Literary Quotations & Context
Selected Alice Cary Quotations
That Rests in the Bosom of Love
I know thou art free from earth’s sordid control,In the beautiful mansions above—That sorrow can never be flung o’er the soulThat rests in the bosom of Love.
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
The speaker believes that the person being remembered has passed beyond earthly suffering into a state of peace. “The bosom of Love” presents the afterlife as a place of protection, tenderness, and spiritual rest.
Background Original Context
These lines open “I Know Thou Art Free,” an elegiac poem in which the speaker imagines a departed person released from sorrow. The poem balances confidence in that person’s peace with the speaker’s continuing desire for reunion.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The central theme is consolation after loss. Faith does not erase grief, but it gives the speaker a language for imagining freedom, rest, and continuing love.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is tender, devotional, and reassuring. “Earth’s sordid control” contrasts earthly limitation with heavenly freedom, while the “bosom of Love” personifies divine love as a sheltering presence.
Significance Why This Quotation Matters
The quotation is memorable because it expresses spiritual consolation without complicated argument. Its central image turns love into a place of rest, allowing grief and hope to exist together.
To the Sweet Love of Woman
Turn thou, in life’s pausesOf dimness and care,To the sweet love of woman,That all things will dare!
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
The lines advise a troubled person to turn toward devoted love during periods of uncertainty and care. That love is presented as courageous, sustaining, and willing to face difficulty.
Background Original Context
The quotation closes “Melody,” a narrative poem in which a woman’s song reaches across danger and guides a traveler. The final lines expand the episode into a broader reflection on the strength of loving devotion.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The main theme is love as courage. Affection is not shown as passive comfort; it becomes an active force capable of guiding, protecting, and enduring risk.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is encouraging and admiring. “Dimness and care” compress emotional difficulty into a visual metaphor, while the command “Turn thou” gives the lines the force of direct counsel.
Significance Why This Quotation Matters
The quotation matters because it presents care as a form of bravery. Its compact final claim—love “will dare”—gives emotional devotion moral strength and agency.
Now Which Will You Choose?
Now which will you choose? to be thrifty and snug,And to be right side up with your dish;Or to go with your eyes like the eyes of a bug,And your shoes like the mouth of a fish!
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
The speaker presents a moral choice between disciplined, responsible living and a path that leads to disorder and poverty. The comic comparisons make the warning easy to remember.
Background Original Context
“Telling Fortunes” presents two imagined futures to a young listener. One future is built through steady work and good judgment; the other is associated with destructive habits and material decline. These closing lines ask the listener to choose between them.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The central theme is personal responsibility. The poem argues that repeated choices shape future circumstances, using a simple contrast between order and disorder.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is instructive but humorous. Rhetorical questioning invites a decision, while the similes comparing eyes to a bug’s and shoes to a fish’s mouth create exaggerated visual comedy.
Significance Why This Quotation Matters
The quotation shows Cary’s ability to combine moral instruction with memorable imagery. Instead of ending with an abstract rule, she gives the reader a vivid and practical contrast.
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