"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. Not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come"
- William Wordsworth
About this Quote
This quote by William Wordsworth speaks to the concept of the human experience being a cycle of life and death. He suggests that when we are born, it is as if we are awakening from a deep sleep, which we enter the world with a sense of our previous lives, or "trailing clouds of splendor". This implies that we are born with a certain knowledge and understanding of the world, which our previous experiences shape who we are in today. Wordsworth's words recommend that we are all connected, which our lives are part of a larger cycle of life and death. He indicates that we must not forget our past, however rather accept it and use it to inform our present and future.
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