Article image

11 Literary One-Liners That Will Stop You in Your Tracks

Good writing has the power to leave us speechless. Sometimes all it takes is a single line, a memorable maneuvering of a few words, and they’re etched into our consciousness forever. These words have the ability to inspire and enlighten, but the best ones also tend to evoke a deep connection, making particularly effective pieces of literature feel like lifelong friends.

Often, these powerful one-liners act as a window into the human experience that causes us to reflect on self-discovery, freedom, love, and loss. The complexity of human life is not easily captured or conveyed, but these quotes by authors from different genres and eras showcase their awe-inspiring abilities to convey raw emotions, elicit deep empathy, and truly stir the soul.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby”

Share Quote

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”

Share Quote

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
Ernest Hemingway, “A Farewell to Arms”

Share Quote

When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time — the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers.
John Irving, “A Prayer for Owen Meany”

Share Quote

There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
Zora Neale Hurston, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”

Share Quote

If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.
George Eliot, “Middlemarch”

Share Quote

Choose a place where you won't do harm — yes, choose a place where you won't do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.
E.M. Forster, “A Room With a View”

Share Quote

Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.
Ralph Ellison, “Invisible Man”

Share Quote

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt, that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.
Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”

Share Quote

Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.
Kurt Vonnegut, “Slaughterhouse-Five"

Share Quote

And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.
John Steinbeck, “East of Eden”

Share Quote

Featured image credit: jbooks/ Alamy Stock Photo

Author image
About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "___ is a sheltering tree." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

If you wake up and the day feels broken, just lean into the crack.

separator icon
Björk
motivation theme icon

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

separator icon
Carl Rogers
hope theme icon

Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time.

separator icon
Hermann Hesse
love theme icon

You know the greatest thing is passion, without it what have you got?

separator icon
Diana Vreeland
wisdom theme icon

I do not think it worth while to wait for enjoyment until there is some real opportunity for it.

separator icon
Jane Austen
happiness theme icon

Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.

separator icon
Kurt Vonnegut
motivation theme icon

In quietness the soul expands.

separator icon
Rockwell Kent
hope theme icon

Above all, don't fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.

separator icon
Rita Levi-Montalcini
love theme icon

Words empowered by justice can never be silenced.

separator icon
Isabel Ibañez
wisdom theme icon

The greatest reward of righteousness is peace of mind.

separator icon
Epicurus
happiness theme icon

The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.

separator icon
William Blake