--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet when I looked from that highest of…" description: "\"“Yet when I looked from that highest of all gable windows, looked while the candles sputtered and the insane viol howled with the night-wind, I saw no ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_darkness_yet-when-i-looked-from-that-highest-of-a_3056859.jpg" --- # Yet when I looked from that highest of all gable windows… ![“Yet when I looked from that highest of all gable windows, looked while the candles sputtered and the insane viol howled with the night-wind, I saw no city spread below, and no friendly lights gleamed from remembered streets, but only the blackness of space illimitable; unimagined space alive with…” quote by H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_darkness_yet-when-i-looked-from-that-highest-of-a_3056859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_darkness_yet-when-i-looked-from-that-highest-of-a_3056859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/h-p-lovecraft-2-2159_darkness_yet-when-i-looked-from-that-highest-of-a_3056859.jpg) > ““Yet when I looked from that highest of all gable windows, looked while the candles sputtered and the insane viol howled with the night-wind, I saw no city spread below, and no friendly lights gleamed from remembered streets, but only the blackness of space illimitable; unimagined space alive with motion and music, and having no semblance of anything on earth. And as I stood there looking in terror, the wind blew out both the candles in that ancient peaked garret, leaving me in savage and impenetrable darkness with chaos and pandemonium before me, and the demon madness of that night-baying viol behind me.”” [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. From a high window, the narrator sees endless dark space, feeling terror and awe at the unknown. **In simple terms:** Confronting the unknown evokes both fear and wonder. Key Takeaway Embrace mystery while managing fear. Themes existential wonder terror Mood haunting introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - stargazing - exploring new ideas - artistic creation Key Concepts cosmic insignificance human curiosity psychological dread Questions to Reflect On - What does the darkness represent for you? - How do you balance fear with curiosity? A Different Perspective Human perspective can limit understanding of vastness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-chaos-1483308/) [Demon Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon-madness-3450170/) [Impenetrable Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impenetrable-darkness-2118270/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Viol Howled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viol-howled-5109709/) ## Related quotes > [“And as I stood there looking in terror, the wind blew out both the candles in that ancient peaked garret, leaving me in savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/and-as-i-stood-there-looking-in-terror-the-wind-blew-out-both-the/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Menshikov wants to see the old gold swallowed by Apophis. 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He is seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-only-to-contemplate-myself-man-comes-from-nothing-passes/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Before our eyes, at least before mine (not hers, perhaps), everything was veiled in impenetrable darkness. "It's the inner chambers," I thought, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/before-our-eyes-at-least-before-mine-not-hers-perhaps-everything-was/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [Secrecy of design, when combined with rapidity of execution, like me column that guided Israel in the deserts, becomes the guardian pillar of light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/secrecy-of-design-when-combined-with-rapidity-of-execution-like-me/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [My faith is brightest in the midst of impenetrable darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-faith-is-brightest-in-the-midst-of-impenetrable-darkness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > ['Shadow and Bone' is a fantasy set in a country inspired by Tsarist Russia that has been literally torn apart by a swathe of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/shadow-and-bone-is-a-fantasy-set-in-a-country-inspired-by-tsarist/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“It was a darkness without time. It was an impenetrable darkness. To the right and left of me rose those terrible formless things of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-leckie/it-was-a-darkness-without-time-it-was-an-impenetrable-darkness-to-the/) [Robert Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-leckie/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More by H.P. Lovecraft > [“Damn it, it wasn’t quite fresh enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/damn-it-it-wasn-t-quite-fresh-enough/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“a new chill from afar out whither the condor had flown, as if my flesh had caught a horror before my eyes had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/a-new-chill-from-afar-out-whither-the-condor-had-flown-as-if-my-flesh/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“One can trace the relics of this former happiness in the trim shapes of the buildings, the occasional graceful churches, and the evidences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/one-can-trace-the-relics-of-this-former-happiness-in-the-trim-shapes/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“many pairs of legs and with two great bat-like wings in the middle of the back. They sometimes walked on all their legs, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/many-pairs-of-legs-and-with-two-great-bat-like-wings-in-the-middle-of/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“the trees would die before the poison was out of the soil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-trees-would-die-before-the-poison-was-out-of-the-soil/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Calm, lasting beauty comes only in dream, and this solace the world had thrown away when in its worship of the real it threw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/calm-lasting-beauty-comes-only-in-dream-and-this-solace-the-world-had/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“It’s hard to have done all one’s growing up since 33 — but that’s a damn sight better than not growing up at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-s-hard-to-have-done-all-one-s-growing-up-since-33-but-that-s-a/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“By noon Carter reached the jasper terraces of Kiran which slope down to the river's edge and bear that temple of loveliness wherein the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/by-noon-carter-reached-the-jasper-terraces-of-kiran-which-slope-down/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“The vast marble dome of the State House stood out in massive silhouette, its crowning statue haloed fantastically by a break in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-vast-marble-dome-of-the-state-house-stood-out-in-massive/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“On many occasions the curious atmospheric effects enchanted me vastly; these including a strikingly vivid mirage - the first I had ever seen -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/on-many-occasions-the-curious-atmospheric-effects-enchanted-me-vastly/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Heaven knows where I'll end up - it's a safe bet I'll never be at the top of anything! Nor do I particularly care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/heaven-knows-where-i-ll-end-up-it-s-a-safe-bet-i-ll-never-be-at-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Our apprehensions were over what we might find, or fail to find, at the end of our journey; for silence continued to answer all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/our-apprehensions-were-over-what-we-might-find-or-fail-to-find-at-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“What we heard was not the fabulous note of any buried blasphemy of elder earth from whose supernal toughness an age-denied polar sun had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/what-we-heard-was-not-the-fabulous-note-of-any-buried-blasphemy-of/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“The Lurking Fear: Shrieking, slithering, torrential shadows of red viscous madness chasing one another through endless, ensanguined condors of purple fulgurous sky... formless phantasms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-lurking-fear-shrieking-slithering-torrential-shadows-of-red/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) [Explore all 148 H.P. Lovecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [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/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Yet when I looked from that highest of all gable windows, looked while the candles sputtered and the insane viol howled with the night-wind, I saw no city spread below, and no friendly lights gleamed from remembered streets, but only the blackness of space illimitable; unimagined space alive with motion and music, and having no semblance of anything on earth. 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