Literary Quotes That Will Make You Think
Literature is a vast and wonderful world, full of stories that can transport us to other times and places. But literature is also a source of wisdom and insight, and its quotes can challenge us to think about the world in new ways.
In this blog post, we’ve collected 50 of the most thought-provoking literary quotes. We hope you find them as thought-provoking as we do!
- “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
- “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” – George Orwell, Animal Farm
- “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
- “The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.” – John Green, Looking for Alaska
- “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
- “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
- “We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” – Moulin Rouge
- “Do I dare disturb the universe?” – T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
- “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
- “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
- “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
- “The monsters in my head are scared of love.” – Nayyirah Waheed, Salt
- “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time.” – Jack Kerouac, On the Road
- “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” – Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
- “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” – John Wooden
- “The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” – Oscar Wilde
- “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” – Jane Austen, Emma
- “One day, I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” – Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
- “We are all fools in love.” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
- “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” – Oscar Wilde
- “We are all broken, that’s how the light gets in.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” – Dr. Seuss
- “It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
- “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
- “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
- “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” – T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
- “There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.” – Bram Stoker, Dracula
- “I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” – Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer
- “Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will.” – John Green, Paper Towns
- “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus, The Stranger
- “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
- “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” – William Shakespeare, Macbeth
- “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Søren Kierkegaard
- “The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing.” – Blaise Pascal
- “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde
- “We are all fools in love.” – William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.” – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
- “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” – William Ernest Henley, Invictus
- “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.” – John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
- “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” – William Shakespeare, As You Like It
- “There is no greater power on this earth than story.” – Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing
- “After all, tomorrow is another day!” – Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
We hope you enjoyed this collection of literary quotes. Remember, literature is not just about entertainment, it’s also about making us think. So take some time to think about these quotes and let them challenge you to become a more thoughtful person.