“Sentences must stir in a book like leaves in a forest, each distinct from each despite their resemblance.”
Gustave Flaubert's quote about sentences in a book likening them to leaves in a forest emphasizes the importance of each sentence being unique and distinct, even if they may have similarities. This highlights the significance of each sentence standing out and contributing to the overall beauty and richness of the text. Just as each leaf in a forest adds to the diversity and beauty of the environment, each sentence in a book should contribute to the overall impact and depth of the writing. This quote underscores the importance of crafting each sentence carefully and ensuring that it adds value to the narrative.
Gustave Flaubert's quote emphasizes the importance of uniqueness and individuality in writing. Just as each leaf in a forest is distinct, each sentence in a book should have its own impact and contribute to the overall message. In modern times, this idea is more relevant than ever as diversity and representation in literature are essential for a more inclusive and rich literary landscape. By embracing a variety of voices and perspectives, writers can create works that resonate with a wide range of readers and reflect the complexity of the world we live in.
"Sentences must stir in a book like leaves in a forest, each distinct from each despite their resemblance." - Gustave Flaubert
This quote by Flaubert emphasizes the importance of creating unique and distinct sentences within a book, much like how leaves in a forest are individual yet part of a larger whole.
Take a moment to reflect on this quote by Gustave Flaubert about the importance of distinct yet interconnected sentences in a book. Consider the following:
“Had they nothing else to say to each other? Yet their eyes were full of more serious statements; and while they sought for commonplace sentences, they each felt the same languor. It was like a murmur of the soul, profound and continuous, dominating that of the voices. Surprised at this unexpected sweetness, it did not occur to them to discuss the sensation or discover the cause. Future happiness, like tropical shores, projects over the vastness that precedes it, its innate indolence, and wafts a scented breeze that intoxicates and dispels any anxiety about the unseen horizon.”
“As you get older, the heart shed its leaves like a tree. You cannot hold out against certain winds. Each day tears away a few more leaves; and then there are the storms that break off several branches at one go. And while nature’s greenery grows back again in the spring, that of the heart never grows back.”
“An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.”
“A good sentence in prose should be like a good line in poetry, unchangeable, as rhythmic, as sonorous.”
“Through the forest he pursued the she-monster whose tail coiled over the dead leaves like a silver stream; and he came to a meadow where women, with the hindquarters of dragons, stood around a great fire, raised on the tips of their tails. The moon shone red as blood in a pale circle and their scarlet tongues, formed like fishing harpoons, stretched out, curling to the edge of the flame.”
“It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the yellow leaves, and I was also the horses, the leaves, the wind, the words my people uttered, even the red sun that made them almost close their love-drowned eyes.”