--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All night, far above him the light stood…" description: "\"“All night, far above him the light stood guard, slicing the darkness like a sword.”\" — M.L. Stedman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/m-l-stedman-9230_darkness_all-night-far-above-him-the-light-stood_536270.png" --- # All night, far above him the light stood guard, slicing… ![“All night, far above him the light stood guard, slicing the darkness like a sword.” quote by M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/m-l-stedman-9230_darkness_all-night-far-above-him-the-light-stood_536270.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/m-l-stedman-9230_darkness_all-night-far-above-him-the-light-stood_536270.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/m-l-stedman-9230_darkness_all-night-far-above-him-the-light-stood_536270.png) > ““All night, far above him the light stood guard, slicing the darkness like a sword.”” [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A protective light stands above, cutting through darkness like a sword, symbolizing hope or guidance that pierces despair. **In simple terms:** Light cuts through darkness like a sword. Key Takeaway Seek guiding light in dark times. Themes hope guidance light darkness Mood inspired reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - nighttime travel - spiritual crisis - creative writing - visual arts Key Concepts symbolism protection clarity Questions to Reflect On - How can we find light in everyday struggles? - What does “sword” imply about the nature of hope? A Different Perspective The metaphor may be overly dramatic for mundane problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-like-237084/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Stood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-stood-1232858/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Slicing Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slicing-darkness-4493629/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. 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It comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-halpern/most-of-us-myself-included-have-forgotten-what-real-darkness-is-like/) [Jake Halpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-halpern/) > [“Remember what I said when I led to Omar and the queen?" I bobbed my head, unable to look away from his jewel-like eyed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-falls/remember-what-i-said-when-i-led-to-omar-and-the-queen-i-bobbed-my/) [Kat Falls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-falls/) > [Dramatically, I like darkness, I like conflict - but I don't see the world as defined by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/dramatically-i-like-darkness-i-like-conflict-but-i-don-t-see-the/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) > [“The main thing I sense is...darkness." 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Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“Putting down the burden of the lie has meant giving up the freedom of the dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/putting-down-the-burden-of-the-lie-has-meant-giving-up-the-freedom-of/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“Tom thought back to the imposing, empty house: to the silence that deadened every room with a subtly different pitch; to the kitchen smelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/tom-thought-back-to-the-imposing-empty-house-to-the-silence-that/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“He must turn to something solid, because if he didn't, who knew where his mind or his soul could blow away to, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/he-must-turn-to-something-solid-because-if-he-didn-t-who-knew-where/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“He struggles to make sense of it--all this love, so bent out of shape, refracted, like light through the lens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/he-struggles-to-make-sense-of-it-all-this-love-so-bent-out-of-shape/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“You don't make an omelette without breaking eggs, I'm afraid”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/you-don-t-make-an-omelette-without-breaking-eggs-i-m-afraid/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“We always have a choice. All of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/we-always-have-a-choice-all-of-us/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“Sometimes, you're the one who strikes it lucky. Sometimes, it's the other poor bastard who's left with the short straw, and you just have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/sometimes-you-re-the-one-who-strikes-it-lucky-sometimes-it-s-the/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“The town draws a veil over certain events. This is a small community, where everyone knows that sometimes the contract to forget is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/the-town-draws-a-veil-over-certain-events-this-is-a-small-community/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“Coming back last time to the house she grew up in, Isabel had been reminded of the darkness that had descended with her brothers'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/coming-back-last-time-to-the-house-she-grew-up-in-isabel-had-been/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“Everything's ruined. Nothing can ever be put right." Tom rested a hand on hers. "We've put things right as well as we can. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/everything-s-ruined-nothing-can-ever-be-put-right-tom-rested-a-hand/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“Later still, the war memorials would sprout from the earth, dwelling not on the loss, but on what the loss had won, and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/later-still-the-war-memorials-would-sprout-from-the-earth-dwelling/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“I can forgive and forget... it is so much less exhausting. You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/i-can-forgive-and-forget-it-is-so-much-less-exhausting-you-only-have/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“It occurs to him that there are different versions of himself to farewell—the abandoned eight-year-old; the delusional soldier who hovered somewhere in hell; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/it-occurs-to-him-that-there-are-different-versions-of-himself-to/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) [Explore all 74 M.L. Stedman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All night, far above him the light stood guard, slicing the darkness like a sword.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M.L. 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