--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Softly the breezes from the forest came…" description: "\"“Softly the breezes from the forest came, Softly they blew aside the taper's flame; Clear was the song from Philomel's far bower; Grateful the incense ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-keats-620_softly_softly-the-breezes-from-the-forest-came_3112182.jpg" --- # Softly the breezes from the forest came, Softly they blew… ![“Softly the breezes from the forest came, Softly they blew aside the taper's flame; Clear was the song from Philomel's far bower; Grateful the incense from the lime-tree flower; Mysterious, wild, the far-heard trumpet's tone; Lovely the moon in ether, all alone: Sweet too, the converse of these…” quote by John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-keats-620_softly_softly-the-breezes-from-the-forest-came_3112182.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-keats-620_softly_softly-the-breezes-from-the-forest-came_3112182.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-keats-620_softly_softly-the-breezes-from-the-forest-came_3112182.jpg) > ““Softly the breezes from the forest came, Softly they blew aside the taper's flame; Clear was the song from Philomel's far bower; Grateful the incense from the lime-tree flower; Mysterious, wild, the far-heard trumpet's tone; Lovely the moon in ether, all alone: Sweet too, the converse of these happy mortals, As that of busy spirits when the portals Are closing in the west; or that soft humming We hear around when Hesperus is coming. Sweet be their sleep.”” [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem celebrates nature’s subtle sounds and the serene beauty of night, evoking gratitude and mystery. **In simple terms:** Nature’s night sounds inspire awe. Key Takeaway Appreciate quiet moments. Themes nature beauty gratitude Mood tranquil reflective Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - night walks - poetry reading - meditation Key Concepts sensory imagery romanticism Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does the night evoke? - How does nature influence your mood? A Different Perspective The archaic language may obscure modern relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Came Softly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came-softly-4651527/) [Lovely Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovely-moon-1344018/) [Softly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/softly/) [Softly Breezes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/softly-breezes-5438274/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Song Philomel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song-philomel-5438275/) ## Related quotes > [I give people 'If You Came Softly' when they demand proof that novels for teens can be as good as the best novels for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-larbalestier/i-give-people-if-you-came-softly-when-they-demand-proof-that-novels/) [Justine Larbalestier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-larbalestier/) > [So imagine that the lovely moon is playing just for you - everything makes music if you really want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/so-imagine-that-the-lovely-moon-is-playing-just-for-you-everything/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [She was coming. I watched the slight figure grow out of the dusk between the trees, and the darkness in which I had walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-johnston/she-was-coming-i-watched-the-slight-figure-grow-out-of-the-dusk/) [Mary Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-johnston/) > [“Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/go-slowly-my-lovely-moon-go-slowly/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Jane!" cried he softly, moving closer. "All these long months that we have been apart, even believing it to be impossible, it is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syrie-james/jane-cried-he-softly-moving-closer-all-these-long-months-that-we-have/) [Syrie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syrie-james/) > [“Speak to meat eaters the way you would speak to a wild animal: softly and without any sudden movements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-j-adams/speak-to-meat-eaters-the-way-you-would-speak-to-a-wild-animal-softly/) [Carol J. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-j-adams/) > [The moving moon went up the sky, And nowhere did abide: Softly she was going up, And a star or two beside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-moving-moon-went-up-the-sky-and-nowhere-did-abide-softly-she-was/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“I know what I know,” she said softly. “But I let go of the fury I had for that boy a long time ago.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/i-know-what-i-know-she-said-softly-but-i-let-go-of-the-fury-i-had-for/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [“I love you, too," I whispered so softly I didn't know if he'd heard me. "Ti amo tanto, Sebastian, sempre e per sempre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-harvey-berrick/i-love-you-too-i-whispered-so-softly-i-didn-t-know-if-he-d-heard-me/) [Jane Harvey-Berrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-harvey-berrick/) > [Opportunity could be knocking at your door very softly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/opportunity-could-be-knocking-at-your-door-very-softly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world turns softly / Not to spill its lakes and rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-conkling/the-world-turns-softly-not-to-spill-its-lakes-and-rivers/) [Hilda Conkling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-conkling/) > [I always thought it would be a simple matter to lie wi' a woman, he said softly. And yet... I want to fall on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-always-thought-it-would-be-a-simple-matter-to-lie-wi-a-woman-he/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“I know,” he said, very softly. “Let’s go home. Let’s go home, and you can tell me whatever you want, and I’ll believe you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlyn-kane/i-know-he-said-very-softly-let-s-go-home-let-s-go-home-and-you-can/) [Ashlyn Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlyn-kane/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Sometimes, I Smile Back To Myself, And, Speaks Softly, Hope Those Day's Would Be Back Again...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-andy/sometimes-i-smile-back-to-myself-and-speaks-softly-hope-those-day-s/) [Nikhil Andy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-andy/) ## More by John Keats > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Phylosophy will clip an angel's wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/phylosophy-will-clip-an-angel-s-wings/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: We know her woof, her texture; she is given In the dull catalogue of common things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/there-was-an-awful-rainbow-once-in-heaven-we-know-her-woof-her/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-was-never-afraid-of-failure-for-i-would-sooner-fail-than-not-be/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn, Far from the fiery noon and eve's one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/deep-in-the-shady-sadness-of-a-vale-far-sunken-from-the-healthy/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [So let me be thy choir, and make a moan Upon the midnight hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/so-let-me-be-thy-choir-and-make-a-moan-upon-the-midnight-hours/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Everything that reminds me of her goes through me like a spear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/everything-that-reminds-me-of-her-goes-through-me-like-a-spear/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion - I have shudder'd at it. I shudder no more. I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-have-been-astonished-that-men-could-die-martyrs-for-their-religion/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Dance and Provencal song and sunburnt mirth! On for a beaker full of the warm South, Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene! With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/dance-and-provencal-song-and-sunburnt-mirth-on-for-a-beaker-full-of/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Many have original minds who do not think it - they are led away by custom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/many-have-original-minds-who-do-not-think-it-they-are-led-away-by/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Alas! when passion is both meek and wild!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/alas-when-passion-is-both-meek-and-wild/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Load every rift with ore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/load-every-rift-with-ore/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I shall soon be laid in the quiet grave - thank God for the quiet grave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-shall-soon-be-laid-in-the-quiet-grave-thank-god-for-the-quiet-grave/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/when-old-age-shall-this-generation-waste-thou-shalt-remain-in-midst/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) [Explore all 438 John Keats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) ## More Softly quotes > [Sometimes, I Smile Back To Myself, And, Speaks Softly, Hope Those Day's Would Be Back Again...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-andy/sometimes-i-smile-back-to-myself-and-speaks-softly-hope-those-day-s/) [Nikhil Andy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-andy/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“I know,” he said, very softly. “Let’s go home. Let’s go home, and you can tell me whatever you want, and I’ll believe you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlyn-kane/i-know-he-said-very-softly-let-s-go-home-let-s-go-home-and-you-can/) [Ashlyn Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlyn-kane/) > [I always thought it would be a simple matter to lie wi' a woman, he said softly. And yet... I want to fall on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-always-thought-it-would-be-a-simple-matter-to-lie-wi-a-woman-he/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The world turns softly / Not to spill its lakes and rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-conkling/the-world-turns-softly-not-to-spill-its-lakes-and-rivers/) [Hilda Conkling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-conkling/) > [Opportunity could be knocking at your door very softly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/opportunity-could-be-knocking-at-your-door-very-softly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I love you, too," I whispered so softly I didn't know if he'd heard me. "Ti amo tanto, Sebastian, sempre e per sempre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-harvey-berrick/i-love-you-too-i-whispered-so-softly-i-didn-t-know-if-he-d-heard-me/) [Jane Harvey-Berrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-harvey-berrick/) > [“I know what I know,” she said softly. “But I let go of the fury I had for that boy a long time ago.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/i-know-what-i-know-she-said-softly-but-i-let-go-of-the-fury-i-had-for/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [The moving moon went up the sky, And nowhere did abide: Softly she was going up, And a star or two beside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-moving-moon-went-up-the-sky-and-nowhere-did-abide-softly-she-was/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Speak to meat eaters the way you would speak to a wild animal: softly and without any sudden movements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-j-adams/speak-to-meat-eaters-the-way-you-would-speak-to-a-wild-animal-softly/) [Carol J. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-j-adams/) > [“Jane!" cried he softly, moving closer. "All these long months that we have been apart, even believing it to be impossible, it is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syrie-james/jane-cried-he-softly-moving-closer-all-these-long-months-that-we-have/) [Syrie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syrie-james/) > [“My head rested on his shoulder, my heart rested entirely in his hands And in a whisper, my words escaped: "I love you." He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/my-head-rested-on-his-shoulder-my-heart-rested-entirely-in-his-hands/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [“You still do not quite understand, do you?" she said softly. "I do not want you to change. I fell head over ears in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/you-still-do-not-quite-understand-do-you-she-said-softly-i-do-not/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [Bizet was a very young man when he composed this symphony, so play it softly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-ormandy/bizet-was-a-very-young-man-when-he-composed-this-symphony-so-play-it/) [Eugene Ormandy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-ormandy/) > [“Don't move, Sassenach," Jamie's voice came softly, next to me. "Just for a moment, mo duinne--be still." I obligingly froze, until he touched me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/don-t-move-sassenach-jamie-s-voice-came-softly-next-to-me-just-for-a/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) [Browse all 201 Softly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/softly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Softly the breezes from the forest came, Softly they blew aside the taper's flame; Clear was the song from Philomel's far bower; Grateful the incense from the lime-tree flower; Mysterious, wild, the far-heard trumpet's tone; Lovely the moon in ether, all alone: Sweet too, the converse of these happy mortals, As that of busy spirits when the portals Are closing in the west; or that soft humming We hear around when Hesperus is coming. 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