--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sun was down, And all the west was…" description: "\"The sun was down, And all the west was paved with sullen fire. I cried, Behold! the barren beach of hell At ebb of tide.\" — Alexander Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/alexander-smith-4402_barren_the-sun-was-down-and-all-the-west-was-pa_1702478.jpg" --- # The sun was down, And all the west was paved with sullen… ![“The sun was down, And all the west was paved with sullen fire. I cried, Behold! the barren beach of hell At ebb of tide.” quote by Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/alexander-smith-4402_barren_the-sun-was-down-and-all-the-west-was-pa_1702478.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/alexander-smith-4402_barren_the-sun-was-down-and-all-the-west-was-pa_1702478.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/alexander-smith-4402_barren_the-sun-was-down-and-all-the-west-was-pa_1702478.jpg) > “The sun was down, And all the west was paved with sullen fire. I cried, Behold! the barren beach of hell At ebb of tide.” [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet describes a bleak, fiery western landscape at sunset, likening it to a hellish beach, expressing deep despair. **In simple terms:** A dark, fiery sunset feels like a hellish beach. Key Takeaway Find hope beyond bleak surroundings. Themes despair nature apocalypse emotion Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic visual When to use this quote - coastal walks - nighttime reflection - creative writing Key Concepts imagery symbolism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does the “barren beach of hell” symbolize for you? - Can you find beauty in a dark sunset? A Different Perspective Imagery may be overly dramatic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beach/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Sunset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunset/) [Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tides/) ## Related quotes > [How beautiful the yesterday that stood Over me like a rainbow! I am alone, The past is past. I see the future stretch All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/how-beautiful-the-yesterday-that-stood-over-me-like-a-rainbow-i-am/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [The spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns; The low'ring eye, the petulance, the frown, And sullen sadness, that o'ershade, distort, And mar the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/the-spleen-is-seldom-felt-where-flora-reigns-the-low-ring-eye-the/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [She is a loner, too bright for the slutty girls and too savage for the bright girls, haunting the edges and corners of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/she-is-a-loner-too-bright-for-the-slutty-girls-and-too-savage-for-the/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [Things are sullen, and will be as they are, whatever we think them or wish them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-cudworth/things-are-sullen-and-will-be-as-they-are-whatever-we-think-them-or/) [Ralph Cudworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-cudworth/) > [Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed; and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-small-fowls-flew-screaming-over-the-yet-yawning-gulf-a-sullen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God, deliver me from sullen saints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/god-deliver-me-from-sullen-saints/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [“There was a lot of Sullen Malarkey on John's part.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/there-was-a-lot-of-sullen-malarkey-on-john-s-part/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [There is a time of life somewhere between the sullen fugues of adolescence and the retrenchments of middle age when human nature becomes so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/there-is-a-time-of-life-somewhere-between-the-sullen-fugues-of/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [When I am feeling depressed and anxious sullen all you have to do is take off your clothes and all is wiped away revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/when-i-am-feeling-depressed-and-anxious-sullen-all-you-have-to-do-is/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I desire Virtue, though I love her not- I have no faith in her when she is got: I fear that she will bind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wickham/i-desire-virtue-though-i-love-her-not-i-have-no-faith-in-her-when-she/) [Anna Wickham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wickham/) > [ What would it mean in practice to eliminate all the 'negative people' from one's life \[as demanded by motivational speaker J.P. Maroney\]? It might… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/what-would-it-mean-in-practice-to-eliminate-all-the-negative-people/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall, By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/and-by-his-smile-i-knew-that-sullen-hall-by-his-dead-smile-i-knew-we/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [No person who has not spent a period of his life in those 'stark and sullen solitudes that sentinel the Pole' will understand fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-shackleton/no-person-who-has-not-spent-a-period-of-his-life-in-those-stark-and/) [Ernest Shackleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-shackleton/) > [Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing impetuous, a black sullen soul . Less base the fear of death than fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy-flight-on-wing-impetuous-a/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) ## More by Alexander Smith > [Pleasure has no logic; it never treads in its own footsteps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/pleasure-has-no-logic-it-never-treads-in-its-own-footsteps/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [The great man is the man who does a thing for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/the-great-man-is-the-man-who-does-a-thing-for-the-first-time/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [Eternity doth wear upon her face the veil of time. They only see the veil, and thus they know not what they stand so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/eternity-doth-wear-upon-her-face-the-veil-of-time-they-only-see-the/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [There is a certain even-handed justice in Time; and for what he takes away he gives us something in return. He robs us of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/there-is-a-certain-even-handed-justice-in-time-and-for-what-he-takes/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [Thoughts must come naturally, like wild-flowers; they cannot be forced in a hot-bed, even although aided by the leaf-mould of your past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/thoughts-must-come-naturally-like-wild-flowers-they-cannot-be-forced/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/in-the-entire-circle-of-the-year-there-are-no-days-so-delightful-as/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [The globe has been circumnavigated, but no man ever yet has; you may survey a kingdom and note the result in maps, but all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/the-globe-has-been-circumnavigated-but-no-man-ever-yet-has-you-may/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [In winter, when the dismal rain Comes down in slanting lines, And Wind, that grand old harper, smote His thunder-harp of pines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/in-winter-when-the-dismal-rain-comes-down-in-slanting-lines-and-wind/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [And in any case, to the old man, when the world becomes trite, the triteness arises not so much from a cessation as from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/and-in-any-case-to-the-old-man-when-the-world-becomes-trite-the/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [Most brilliant star upon the crest of Time Is England. England!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/most-brilliant-star-upon-the-crest-of-time-is-england-england/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [In my garden, care stops at the gate and gazes at me wistfully through the bars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/in-my-garden-care-stops-at-the-gate-and-gazes-at-me-wistfully-through/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [The spot of ground on which a man has stood is forever interesting to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/the-spot-of-ground-on-which-a-man-has-stood-is-forever-interesting-to/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [To sit for one's portrait is like being present at one's own creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/to-sit-for-one-s-portrait-is-like-being-present-at-one-s-own-creation/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [There is nothing good in this world which time does not improve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/there-is-nothing-good-in-this-world-which-time-does-not-improve/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/love-is-but-the-discovery-of-ourselves-in-others-and-the-delight-in/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) [Explore all 111 Alexander Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) ## More Barren quotes > [“This book is written in a barren period of loss with an attempt to move forward towards substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phindiwe-nkosi/this-book-is-written-in-a-barren-period-of-loss-with-an-attempt-to/) [Phindiwe Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phindiwe-nkosi/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [You may boldly say, you did not plough Or trust the barren and ungrateful sands With the fruitful grain of your religious counsels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/you-may-boldly-say-you-did-not-plough-or-trust-the-barren-and/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [My icons do not raise up the blessed savior in elaborate cathedrals. They are constructed concentrations celebrating barren rooms. They bring a limited light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-flavin/my-icons-do-not-raise-up-the-blessed-savior-in-elaborate-cathedrals/) [Dan Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-flavin/) > [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [The apparition of an evil, sick unconscious wild city rose before me in visible semblance, and about the dead buildings in the barren air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-apparition-of-an-evil-sick-unconscious-wild-city-rose-before-me/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Please don't settle for happiness. It's not good enough. Of course you deserve it, but if that's all you have in mind - happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/please-don-t-settle-for-happiness-it-s-not-good-enough-of-course-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All men who live only according to their five senses, and seek nothing beyond the gratification of their natural appetites for pleasure and reputation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/all-men-who-live-only-according-to-their-five-senses-and-seek-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Perseverance gives power to weakness, and opens to poverty the world's wealth. It spreads fertility over the barren landscape, and buds the choicest flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-griswold-goodrich/perseverance-gives-power-to-weakness-and-opens-to-poverty-the-world-s/) Samuel Griswold Goodrich > [“Life without love is nothing but a barren piece of land.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-ashok-anand/life-without-love-is-nothing-but-a-barren-piece-of-land/) [Dr. Ashok Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-ashok-anand/) > [Fruits fail and love dies and time ranges;Thou art fed with perpetual breath, and alive after infinite changes,And fresh from the kisses of death,Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/fruits-fail-and-love-dies-and-time-ranges-thou-art-fed-with-perpetual/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [By the deficiency or absence of one necessary constituent, all the others being present, the soil is rendered barren for all those crops to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/by-the-deficiency-or-absence-of-one-necessary-constituent-all-the/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) Browse all 324 Barren quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sun was down, And all the west was paved with sullen fire. 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