My land is bare of chattering folk; / the clouds are low along the ridges, / and sweet's the air with curly smoke / from all my burning bridges.
Dorothy ParkerRead
There's life for you. Spend the best years of your life studying penmanship and rhetoric and syntax and Beowulf and George Eliot, and then somebody steals your pencil.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the irony of spending time on education only for it to be undermined by trivial distractions.
Dorothy Parker's quote highlights the futility of dedicating oneself to the pursuit of knowledge and literary appreciation, only to have those efforts rendered meaningless by the loss of something as simple as a pencil. It serves as a comedic reminder that life's small inconveniences can overshadow our grand ambitions and studies, emphasizing the unpredictability of existence.
Themes
EducationIronyKnowledgeLifeFutility
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech to highlight the challenges graduates may face after their studies.
More from Dorothy Parker
All quotes →Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss and tell.
Dorothy ParkerRead
They say of me, and so they should, It's doubtful if I come to good. I see acquaintances and friends Accumulating dividends And making enviable names In science, art and parlor games. But I, despite expert advice, Keep doing things I think are nice, And though to good I never come Inseparable my nose and thumb.
Dorothy ParkerRead
It is that word 'hunny,' my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up.
Dorothy ParkerRead
I can’t write five words but that I change seven.
Dorothy ParkerRead
For this my mother wrapped me warm,_x000D_ _x000D_ And called me home against the storm,_x000D_ _x000D_ And coaxed my infant nights to quiet,_x000D_ _x000D_ And gave me roughage in my diet,_x000D_ _x000D_ And tucked me in my bed at eight,_x000D_ _x000D_ And clipped my hair, and marked my weight,_x000D_ _x000D_ And watched me as I sat and stood:_x000D_ _x000D_ That I might grow to womanhood_x000D_ _x000D_ To hear a whistle and drop my wits_x000D_ _x000D_ And break my heart to clattering bits.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Similar quotes
Let us not get so busy or live so fast that we can't listen to the music of the meadow or the symphony that glorifies the forest. Some things in the world are far more important than wealth; one of them is the ability to enjoy simple things.
Dale CarnegieRead
I used to believe everything my brother told me, because he was older and I figured he knew more about the world. But as it turns out, being a grown-up doesn’t mean you’re fearless. It just means you fear different things.
Jodi PicoultRead
Reading - the best state yet to keep absolute loneliness at bay.
William StyronRead
I'm grateful that, after an early life of being silenced, sometimes violently, I grew up to have a voice, circumstances that will always bind me to the rights of the voiceless.
Rebecca SolnitRead
Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again.
Eleanor RooseveltRead
Our biggest problem as human beings is not knowing that we don't know.
Virginia SatirRead