Literary Quotations & Context
D. H. Lawrence Quotes
Self-Pity Quote
I never saw a wild thingsorry for itself.
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
This quote means that wild creatures do not waste energy feeling sorry for themselves. Lawrence uses the natural world to criticize a human habit of emotional self-absorption.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The main theme is dignity under hardship. The quote is short, but it carries a strong idea about instinct, courage, and the difference between human consciousness and animal endurance.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is blunt and unsentimental. The key devices are contrast and compression.
Piano Quote
The glamourOf childish days is upon me, my manhood is castDown in the flood of remembrance.
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
The speaker feels overwhelmed by childhood memory. Adult identity weakens as music brings back the emotional force of the past.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The main theme is nostalgia. The quote shows how memory can feel beautiful and painful at the same time.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is vulnerable and nostalgic. The phrase “flood of remembrance” works as a metaphor for memory becoming emotionally uncontrollable.
Snake Quote
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lordsOf life.
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
The speaker realizes that the snake was not merely a frightening creature but a majestic form of life. His violent reaction becomes a missed opportunity for reverence.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The quote centers on reverence for animal life and regret over human pettiness.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is regretful and humbled. The phrase “lords of life” elevates the snake through metaphor and symbolic language.
Humming-Bird Quote
We look at him through the wrong end of the long telescope of Time,Luckily for us.
Plain Explanation Meaning of the Quotation
The quote means that the tiny hummingbird may appear harmless only because humans see it from a distant point in evolutionary time.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The main theme is deep time. Lawrence imagines small modern creatures as remnants of ancient, powerful life.
Style Tone and Literary Devices
The tone is imaginative and slightly humorous. The “telescope of Time” is a metaphor that turns evolution into an act of distorted seeing.
Continue Reading
Related Poems & Articles
More selected reading from Featured Poems.
