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About this quote

What does it mean?
The quote likens the pen, made from a feather, to an angel's wing that writes the lives of good men.
In plain terms
A pen, born from a feather, writes the lives of good people.
What can you take from it?
Recognize the humble origins of tools that shape lives.

Where it applies

  • authoring a book
  • recording history
  • crafting a story

Putting it to work

  • use metaphorical language
  • reflect on tools' impact

Questions to consider

  • How do simple tools shape our destiny?
  • What does 'angel's wing' symbolize?

Another view

The metaphor may be overly romanticized.

More from William Wordsworth

  1. Habit rules the unreflecting herd.

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  2. Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore Of nicely calculated less or more.

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  3. As thou these ashes, little brook! will bear Into the Avon, Avon to the tide Of Severn, Severn to the narrow seas, Into main ocean they, this deed accurst, An …

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