--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A tough life needs a tough language—and…" description: "\"“A tough life needs a tough language—and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers—a language powerful enough to say how it is.”\" — Jeanet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/jeanette-winterson-166_books_a-tough-life-needs-a-tough-language-and_442744.jpg" --- # A tough life needs a tough language—and that is what… ![“A tough life needs a tough language—and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers—a language powerful enough to say how it is.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/jeanette-winterson-166_books_a-tough-life-needs-a-tough-language-and_442744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/jeanette-winterson-166_books_a-tough-life-needs-a-tough-language-and_442744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/jeanette-winterson-166_books_a-tough-life-needs-a-tough-language-and_442744.jpg) > ““A tough life needs a tough language—and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers—a language powerful enough to say how it is.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A difficult life requires strong, expressive language; poetry provides that powerful medium. **In simple terms:** Hard life needs tough language; poetry delivers. Key Takeaway Use poetry to articulate hardship. Themes literature expression resilience Mood introspective hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - education - creative writing - public speaking Key Concepts poetics linguistic power Questions to Reflect On - How can language shape perception of hardship? - What role does poetry play in healing? A Different Perspective Poetry may not capture all experiences; some may find it inaccessible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Tough life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-life/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“I wasn’t reading poetry because my aim was to work my way through English Literature in Prose A–Z. But this was different. I read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-wasn-t-reading-poetry-because-my-aim-was-to-work-my-way-through/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I had no one to help me, but the T. S. Eliot helped me. So when people say that poetry is a luxury, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-had-no-one-to-help-me-but-the-t-s-eliot-helped-me-so-when-people/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [That is what literature offers—a language powerful enough to say how it is. It isn't a hiding place. It is a finding place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/that-is-what-literature-offers-a-language-powerful-enough-to-say-how/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I think Greek is a really tough language to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sakkari/i-think-greek-is-a-really-tough-language-to-learn/) [Maria Sakkari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sakkari/) > [I had a chance to go to Italy when I was younger and that would have been tough because of the language. America is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lampard/i-had-a-chance-to-go-to-italy-when-i-was-younger-and-that-would-have/) [Frank Lampard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lampard/) > [In general, in poetry and literature, I am among those people who believe that too much is indispensable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/in-general-in-poetry-and-literature-i-am-among-those-people-who/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > [I feel the written word, poetry and literature is just one of the most beautiful things that human beings do. So we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-feel-the-written-word-poetry-and-literature-is-just-one-of-the-most/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [Romance is the poetry of literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-curchod/romance-is-the-poetry-of-literature/) [Suzanne Curchod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-curchod/) > [My wife has a beastly habit of comparing poetry -- all literature in fact -- to the droppings of the goats among the rocks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/my-wife-has-a-beastly-habit-of-comparing-poetry-all-literature-in/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We go to poetry, we go to literature in general, to be forwarded within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/we-go-to-poetry-we-go-to-literature-in-general-to-be-forwarded-within/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“When I write poetry, I’ll write it down, or a tiny bit of it, and then have to depend on the reader to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-anderson/when-i-write-poetry-i-ll-write-it-down-or-a-tiny-bit-of-it-and-then/) William Anderson > [Like speaks to like only; labor to labor, philosophy to philosophy, criticism to criticism, poetry to poetry. Literature speaks how much still to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/like-speaks-to-like-only-labor-to-labor-philosophy-to-philosophy/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think it was something I inherited from my mother, who learned to do it. You know, I, like a baby duckling, was merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-think-it-was-something-i-inherited-from-my-mother-who-learned-to-do/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [The language is always powerful in Shakespeare, but with 'Antony and Cleopatra,' the speeches are so big and muscular and rich - exhausting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-walter/the-language-is-always-powerful-in-shakespeare-but-with-antony-and/) [Harriet Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-walter/) > [If you think of music as a universal language, it still has some very powerful dialects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/if-you-think-of-music-as-a-universal-language-it-still-has-some-very/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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