--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse…" description: "\"Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse that bites deep.\" — D. H. Lawrence" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/d-h-lawrence-426_art_literature-is-a-toil-and-a-snare-a-curse_704015.png" --- # Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse that bites deep. ![“Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse that bites deep.” quote by D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/d-h-lawrence-426_art_literature-is-a-toil-and-a-snare-a-curse_704015.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/d-h-lawrence-426_art_literature-is-a-toil-and-a-snare-a-curse_704015.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/d-h-lawrence-426_art_literature-is-a-toil-and-a-snare-a-curse_704015.png) > “Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse that bites deep.” [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote portrays literature as both a demanding labor and a trap that can cause deep, lingering pain. **In simple terms:** Writing can be hard and painful. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost but value the insight. Themes creative struggle pain artistic burden Mood reflective melancholy Type analytical poetic When to use this quote - writing a novel - academic research - personal journaling - critical analysis Key Concepts existentialism psychology literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel literature heals as much as it hurts? - How can you balance effort and enjoyment? A Different Perspective The pain described may be overstated; many find joy in creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Bites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bites/) [Bites Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bites-deep-1452180/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Toil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-toil-5568026/) [Snare Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snare-curse-5568027/) [Snares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snares/) [Toil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toil/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/positano-bites-deep-it-is-a-dream-place-that-isn-t-quite-real-when/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Extol not riches then, the toil of fools, The wise man's cumbrance, if not snare, more apt To slacken virtue, and abate her edge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/extol-not-riches-then-the-toil-of-fools-the-wise-man-s-cumbrance-if/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/through-many-dangers-toils-and-snares-i-have-already-come-tis-grace/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils. They have seen with regret and indignation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-sober-people-of-america-are-weary-of-the-fluctuating-policy-which/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [He can best avoid a snare who knows how to set one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/he-can-best-avoid-a-snare-who-knows-how-to-set-one/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [FREE animals of the jungle/air/sea/mountains are called 'wild', 'savage', 'vicious', 'beasts' who defend themselves and their own territories from greedy, ruthless 'brave' men armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adela-popescu/free-animals-of-the-jungle-air-sea-mountains-are-called-wild-savage/) [Adela Popescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adela-popescu/) > [Hunting and fishing involve killing animals with devices (such as guns) for which the animals have not evolved natural defenses. No animal on earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/hunting-and-fishing-involve-killing-animals-with-devices-such-as-guns/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Satan, who is a wonderful contriver of delusions, is constantly laying snares to entrap ignorant and heedless people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/satan-who-is-a-wonderful-contriver-of-delusions-is-constantly-laying/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Where did he go!” he bellowed, gloved hands clenching. “I had him in a snare that would take Alexander the Great a lifetime to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/where-did-he-go-he-bellowed-gloved-hands-clenching-i-had-him-in-a/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [The wolf dreads the pitfall, the hawk suspects the snare, and the kite the covered hook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-wolf-dreads-the-pitfall-the-hawk-suspects-the-snare-and-the-kite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > ['Come hither, my boy, tell me what thou seest there?' 'A fool tangled in a religious snare.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/come-hither-my-boy-tell-me-what-thou-seest-there-a-fool-tangled-in-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [When we kissed, it didn't matter that I had been a wolf hours ago, or that I would be a wolf again. It didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/when-we-kissed-it-didn-t-matter-that-i-had-been-a-wolf-hours-ago-or/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I'm a Gemini, so there's two people in me. Straight up. There's the nerd who is totally zoned out in the studio, EQ-ing this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/i-m-a-gemini-so-there-s-two-people-in-me-straight-up-there-s-the-nerd/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare . . . what did Professor Sprout say? — it likes the dark and the damp —” “So light a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/devil-s-snare-devil-s-snare-what-did-professor-sprout-say-it-likes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And as she jogged out of sight, they could hear her muttering, "Tentacula. Devil's Snare. And Snargaluff pods. Yes, I'd like to see Death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-as-she-jogged-out-of-sight-they-could-hear-her-muttering/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by D. H. Lawrence > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-chamber-as-big-as-the-crystal/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. 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It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-war-is-dreadful-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-follow-it/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-nearer-a-conception-comes-towards-finality-the-nearer-does-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [It is our business to go as we are impelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-our-business-to-go-as-we-are-impelled/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/ours-is-essentially-a-tragic-age-so-we-refuse-to-take-it-tragically/) [D. H. 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Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. 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