Let my soul, a shining tree, Silver branches lift towards thee, Where on a hallowed winter's night The clear-eyed angels may alight.
Siegfried SassoonRead
For it is humanly certain that most of us remember very little of what we have read. To open almost any book a second time is to be reminded that we had forgotten well-nigh everything that the writer told us. Parting from the narrator and his narrative, we retain only a fading impression; and he, as it were, takes the book away from us and tucks it under his arm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the fleeting nature of memory and the difficulty of retaining knowledge from reading.
Siegfried Sassoon highlights the common human experience of forgetting much of what we read, emphasizing that revisiting a book often serves as a reminder of the information we have lost. He portrays the act of reading as a temporary engagement that, once finished, leaves us with only a vague recollection of the narrative, suggesting that knowledge and understanding are often ephemeral.
Themes
MemoryReadingForgettingKnowledgeBooks
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of revisiting texts for deeper understanding, this quote can emphasize how knowledge fades.
More from Siegfried Sassoon
All quotes →EVERYONE suddenly burst out singing; And I was filled with such delight As prisoned birds must find in freedom, Winging wildly across the white Orchards and dark-green fields; on—on—and out of sight. Everyone’s voice was suddenly lifted; And beauty came like the setting sun: My heart was shaken with tears; and horror Drifted away ... O, but Everyone Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.
Siegfried SassoonRead
But I've grown thoughtful now. And you have lost Your early-morning freshness of surprise At being so utterly mine: you've learned to fear The gloomy, stricken places in my soul, And the occasional ghosts that haunt my gaze.
Siegfried SassoonRead
I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers.
Siegfried SassoonRead
Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin they think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives.
Siegfried SassoonRead
The dead...are more real than the living because they are complete.
Siegfried SassoonRead
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