--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Below the incandescent stars / below the…" description: "\"Below the incandescent stars / below the incandescent fruit, / the strange experience of beauty; / its existence is too much; / it tears one to pieces ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/marianne-moore-3315_astronomy_below-the-incandescent-stars-below-the-i_1258172.png" --- # Below the incandescent stars / below the incandescent… ![“Below the incandescent stars / below the incandescent fruit, / the strange experience of beauty; / its existence is too much; / it tears one to pieces / and each fresh wave of consciousness / is poison.” quote by Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/marianne-moore-3315_astronomy_below-the-incandescent-stars-below-the-i_1258172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/marianne-moore-3315_astronomy_below-the-incandescent-stars-below-the-i_1258172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/marianne-moore-3315_astronomy_below-the-incandescent-stars-below-the-i_1258172.png) > “Below the incandescent stars / below the incandescent fruit, / the strange experience of beauty; / its existence is too much; / it tears one to pieces / and each fresh wave of consciousness / is poison.” [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty can be overwhelming, breaking the self into pieces, while each new awareness feels toxic. **In simple terms:** Intense beauty can feel destructive. Key Takeaway Embrace beauty without letting it overwhelm. Themes art beauty existence Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - creative work - personal reflection - mental health - art criticism Key Concepts aesthetic overload philosophical dread Questions to Reflect On - When has beauty inspired rather than harmed you? - Can intense experiences be both beautiful and painful? A Different Perspective The perspective may be overly pessimistic, ignoring beauty's uplifting aspects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [At the extreme temperature occurring in the stars, matter can only survive in its most dissociated states. 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His jaw fell. "My goodness," he cried, "I've only just realized it! That rascal, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/mr-satterthwaite-looked-cheered-suddenly-an-idea-struck-him-his-jaw/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I take really good care of myself. I promised myself long ago that I would never miss a hunting season, never poison my sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-take-really-good-care-of-myself-i-promised-myself-long-ago-that-i/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“There is no substance which is not a poison; all are poisonous. Only the dose determines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippus-theophrastus/there-is-no-substance-which-is-not-a-poison-all-are-poisonous-only/) Philippus Theophrastus > [I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me. 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This is the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/fear-has-the-role-we-give-it-we-are-able-to-empower-or-poison/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“the voice seems honey to ears but ; the felling turn to poison heart...!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-a-samuel/the-voice-seems-honey-to-ears-but-the-felling-turn-to-poison-heart/) [felix a samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-a-samuel/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) ## More by Marianne Moore > [When one is frank, one's very presence is a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-is-frank-one-s-very-presence-is-a-compliment/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/the-deepest-feeling-always-shows-itself-in-silence-not-in-silence-but/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [“Do the poet and scientist not work analogously? 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Reindeer seem over-serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/camels-are-snobbish-and-sheep-unintelligent-water-buffaloes/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [When one cannot appraise out of one's own experience, the temptation to blunder is minimized, but even when one can, appraisal seems chiefly useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-cannot-appraise-out-of-one-s-own-experience-the-temptation/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The hands are the heart's messengers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/the-hands-are-the-heart-s-messengers/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [I believe verbal felicity is the fruit of ardor, of diligence, and of refusing to be false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/i-believe-verbal-felicity-is-the-fruit-of-ardor-of-diligence-and-of/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Conscious writing can be the death of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/conscious-writing-can-be-the-death-of-poetry/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Only imagination that towers can reproduce evanescence and render rigidity flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/only-imagination-that-towers-can-reproduce-evanescence-and-render/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Revision is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/revision-is-its-own-reward/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. 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