of gold and fame, Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger! But leave me a little love.
Carl SandburgRead
I can remember only a few of the strange and curious words now dead but living and spoken by the English people a thousand years ago.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the enduring nature of language and the evolution of words over time.
Carl Sandburg reminisces about the rich historical tapestry of the English language, emphasizing how certain words from the past, despite being obsolete, continue to resonate in the culture and identity of the English-speaking people. It highlights the connection between language and the collective memory of a society.
Themes
LanguageHistoryWordsMemoryCulture
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of language preservation in education.
More from Carl Sandburg
All quotes βNothing happens... but first a dream.
Carl SandburgRead
Read the dictionary from A to Izzard today. Get a vocabulary. Brush up on your diction. See whether wisdom is just a lot of language.
Carl SandburgRead
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Carl SandburgRead
There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.
Carl SandburgRead
A liar goes in fine clothes, a liar goes in rags, a liar is a liar, clothes or no clothes.
Carl SandburgRead
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