--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Darkness came like a black flag waved…" description: "\"“Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the city, then pushing forward the individual spec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg" --- # Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon… ![“Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the city, then pushing forward the individual specks of street and building lights as though in recompense.” quote by Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg) > ““Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the city, then pushing forward the individual specks of street and building lights as though in recompense.”” [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage depicts an encroaching darkness that overwhelms the city, turning its ordinary light into a stark contrast, symbolizing an ominous, transformative force. **In simple terms:** Darkness overwhelms the city’s light. Key Takeaway Darkness reshapes perception. Themes transformation contrast ominous atmosphere urban decay light vs. darkness Mood foreboding austere melancholic Type descriptive poetic narrative When to use this quote - nightfall over a metropolis - post‑apocalyptic setting - a city under siege - a sudden storm - a blackout scenario Key Concepts visual metaphor environmental shift psychological impact Practical Applications - setting mood in speculative fiction - illustrating societal collapse Questions to Reflect On - What does the darkness represent beyond the literal? - How does the contrast affect the reader’s emotional response? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Pushing forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing-forward/) ## Related quotes > [“A valise without straps. A hole without a key. She had a German mouth, French ears, Russian ass. Cunt international. When the flag waved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/a-valise-without-straps-a-hole-without-a-key-she-had-a-german-mouth/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“O Lord, we’ve erred!’\* He sighed with heart aflame, ‘We lost the way as soon as darkness came!’ So destiny can block the sun’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalaluddin-rumi/o-lord-we-ve-erred-he-sighed-with-heart-aflame-we-lost-the-way-as/) [Jalaluddin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalaluddin-rumi/) > [And out of darkness came the hands that reach thro' nature, moulding men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/and-out-of-darkness-came-the-hands-that-reach-thro-nature-moulding-men/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [“In that darkness, the Others came riding, she used to say, dropping her voice lower and lower. Cold and dead they were, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/in-that-darkness-the-others-came-riding-she-used-to-say-dropping-her/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [And out of darkness came the hands that reach through nature, moulding men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/and-out-of-darkness-came-the-hands-that-reach-through-nature-moulding/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [“I walked far down a dirt side road and into a farmer's field - some sort of cereal that was chest high and corn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-walked-far-down-a-dirt-side-road-and-into-a-farmer-s-field-some/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“When the darkness came for Dottie, it was quick and it was total.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/when-the-darkness-came-for-dottie-it-was-quick-and-it-was-total/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“Let's just stand still. Maybe whoever it is won't notice us. It's dark out anyway." Both boys knew it could just be someone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-gray/let-s-just-stand-still-maybe-whoever-it-is-won-t-notice-us-it-s-dark/) Sadie Gray > [“Now goes under, and I watch it go under, the sun That will not rise again. Today has seen the setting, in your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/now-goes-under-and-i-watch-it-go-under-the-sun-that-will-not-rise/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“I had time to understand this, before the darkness came to collect me. I had time to understand that I had won, that even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/i-had-time-to-understand-this-before-the-darkness-came-to-collect-me/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“Old Nan nodded. ‘In that darkness, the Others came for the first time,’ she said as her needles went click, click, click. ‘They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/old-nan-nodded-in-that-darkness-the-others-came-for-the-first-time/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Everybody's darkness is different. My darkness came from my mom having pancreatitis and almost dyin'. And what I noticed was that the darkness ain't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/everybody-s-darkness-is-different-my-darkness-came-from-my-mom-having/) [Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/) > [“Shadows   The shadows looming in the corners wore colors similar to bruises. No way of knowing when the darkness would end. Heart racing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennae-cecelia/shadows-the-shadows-looming-in-the-corners-wore-colors-similar-to/) [Jennae Cecelia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennae-cecelia/) > [The night crept on apace, the moon went down, the stars grew pale and dim, and morning, cold as they, slowly approached. Then, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-night-crept-on-apace-the-moon-went-down-the-stars-grew-pale-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light, darkness came. My lyre is turned to mourning, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/but-when-i-looked-for-good-evil-came-and-when-i-waited-for-light/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) ## More by Iain M. Banks > [“It never ceased to amaze him how quickly a small child's face could turn from peach to beetroot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/it-never-ceased-to-amaze-him-how-quickly-a-small-child-s-face-could/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“There's something very... I don't know; primitive, perhaps, about you, Gurgeh. You've never changed sex, have you?' He shook his head. 'Or slept with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/there-s-something-very-i-don-t-know-primitive-perhaps-about-you/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [ “\[I\]t was really only in the generation or two before hers that the idea had started to traverse the spectrum of likelihood in the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/i-t-was-really-only-in-the-generation-or-two-before-hers-that-the/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Some problems were generational; you just had to wait for the relevant elders to die off and be replaced with more progressive types.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/some-problems-were-generational-you-just-had-to-wait-for-the-relevant/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“I can understand that people want to feel special and important and so on, but that self-obsession seems a bit pathetic somehow. Not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/i-can-understand-that-people-want-to-feel-special-and-important-and/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“We always want more, he thought, we always take our past successes for granted and assume they point the way to future success. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/we-always-want-more-he-thought-we-always-take-our-past-successes-for/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“just one more species, which would grow and expand and then, finding the plateau phase all non-suicidal species eventually arrived at, settle down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/just-one-more-species-which-would-grow-and-expand-and-then-finding/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Then the machine started to reel off infant-mortality rates and life-expectancy figures, sex ratios, types of diseases and their prevalence in the various strata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/then-the-machine-started-to-reel-off-infant-mortality-rates-and-life/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“he saw that which cannot be seen; a concept; the adaptive, self-seeking urge to survive, to bend everything that can be reached to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/he-saw-that-which-cannot-be-seen-a-concept-the-adaptive-self-seeking/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Their history wasn’t so far off the mean track, they were going through what a thousand other civilizations had gone through, and no doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/their-history-wasn-t-so-far-off-the-mean-track-they-were-going/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Tell me, what is happiness?” “Happiness? Happiness... is to wake up, on a bright spring morning, after an exhausting first night spent with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/tell-me-what-is-happiness-happiness-happiness-is-to-wake-up-on-a/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Most people are not prepared to have their minds changed," he said. "And I think they know in their hearts that other people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/most-people-are-not-prepared-to-have-their-minds-changed-he-said-and/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Once one survives the trough that comes with the understanding that people are going to go on being stupid and cruel to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/once-one-survives-the-trough-that-comes-with-the-understanding-that/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“God, what did any of it matter, in the end? You lived; you died. You were as indistinguishable from a distance as one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/god-what-did-any-of-it-matter-in-the-end-you-lived-you-died-you-were/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Now, quite apart from the fact that, from the point of view of the Earther, socialism suffers the devastating liability of only exhibiting internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/now-quite-apart-from-the-fact-that-from-the-point-of-view-of-the/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) [Explore all 122 Iain M. Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) ## 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 [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the city, then pushing forward the individual specks of street and building lights as though in recompense.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iain M. Banks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-over-the-canyon-drawing-back/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-over-the-canyon-drawing-back/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/iain-m-banks-3729_darkness_darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-ov_75945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the…” — Iain M. Banks", "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": "Iain M. Banks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Darkness came like a black flag...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-over-the-canyon-drawing-back/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-over-the-canyon-drawing-back/#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 } } ] } ```