Quotation
Quote by Emily Dickinson
If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me I know that is poetry.
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Understanding this quote
The speaker describes poetry as writing that produces a powerful physical reaction. If a book makes someone feel so cold that even fire cannot warm them, that feeling signals that the words have affected them deeply. The “cold” is a vivid comparison for an experience too intense to be measured by ordinary enjoyment.
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- Emily Dickinson Museum
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