--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now hear me. Before the end, you will…" description: "\"“Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.”\" — Katherine Arden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg" --- # Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at… ![“Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.” quote by Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg) > ““Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.”” [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A prophetic warning of inevitable loss, self‑determined death, and mourning for beauty. **In simple terms:** Foretells loss, choice, and grief. Key Takeaway Prepare for inevitable change and cherish beauty. Themes mortality choice grief Mood somber poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - creative work - environmental change - spiritual practice Key Concepts fate agency Questions to Reflect On - What choices do you have in face of destiny? - How do you honor beauty amid loss? A Different Perspective Accepting fate may diminish agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Snowdrops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowdrops/) ## Related quotes > [“Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/before-the-end-you-will-pluck-snowdrops-at-midwinter-die-by-your-own/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“Think of me sometimes," he returned. "When the snowdrops have bloomed and the snow has melted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/think-of-me-sometimes-he-returned-when-the-snowdrops-have-bloomed-and/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [Nor will I then thy modest grace forget, Chaste Snow-drop, venturous harbinger of Spring, And pensive monitor of fleeting years!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/nor-will-i-then-thy-modest-grace-forget-chaste-snow-drop-venturous/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Every moment the patches of green grew bigger and the patches of snow grew smaller. Every moment more and more of the trees shook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/every-moment-the-patches-of-green-grew-bigger-and-the-patches-of-snow/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“It's only the beginning of January, but some daffodils and snowdrops have made it through the earth and stand wetly in little rows by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/it-s-only-the-beginning-of-january-but-some-daffodils-and-snowdrops/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [She tapped on the window with her embossed hairbrush. They were too far off to hear. The drone of the trees was in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-tapped-on-the-window-with-her-embossed-hairbrush-they-were-too/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [White rose in red rose-garden Is not so white; Snowdrops, that plead for pardon And pine for fright Because the hard East blows Over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/white-rose-in-red-rose-garden-is-not-so-white-snowdrops-that-plead/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [The bed of flowers Loosens amain, The beauteous snowdrops Droop o'er the plain. The crocus opens Its glowing bud, Like emeralds others, Others, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-bed-of-flowers-loosens-amain-the-beauteous-snowdrops-droop-o-er/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [So Spring comes merry towards me here, but earns No answering smile from me, whose life is twin'd With the dead boughs that winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-gabriel-rossetti/so-spring-comes-merry-towards-me-here-but-earns-no-answering-smile/) [Dante Gabriel Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-gabriel-rossetti/) > [I wonder if the sap is stirring yet, If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate, If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/i-wonder-if-the-sap-is-stirring-yet-if-wintry-birds-are-dreaming-of-a/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [It is a thought as sweet as heaven to know that in the minds of each of us the may by the fence still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-langley/it-is-a-thought-as-sweet-as-heaven-to-know-that-in-the-minds-of-each/) Eve Langley > [Late February, and the air's so balmy snowdrops and crocuses might be fooled into early blooming. Then, the inevitable blizzard will come, blighting our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mazur/late-february-and-the-air-s-so-balmy-snowdrops-and-crocuses-might-be/) Gail Mazur > [Snowdrops: Theirs is a fragile but hardy celebration... in the very teeth of winter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilder/snowdrops-theirs-is-a-fragile-but-hardy-celebration-in-the-very-teeth/) [Louise Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilder/) ## More by Katherine Arden > [“Go out into the world, traveler. See what the long nights and hard days feel like, after a week of them.” “Perhaps I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/go-out-into-the-world-traveler-see-what-the-long-nights-and-hard-days/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“Sasha looked at his sister. He had never thought of her as girlish, but the last trace of softness was gone. The quick brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/sasha-looked-at-his-sister-he-had-never-thought-of-her-as-girlish-but/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“The generals fought among themselves. Such times always bred masterless men, and everyone within the Horde’s reach suffered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/the-generals-fought-among-themselves-such-times-always-bred/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“The lamb came forth at last, draggled and spindly, black as a dead tree in the rain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/the-lamb-came-forth-at-last-draggled-and-spindly-black-as-a-dead-tree/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“Every time you take one path, you must live with the memory of the other: of a life left unchosen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/every-time-you-take-one-path-you-must-live-with-the-memory-of-the/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“Perhaps I am not so wise as you would have me, for all my years in this world. I do not know what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/perhaps-i-am-not-so-wise-as-you-would-have-me-for-all-my-years-in/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“The brave live,” replied Morozko. “The cowards die in the snow. I did not know which you were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/the-brave-live-replied-morozko-the-cowards-die-in-the-snow-i-did-not/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“There was a time, not long ago When flowers grew all year When days were long And nights star-strewn And men lived free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/there-was-a-time-not-long-ago-when-flowers-grew-all-year-when-days/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“Girls were happy to be married. Olga had glowed when her husband put a jewel on her finger and took her away. Maybe Vasya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/girls-were-happy-to-be-married-olga-had-glowed-when-her-husband-put-a/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“Am I a child? Always someone else must decide for me. But this I will decide for myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/am-i-a-child-always-someone-else-must-decide-for-me-but-this-i-will/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“I must be old, Pyotr thought to himself, if my son is being kind to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/i-must-be-old-pyotr-thought-to-himself-if-my-son-is-being-kind-to-me/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“We who live forever can know no courage, nor do we love enough to give our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/we-who-live-forever-can-know-no-courage-nor-do-we-love-enough-to-give/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“His voice was like snow at midnight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/his-voice-was-like-snow-at-midnight/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“The more one knows, the sooner one grows old,” Midnight returned cheerfully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/the-more-one-knows-the-sooner-one-grows-old-midnight-returned/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“In winter it is impossible to be still. Even sitting by the fire, one is watching the coals, stirring the soup, fighting - always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/in-winter-it-is-impossible-to-be-still-even-sitting-by-the-fire-one/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) [Explore all 90 Katherine Arden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) ## More Snowdrops quotes > [The bed of flowers Loosens amain, The beauteous snowdrops Droop o'er the plain. The crocus opens Its glowing bud, Like emeralds others, Others, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-bed-of-flowers-loosens-amain-the-beauteous-snowdrops-droop-o-er/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Think of me sometimes," he returned. "When the snowdrops have bloomed and the snow has melted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/think-of-me-sometimes-he-returned-when-the-snowdrops-have-bloomed-and/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [Late February, and the air's so balmy snowdrops and crocuses might be fooled into early blooming. Then, the inevitable blizzard will come, blighting our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mazur/late-february-and-the-air-s-so-balmy-snowdrops-and-crocuses-might-be/) Gail Mazur > [It is a thought as sweet as heaven to know that in the minds of each of us the may by the fence still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-langley/it-is-a-thought-as-sweet-as-heaven-to-know-that-in-the-minds-of-each/) Eve Langley > [I wonder if the sap is stirring yet, If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate, If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/i-wonder-if-the-sap-is-stirring-yet-if-wintry-birds-are-dreaming-of-a/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [So Spring comes merry towards me here, but earns No answering smile from me, whose life is twin'd With the dead boughs that winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-gabriel-rossetti/so-spring-comes-merry-towards-me-here-but-earns-no-answering-smile/) [Dante Gabriel Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-gabriel-rossetti/) > [“Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/before-the-end-you-will-pluck-snowdrops-at-midwinter-die-by-your-own/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [White rose in red rose-garden Is not so white; Snowdrops, that plead for pardon And pine for fright Because the hard East blows Over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/white-rose-in-red-rose-garden-is-not-so-white-snowdrops-that-plead/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [She tapped on the window with her embossed hairbrush. They were too far off to hear. The drone of the trees was in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-tapped-on-the-window-with-her-embossed-hairbrush-they-were-too/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It's only the beginning of January, but some daffodils and snowdrops have made it through the earth and stand wetly in little rows by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/it-s-only-the-beginning-of-january-but-some-daffodils-and-snowdrops/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“Every moment the patches of green grew bigger and the patches of snow grew smaller. Every moment more and more of the trees shook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/every-moment-the-patches-of-green-grew-bigger-and-the-patches-of-snow/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Nor will I then thy modest grace forget, Chaste Snow-drop, venturous harbinger of Spring, And pensive monitor of fleeting years!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/nor-will-i-then-thy-modest-grace-forget-chaste-snow-drop-venturous/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Snowdrops: Theirs is a fragile but hardy celebration... in the very teeth of winter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilder/snowdrops-theirs-is-a-fragile-but-hardy-celebration-in-the-very-teeth/) [Louise Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilder/) [Browse all 14 Snowdrops quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowdrops/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Arden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluck-snowdrops-at-midwinter-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Snowdrops" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluck-snowdrops-at-midwinter-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/katherine-arden-7546_snowdrops_now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluc_2466598.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a…” — Katherine Arden", "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": "Katherine Arden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Now hear me. Before the end,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluck-snowdrops-at-midwinter-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/now-hear-me-before-the-end-you-will-pluck-snowdrops-at-midwinter-die/#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 } } ] } ```