---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great literature rattles the mind and…"
description: "\"Great literature rattles the mind and makes the body sing. It's an unmistakable, electric feeling, and too rare. That is what I want.\" — C.E. Morgan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg"
---

#  Great literature rattles the mind and makes the body sing…

![“Great literature rattles the mind and makes the body sing. It's an unmistakable, electric feeling, and too rare. That is what I want.” quote by C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg)

> “Great literature rattles the mind and makes the body sing. It's an unmistakable, electric feeling, and too rare. That is what I want.”

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Powerful writing can profoundly affect both mind and body, creating a rare, electric experience that inspires desire for more.

**In simple terms:** Great writing sparks mind and body.

Key Takeaway

Seek works that move you deeply.

Themes

creativity inspiration artistic experience emotion desire

Mood

enthusiastic reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- reading
- creative work
- art appreciation
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

aesthetic resonance psychological impact cognitive stimulation

Questions to Reflect On

- What works make you feel this way?
- How can you capture that feeling?

A Different Perspective

Such intensity may be fleeting and hard to sustain.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Great literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-literature/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/)

## Related quotes

> [“Ultimately, I want a peak experience in reading, and that is sometimes difficult to find in contemporary fiction. I’m not interested in books that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/ultimately-i-want-a-peak-experience-in-reading-and-that-is-sometimes/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [I adore the feeling of being in a group of people who are working on something, and sort of have shared eye contact on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-d-arcy/i-adore-the-feeling-of-being-in-a-group-of-people-who-are-working-on/)

[Emma D'Arcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-d-arcy/)

> [And the boys were all clean, their faces freshly and brutally shaved, their hair painstakingly gelled into exquisite apparent carelessness, with this electric feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cameron/and-the-boys-were-all-clean-their-faces-freshly-and-brutally-shaved/)

[Peter Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cameron/)

> [“All of the things that wore you down, even as that was balanced by the electric feeling of being on the side of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/all-of-the-things-that-wore-you-down-even-as-that-was-balanced-by-the/)

[Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/)

> [Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee great literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-guarantee-great-literature/)

[Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/)

> [A people may become great through many means, but there is only one measure by which its greatness is recognized and acknowledged. The final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/a-people-may-become-great-through-many-means-but-there-is-only-one/)

[James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/)

> [Great literature is like moral leadership; everyone deplores the lack of it, but there is a tendency to prefer it from the safely dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-hazzard/great-literature-is-like-moral-leadership-everyone-deplores-the-lack/)

[Shirley Hazzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-hazzard/)

> [The most exciting periods of literature have always been those when the critics were great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-most-exciting-periods-of-literature-have-always-been-those-when/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [This act of empathy, that women go through from the time we're little girls - we read all of literature, all of history, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/this-act-of-empathy-that-women-go-through-from-the-time-we-re-little/)

[Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/)

> [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/)

[Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/)

> [The memoir by women, read by female readers, is considered a market form, not "great literature."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-zambreno/the-memoir-by-women-read-by-female-readers-is-considered-a-market/)

[Kate Zambreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-zambreno/)

> [“This is the thing about great literature. It reads like truth and sticks to you forever and lets you know that you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlaina-tibensky/this-is-the-thing-about-great-literature-it-reads-like-truth-and/)

[Arlaina Tibensky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlaina-tibensky/)

> [Absolutely No doubt: you are a great Literature, but if you Don't Have Been Any Assumptions About social situation, then have been worthless all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/absolutely-no-doubt-you-are-a-great-literature-but-if-you-don-t-have/)

Mak\_786

> [Oldboy makes us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. It's a grand, gritty, indelible experience, the sort of picture that mimics great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/oldboy-makes-us-feel-a-part-of-something-bigger-than-ourselves-it-s-a/)

[Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/)

## More by C.E. Morgan

> [When you leave good people afraid to speak on behalf of justice, however awkwardly or insensitively, those unafraid to speak will rise to power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/when-you-leave-good-people-afraid-to-speak-on-behalf-of-justice/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [I don't believe love is real love if it remains cloistered within the confines of an intimate relationship; it should transcend the private sphere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/i-don-t-believe-love-is-real-love-if-it-remains-cloistered-within-the/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [The idea that writing about characters of another race requires a passage through a critical gauntlet, which involves apology and self-examination of an almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/the-idea-that-writing-about-characters-of-another-race-requires-a/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [“some will say that death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/some-will-say-that-death/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [Humans struggle to remain attuned to one another - they want to turn away because of fear, or ambition, or boredom, or some lure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/humans-struggle-to-remain-attuned-to-one-another-they-want-to-turn/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [I have both experienced and witnessed a great deal of suffering in my life, and that has informed my art. I'm here today, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/i-have-both-experienced-and-witnessed-a-great-deal-of-suffering-in-my/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [I think of moral beauty as what is the good and the just - terms perhaps best defined by their opposite: evil. Evil is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/i-think-of-moral-beauty-as-what-is-the-good-and-the-just-terms/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [Every single aspect of a text requires very careful choices and rigorous evaluation. Style is employed - or deployed - for a reason. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/every-single-aspect-of-a-text-requires-very-careful-choices-and/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [Love is not a feeling, but an action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/love-is-not-a-feeling-but-an-action/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [“Ultimately, I want a peak experience in reading, and that is sometimes difficult to find in contemporary fiction. I’m not interested in books that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/ultimately-i-want-a-peak-experience-in-reading-and-that-is-sometimes/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [I was taught as a young person that the far political right and the far political left aren't located on a spectrum but on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/i-was-taught-as-a-young-person-that-the-far-political-right-and-the/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [“A soul loves most what is lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/a-soul-loves-most-what-is-lost/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [I think the primary gift of the animal is offered to writer and non-writer alike; they teach us about love, or attunement, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/i-think-the-primary-gift-of-the-animal-is-offered-to-writer-and-non/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [“Show me the woman that leaves a man some breathing room, acknowledges he might know a thing or two about the human heart, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/show-me-the-woman-that-leaves-a-man-some-breathing-room-acknowledges/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

> [“The man’s brow was furrowed, and he said, “Why, I believe forgiveness and love are the same thing. Don’t you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/the-man-s-brow-was-furrowed-and-he-said-why-i-believe-forgiveness-and/)

[C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

[Explore all 24 C.E. Morgan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/)

## More Body quotes

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/)

[Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/)

> [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

Jennifer Siebel Newsom

> [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/)

[Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/)

[Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/)

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/)

[Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/)

> [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/)

[Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/)

> [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/)

[Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/)

> [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

[Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Great literature rattles the mind and makes the body sing. It's an unmistakable, electric feeling, and too rare. That is what I want.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "C.E. Morgan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-makes-the-body-sing-it-s-an/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Body"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-makes-the-body-sing-it-s-an/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/c-e-morgan-24255_body_great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-ma_1187243.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Great literature rattles the mind and makes the body sing. It's an unmistakable, electric feeling, and too…” — C.E. Morgan",
                "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": "C.E. Morgan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Great literature rattles the mind and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-makes-the-body-sing-it-s-an/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/great-literature-rattles-the-mind-and-makes-the-body-sing-it-s-an/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```