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About this quote

What does it mean?
The author laments that words are his only tool to express deep feelings for a character.
In plain terms
I only have words to express my feelings for her.
What can you take from it?
Artists often rely solely on language to capture intense emotion.

Where it applies

  • literary dedication
  • poetic expression
  • emotional confession

Putting it to work

  • creative writing
  • expression
  • public reading

Questions to consider

  • What words cannot capture?
  • How do you express the inexpressible?

Another view

It overlooks non-verbal forms of expression like art or music.

More from Vladimir Nabokov

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  2. After Olympia Press, in Paris, published the book, an American critic suggested that Lolita was the record of my love affair with the romantic novel. The subst…

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  3. Whenever in my dreams, I see the dead, they always appear silent, bothered, strangely depressed, quite unlike their dear bright selves. I am aware of them, wit…

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