--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have to cry out here that language is…" description: "\"“I have to cry out here that language is all we have for the delicacy and truth of telling, that words are the sole heroes and heroines of fiction. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/janet-frame-8769_language_i-have-to-cry-out-here-that-language-is_179992.jpg" --- # I have to cry out here that language is all we have for… ![“I have to cry out here that language is all we have for the delicacy and truth of telling, that words are the sole heroes and heroines of fiction. Their generosity and forgiveness make one weep. They will accept anything and stand by it, and show no sign of suffering. They will accept change…” quote by Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/janet-frame-8769_language_i-have-to-cry-out-here-that-language-is_179992.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/janet-frame-8769_language_i-have-to-cry-out-here-that-language-is_179992.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/janet-frame-8769_language_i-have-to-cry-out-here-that-language-is_179992.jpg) > ““I have to cry out here that language is all we have for the delicacy and truth of telling, that words are the sole heroes and heroines of fiction. Their generosity and forgiveness make one weep. They will accept anything and stand by it, and show no sign of suffering. They will accept change, painlessly, the only pain being that experienced by those who use words, scattering them like beans in a field and hoping for morning beanstalks as high as the sky with heavenly commotion there, upstairs where the giants live.”” [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language is the essential tool for expressing delicate truth in fiction; words act as generous, forgiving heroes that bear any story without suffering, allowing creators to scatter ideas and hope for lofty outcomes. **In simple terms:** Words are the vital, forgiving medium for telling truth in stories. Key Takeaway Use language thoughtfully, recognizing its power and limits. Themes creativity expression fiction language truth Mood reflective hopeful inspirational Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing novels - poetry - storytelling workshops - editing drafts Key Concepts narrative power symbolic generosity literary craft Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of truth? - When do words fail to capture reality? A Different Perspective Words cannot convey all experience; they may mask nuance or be misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“What did I see? It's no use telling you there are no words. Of course there are words; there are always words. The question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/what-did-i-see-it-s-no-use-telling-you-there-are-no-words-of-course/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“As a basic step of self-esteem, learn to treat as the mark of a cannibal any man’s demand for your help. To demand it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/as-a-basic-step-of-self-esteem-learn-to-treat-as-the-mark-of-a/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Criticism is only words about words, and of what use are words about such words as these?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/criticism-is-only-words-about-words-and-of-what-use-are-words-about/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Good men died for our right to say whatever we want to say and use whatever words we want to use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fraser-anning/good-men-died-for-our-right-to-say-whatever-we-want-to-say-and-use/) [Fraser Anning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fraser-anning/) > [Words are our servants, not our masters. For different purposes, we find it convenient to use words in different senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/words-are-our-servants-not-our-masters-for-different-purposes-we-find/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Being able to use words properly was a great advantage, for the more words you knew the meaning of, the better you could think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-holms/being-able-to-use-words-properly-was-a-great-advantage-for-the-more/) Anne Holms > [Words are not too old, only people are too old if they use the same words too frequently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/words-are-not-too-old-only-people-are-too-old-if-they-use-the-same/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Words are powerful vibrations, use words to uplift your spirits and heal yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-smart/words-are-powerful-vibrations-use-words-to-uplift-your-spirits-and/) [Ralph Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-smart/) > [I am deeply moved when I write. I get turned on by it. I've never used any drugs for stimulation. I don't use words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-am-deeply-moved-when-i-write-i-get-turned-on-by-it-i-ve-never-used/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Action speaks more powerful than words, but when you use words as your actions; you probably won't stop talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/action-speaks-more-powerful-than-words-but-when-you-use-words-as-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I gotta use words to talk to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-gotta-use-words-to-talk-to-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you want to cry, plug it. When you want to run, glue it. When you want to shrivel up and hide, stretch it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-caldwell/when-you-want-to-cry-plug-it-when-you-want-to-run-glue-it-when-you/) Nicole Caldwell > [“After years of not speaking, I understood the importance of words. How they had the power to hurt individuals, yet they also had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittainy-c-cherry/after-years-of-not-speaking-i-understood-the-importance-of-words-how/) [Brittainy C. Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittainy-c-cherry/) > [But in the finished art of the song the use of words has no connection with the use of words in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/but-in-the-finished-art-of-the-song-the-use-of-words-has-no/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [Before I'll say 'I love you' Why do I always use the words that cut the deepest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-aldean/before-i-ll-say-i-love-you-why-do-i-always-use-the-words-that-cut-the/) [Jason Aldean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-aldean/) ## More by Janet Frame > [Very often the law of extremity demands an attention to irrelevance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/very-often-the-law-of-extremity-demands-an-attention-to-irrelevance/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I must go down to the seas again to find where I buried the hatchet with Yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-must-go-down-to-the-seas-again-to-find-where-i-buried-the-hatchet/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“So I went up north to a land of palm trees and mangroves like malignant growths in the mud-filled throats of the bays, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/so-i-went-up-north-to-a-land-of-palm-trees-and-mangroves-like/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“A certain pleasure was added to Grace’s relief at establishing herself as a migratory bird. She found that she understood the characters in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/a-certain-pleasure-was-added-to-grace-s-relief-at-establishing/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [The only certainty about writing and trying to be a writer is that it has to be done, not dreamed of or planned and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/the-only-certainty-about-writing-and-trying-to-be-a-writer-is-that-it/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“Life is hell, but there are prizes. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/life-is-hell-but-there-are-prizes/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I don't want to inhabit the human world under false pretenses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-want-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretenses/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [Listening to her, one experienced a deep uneasiness as of having avoided an urgent responsibility, like someone who, walking at night along the banks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/listening-to-her-one-experienced-a-deep-uneasiness-as-of-having/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I don't wish to inhabit the human world under false pretences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-wish-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretences/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [People dread silence because it is transparent; like clear water, which reveals every obstacle—the used, the dead, the drowned, silence reveals the cast-off words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/people-dread-silence-because-it-is-transparent-like-clear-water-which/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [So we went to bed, assaulted by sleep that fumed at us from medicine glasses, or was wielded from small sweet-coated tablets -- dainty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/so-we-went-to-bed-assaulted-by-sleep-that-fumed-at-us-from-medicine/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [She grew more and more silent about what really mattered. She curled inside herself like one of those black chimney brushes, the little shellfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/she-grew-more-and-more-silent-about-what-really-mattered-she-curled/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [Conversation is the wall we build between ourselves and other people, too often with tired words like used and broken bottles which, catching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/conversation-is-the-wall-we-build-between-ourselves-and-other-people/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [But it is imperative, for our own survival, that we avoiid one another, and what more successful means of avoidance are there than words?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/but-it-is-imperative-for-our-own-survival-that-we-avoiid-one-another/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“I tried to say beware the room is laid with traps and hung with hooks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-tried-to-say-beware-the-room-is-laid-with-traps-and-hung-with-hooks/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) [Explore all 77 Janet Frame quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) TimBur > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have to cry out here that language is all we have for the delicacy and truth of telling, that words are the sole heroes and heroines of fiction. Their generosity and forgiveness make one weep. They will accept anything and stand by it, and show no sign of suffering. 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