Alice Meynell Quotes

Powerful Alice Meynell for Daily Growth

About Alice Meynell

Alice Meynell (1847-1922) was an English poet, essayist, novelist, and literary critic, renowned for her exquisite lyric poetry and deep spiritual insights. Born on September 30, 1847, in London, England, she was the third daughter of John Tait, a prominent journalist and founder of the Daily News, and his wife Eliza (nee Jackson). Educated at home due to her father's progressive views, Alice showed an early affinity for literature. Her literary career began in 1867 when some of her poems were published in the Pall Mall Gazette, a newspaper owned by her father. In 1872, she married William Henry Wills, a prominent Pre-Raphaelite painter, and they had seven children together. Alice's poetry was deeply influenced by her Roman Catholic faith, which she converted to in 1865. Her spiritual beliefs often permeated her work, reflecting a profound sense of mysticism and devotion. Notable collections of her poems include "Songs of Sorrow" (1879), "Hymns of the Spirit" (1883), "The Veil" (1885), and "Lyrics of Life and Love" (1892). In addition to poetry, Alice wrote novels such as "The House of Two Moons" (1876) and "Wyndesore Abbey" (1883). She also contributed significantly to literary criticism through her essays and reviews published in The Academy, The Fortnightly Review, and other periodicals. Alice Meynell's life was marked by tragedy, with the loss of several children at young ages. Despite these hardships, she continued to write and publish until her death on February 12, 1922. Her work remains appreciated for its beauty, depth, and spiritual resonance.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The stars are not a random flock of birds afloat; They are a deliberate array, arranged And watching for their watchers."

This quote suggests that the stars in the night sky are not merely random or accidental, but rather deliberately placed and organized. It implies that they exist not just for themselves, but also to be observed by us - "watching for their watchers". The poet Alice Meynell is drawing attention to the idea that the cosmos and its celestial bodies have a purpose beyond their physical existence, as they serve to inspire wonder, curiosity, and connection in observers. This quote invites us to ponder our place in the universe and appreciate the awe-inspiring beauty that surrounds us.

"Heart's heart, what wilt thou do with me, who am but an earthly vessel?"

This quote is a poetic expression of inner struggle and longing between the human spirit (or soul) and the physical body. The speaker, likely the human heart symbolically personified, questions its relationship with the mortal form it inhabits. They yearn to transcend their earthly limitations, desiring to connect more deeply with something spiritual or eternal. It's a profound expression of humanity's desire for purpose and meaning beyond our material existence.

"Love is the sun above the world, or the stars, which are too pure to be of it."

This quote suggests that love, like the sun and stars, holds a divine and transcendent quality. Just as the sun provides light and warmth to the world, love illuminates and nurtures relationships. Similarly, the stars, often associated with purity and beauty, represent the rare and exceptional nature of true love. In essence, Alice Meynell's quote poetically emphasizes the extraordinary and ethereal nature of love in our human experience.

"The soul that has love, makes the lowest things the best and highest."

This quote suggests that love has the power to elevate even the humblest aspects of life into something profoundly meaningful and significant. When one loves deeply, they find beauty, value, and worth in everything they encounter, regardless of its perceived worth or status. Love transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, making the lowly things we often overlook or dismiss become valuable and cherished. In essence, love makes us appreciate life more fully by bringing out the best in ourselves and the world around us.

"In quiet hours I wonder where and what I am: Whether I'm here, there, sleep, wake, dream, or truly conscious."

This quote expresses a sense of personal introspection and existential questioning. The speaker is pondering their identity, existence, and awareness in the world. They wonder if they are physically present, in another place, asleep, awake, dreaming, or truly conscious in their current state. It suggests an individual grappling with the complexities of self-understanding and reality.

A child is beset with long traditions. And his infancy is so old, so old, that the mere adding of years in the life to follow will not seem to throw it further back - it is already so far.

- Alice Meynell

Will, Old, Back, Traditions

Spirit of place! It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place, seen once, abides entire in the memory with all its own accidents, its habits, its breath, its name.

- Alice Meynell

Strong, Surprise, Subtlety, Abide

Let a man turn to his own childhood - no further - if he will renew his sense of remoteness, and of the mystery of change.

- Alice Meynell

Childhood, Own, Will, Renew

The true color of life is the color of the body, the color of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of the living heart and the pulses. It is the modest color of the unpublished blood.

- Alice Meynell

Color, Living, Implicit, Unpublished

The true colour of life is the colour of the body, the colour of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of the living heart and the pulses. It is the modest colour of the unpublished blood.

- Alice Meynell

Body, Living, Implicit, Unpublished

The sense of humor has other things to do than to make itself conspicuous in the act of laughter.

- Alice Meynell

Humor, Other, Itself, Conspicuous

Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.

- Alice Meynell

Happiness, Mind, Depends, Events

Our fathers valued change for the sake of its results; we value it in the act.

- Alice Meynell

Change, Act, Fathers, Sake

If there is a look of human eyes that tells of perpetual loneliness, so there is also the familiar look that is the sign of perpetual crowds.

- Alice Meynell

Sign, Tells, Also, Crowds

It is easy to replace man, and it will take no great time, when Nature has lapsed, to replace Nature.

- Alice Meynell

Nature, Will, Take, Great Time

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