--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the…" description: "\"My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the strings Vibrate most readily to minor chords, Searching and sad; my mind is stuffed with words Which voice the pas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png" --- # My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the strings Vibrate most… ![“My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the strings Vibrate most readily to minor chords, Searching and sad; my mind is stuffed with words Which voice the passion and the ache of things: Illusions beating with their baffled wings Against the walls of circumstance.” quote by Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png) > “My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the strings Vibrate most readily to minor chords, Searching and sad; my mind is stuffed with words Which voice the passion and the ache of things: Illusions beating with their baffled wings Against the walls of circumstance.” [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sorrow shapes artistic expression, turning pain into creative resonance that challenges circumstances. **In simple terms:** Sorrow fuels art and challenges limits. Key Takeaway Channel sadness into creative work. Themes art sorrow creativity Mood melancholic inspired Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - writing - music composition - therapy - performance Key Concepts emotional expression musical metaphor resilience Questions to Reflect On - How does melancholy inspire your work? - When does sorrow become a barrier? A Different Perspective Romanticizing pain can hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [She lived for others, her heart tuned to their anguish and their needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/she-lived-for-others-her-heart-tuned-to-their-anguish-and-their-needs/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [If you're texting Magnus to say 'I think u r kewl,' I'm going to kill you." "Who's Magnus?" Max inquired. "He's a warlock," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-you-re-texting-magnus-to-say-i-think-u-r-kewl-i-m-going-to-kill/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Nothing baffles the schemes of evil people so much as the calm composure of great souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honore-gabriel-riqueti-comte-de-mirabeau/nothing-baffles-the-schemes-of-evil-people-so-much-as-the-calm/) [Honore Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honore-gabriel-riqueti-comte-de-mirabeau/) > [“I know well enough what it is, provided that nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-augustine-of-hippo/i-know-well-enough-what-it-is-provided-that-nobody-asks-me-but-if-i/) [St. Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-augustine-of-hippo/) > [Talk not of genius baffled. Genius is master of man. Genius does what it must, and Talent does what it can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/talk-not-of-genius-baffled-genius-is-master-of-man-genius-does-what/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us-2/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [The fanatical Communist refuses to believe any unfavorable report or evidence about Russia, nor will he be disillusioned by seeing with his own eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-fanatical-communist-refuses-to-believe-any-unfavorable-report-or/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Gail had a baby named Ned who was four months old, and a new look of baffled hurt, a left-behind sadness, like she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/gail-had-a-baby-named-ned-who-was-four-months-old-and-a-new-look-of/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) > [Unbelievable," I heard Christian mutter behind me. "She toops them both?" I head Drustan ask. "And they permit it?" Dageus sounded baffled. I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/unbelievable-i-heard-christian-mutter-behind-me-she-toops-them-both-i/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“The only side God chooses is one of commonsense. If it doesn’t make sense; it is not God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-only-side-god-chooses-is-one-of-commonsense-if-it-doesn-t-make/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [There is such a thing as the courage in remaining baffled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-antrim/there-is-such-a-thing-as-the-courage-in-remaining-baffled/) [Donald Antrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-antrim/) > [It is sometimes of God's mercy that men in the eager pursuit of worldly aggrandizement are baffled; for they are very like a train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/it-is-sometimes-of-god-s-mercy-that-men-in-the-eager-pursuit-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely. The notion that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [“Identity confusion... is as if somebody lost their mental road map and has no appreciation of who they are or what is going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-chefetz/identity-confusion-is-as-if-somebody-lost-their-mental-road-map-and/) Richard A. Chefetz > [God has sovereignly pulled back the curtain on His glory. He has disclosed Himself on the platform of both creation and redemption that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/god-has-sovereignly-pulled-back-the-curtain-on-his-glory-he-has/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) ## More by Amy Lowell > [Happiness, to some, is elation; to others it is mere stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/happiness-to-some-is-elation-to-others-it-is-mere-stagnation/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [On the neck of the young man sparkles no gem so gracious as enterprise. Youth condemns; maturity condones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/on-the-neck-of-the-young-man-sparkles-no-gem-so-gracious-as/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Sexual love is the most stupendous fact of the universe, and the most magical mystery our poor blind senses know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/sexual-love-is-the-most-stupendous-fact-of-the-universe-and-the-most/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [I do not suppose that anyone not a poet can realize the agony of creating a poem. Every nerve, even every muscle, seems strained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-do-not-suppose-that-anyone-not-a-poet-can-realize-the-agony-of/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [I shall go Up and down In my gown. Gorgeously arrayed, Boned and stayed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-shall-go-up-and-down-in-my-gown-gorgeously-arrayed-boned-and-stayed/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Underneath my stiffened gown Is the softness of a woman bathing in a marble basin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/underneath-my-stiffened-gown-is-the-softness-of-a-woman-bathing-in-a/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Poetry is the most concentrated form of literature; it is the most emotionalized and powerful way in which thought can be presented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/poetry-is-the-most-concentrated-form-of-literature-it-is-the-most/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [How loud clocks can tick when a room is empty, and one is alone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/how-loud-clocks-can-tick-when-a-room-is-empty-and-one-is-alone/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Only those of our poets who kept solidly to the Shakespearean tradition achieved any measure of success. But Keats was the last great exponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/only-those-of-our-poets-who-kept-solidly-to-the-shakespearean/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [“Christ! What are patterns for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/christ-what-are-patterns-for/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Poets are always the advance guard of literature; the advance guard of life. It is for this reason that their recognition comes so slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/poets-are-always-the-advance-guard-of-literature-the-advance-guard-of/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Witches are moon-birds, Witches are the women of the false, beautiful moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/witches-are-moon-birds-witches-are-the-women-of-the-false-beautiful/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [I should like to bring a case to trial: Prosperity versus Beauty, Cash registers teetering in a balance against the comfort of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-should-like-to-bring-a-case-to-trial-prosperity-versus-beauty-cash/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Not a softness anywhere about me, Only whalebone and brocade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/not-a-softness-anywhere-about-me-only-whalebone-and-brocade/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Youth condemns; maturity condones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/youth-condemns-maturity-condones/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) [Explore all 84 Amy Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) ## More Ache quotes > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-lives-with-the-stress-of-an-overwhelmed-schedule-will/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [as we acquire new aches and new pains, our health care is, of necessity, being supplied by internists, cardiologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, urologists, periodontists, gynecologists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/as-we-acquire-new-aches-and-new-pains-our-health-care-is-of-necessity/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [Jamie enjoyed solitude, but loneliness was a constant ache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/jamie-enjoyed-solitude-but-loneliness-was-a-constant-ache/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-landay/an-emotion-is-a-thought-yes-an-idea-but-it-is-also-a-sensation-an/) [William Landay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-landay/) > [He that sleeps feels not the tooth-ache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-sleeps-feels-not-the-tooth-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-live-this-day-as-if-it-is-my-last-i-will-waste-not-a-moment/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) Browse all 489 Ache quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the strings Vibrate most readily to minor chords, Searching and sad; my mind is stuffed with words Which voice the passion and the ache of things: Illusions beating with their baffled wings Against the walls of circumstance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amy Lowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-strings-vibrate-most-readily-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ache" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-strings-vibrate-most-readily-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/amy-lowell-7892_ache_my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-stri_1022276.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My heart is tuned to sorrow, and the strings Vibrate most readily to minor chords, Searching and sad; my…” — Amy Lowell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amy Lowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My heart is tuned to sorrow,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-strings-vibrate-most-readily-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/my-heart-is-tuned-to-sorrow-and-the-strings-vibrate-most-readily-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```