--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty is terror. Whatever we call…" description: "\"Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.\" — Donna Tartt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/donna-tartt-391_beautiful_beauty-is-terror-whatever-we-call-beauti_243754.jpg" --- # Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver… ![“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/donna-tartt-391_beautiful_beauty-is-terror-whatever-we-call-beauti_243754.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/donna-tartt-391_beautiful_beauty-is-terror-whatever-we-call-beauti_243754.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/donna-tartt-391_beautiful_beauty-is-terror-whatever-we-call-beauti_243754.jpg) > “Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty is terrifying; its allure can provoke fear and awe simultaneously. **In simple terms:** Beauty can be frightening. Key Takeaway Recognize both wonder and fear in what captivates you. Themes a fear aesthetics Mood intense contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art critique - personal reflection - creative inspiration Key Concepts sublime psychology contrast Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of beauty make you uneasy? - How can you transform fear into inspiration? A Different Perspective May discourage appreciation of beauty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ## Related quotes > [“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-a-very-greek-idea-and-a-very-profound-one-beauty-is-terror-2/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“And what is beauty?” “Terror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-what-is-beauty-terror/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Death is the mother of Beauty. And what is Beauty? 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No feeling is final.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/let-everything-happen-to-you-beauty-and-terror-no-feeling-is-final/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“She told him he saw the world with the eye of an artist and so could isolate beauty from the terror of existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-malcolm/she-told-him-he-saw-the-world-with-the-eye-of-an-artist-and-so-could/) Brooks Malcolm > [“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/let-everything-happen-to-you-beauty-and-terror/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/willows-whiten-aspens-quiver-little-breezes-dusk-and-shiver/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [When I first started, I was really nervous. 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