---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wondered which other phrases he´d…"
description: "\"“I wondered which other phrases he´d plucked. I felt like a bird he kept for quills.”\" — Naoise Dolan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg"
---

#  I wondered which other phrases he´d plucked. I felt like a…

![“I wondered which other phrases he´d plucked. I felt like a bird he kept for quills.” quote by Naoise Dolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg)

> ““I wondered which other phrases he´d plucked. I felt like a bird he kept for quills.””

[Naoise Dolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naoise-dolan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker feels like a bird kept for quills, suggesting a feeling of being used for others’ expression.

**In simple terms:** Feeling used for others’ creative needs.

Key Takeaway

Recognize personal agency.

Themes

identity exploitation creativity metaphor self‑esteem

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

observation question

When to use this quote

- writing
- relationships
- self‑reflection

Key Concepts

literature psychology artistic expression

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you feel used in creative collaborations?
- How can you assert your voice?

A Different Perspective

Agency may be limited.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Felt Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-like-237572/) [Kept Quills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-quills-771911/) [Modern love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-love/) [Phrases Plucked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases-plucked-771910/) [Plucked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plucked-373970/) [Plucked Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plucked-felt-771912/) [Power play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-play/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Toxic-love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toxic-love/)

## Related quotes

> [ “\[...\] we grieved for both our lives, in which we were both more dead than alive.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-thebart/we-grieved-for-both-our-lives-in-which-we-were-both-more-dead-than/)

[Liz Thebart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-thebart/)

> [“He's sort of a Svengali... It means someone who's manipulative. More than that: somebody who makes you think that you need him in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-beattie/he-s-sort-of-a-svengali-it-means-someone-who-s-manipulative-more-than/)

[Anne Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-beattie/)

> [“Stop holding on to the people who have let you go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/stop-holding-on-to-the-people-who-have-let-you-go/)

[Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/)

> [“Love that wounds over time is not love, it’s a lesson to grow stronger and choose yourself first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayoub-imilouane/love-that-wounds-over-time-is-not-love-it-s-a-lesson-to-grow-stronger/)

[Ayoub Imilouane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayoub-imilouane/)

> [“You didn’t just break my heart—you broke the version of me that believed in forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alley/you-didn-t-just-break-my-heart-you-broke-the-version-of-me-that/)

[Alley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alley/)

> [“Love fades where every gesture has a price.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelika-regossi/love-fades-where-every-gesture-has-a-price/)

[Angelika Regossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelika-regossi/)

> [“Out of respect for myself, I had to stop talking to someone I truly loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/out-of-respect-for-myself-i-had-to-stop-talking-to-someone-i-truly/)

[Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/)

> [“After all, there’s no sort of guarantee when it comes to love, nor about feeling any sort of way that leaves you attached to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-demers/after-all-there-s-no-sort-of-guarantee-when-it-comes-to-love-nor/)

[Cara Demers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-demers/)

> [“Cut the toxic ties that force you to mask your true feelings. - Gowri Bhargav”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-greyman/cut-the-toxic-ties-that-force-you-to-mask-your-true-feelings-gowri/)

[Linda Greyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-greyman/)

> [“Everything has a price. The price, however, isn't always money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-mostafa/everything-has-a-price-the-price-however-isn-t-always-money/)

[Ahmed Mostafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-mostafa/)

> [Third grade, I plucked my eyebrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bretman-rock/third-grade-i-plucked-my-eyebrows/)

[Bretman Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bretman-rock/)

> [throughout human history people have scarred, painted, pierced, padded, stiffened, plucked, and buffed their bodies in the name of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-etcoff/throughout-human-history-people-have-scarred-painted-pierced-padded/)

[Nancy Etcoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-etcoff/)

> [It was not in the winter Our loving lot was cast! It was the time of roses, We plucked them as we passed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/it-was-not-in-the-winter-our-loving-lot-was-cast-it-was-the-time-of/)

[Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/)

> [For a long time, no village girl would dress her hair or bosom with the sweetest flower from that field of death: and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/for-a-long-time-no-village-girl-would-dress-her-hair-or-bosom-with/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“look as if they had been plucked from the Palace of Versailles or a Jacobean mansion—that you were aboard a ship being propelled far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/look-as-if-they-had-been-plucked-from-the-palace-of-versailles-or-a/)

[Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/)

## More Modern love quotes

> [“It’s a fallacy that this generation does not know how to love as its predecessor did. Truth of the matter is, modern love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/it-s-a-fallacy-that-this-generation-does-not-know-how-to-love-as-its/)

[Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/)

> [“I, Lisa K Friedman, being of sound mind and broken foot, served him with a mock complaint: breach of the marriage contract. New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-lisa-k-friedman-being-of-sound-mind-and-broken-foot-served-him-with/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Love is a curious mix of adventure, attraction, desire, experimentation, rule-breaking, rule-making, flirtation...and fear. While deception may be as old as love itself, modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prachi-gangwani/love-is-a-curious-mix-of-adventure-attraction-desire-experimentation/)

[Prachi Gangwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prachi-gangwani/)

> [“I w8 fr yr mesg the beep yr wrds of rude luv U mke me blush w The curve of yr letters u tch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-sweetman/i-w8-fr-yr-mesg-the-beep-yr-wrds-of-rude-luv-u-mke-me-blush-w-the/)

[Lucy Sweetman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-sweetman/)

> [“Don’t let the modern love change you too much that you forget what it is to live with kindness and compassion. From (The Awakening)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/don-t-let-the-modern-love-change-you-too-much-that-you-forget-what-it/)

[Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/)

> [The most heartbreakingly poignant modern love story ever written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-queneau/the-most-heartbreakingly-poignant-modern-love-story-ever-written/)

[Raymond Queneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-queneau/)

> [“Thanks to smart phones and the Internet, the way we meet someone new, fall in love, have fights and have sex has changed remarkably.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prachi-gangwani/thanks-to-smart-phones-and-the-internet-the-way-we-meet-someone-new/)

[Prachi Gangwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prachi-gangwani/)

> [“Will you be the LOML? Or the LOML? You have to decide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvi-s/will-you-be-the-loml-or-the-loml-you-have-to-decide/)

[Janvi S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvi-s/)

> [“I, Lisa K Friedman, being of sound mind and broken foot...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-k-friedman/i-lisa-k-friedman-being-of-sound-mind-and-broken-foot/)

[Lisa K Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-k-friedman/)

> [“I didn't love like the women who swiped left and right from one heartbreak to another. I couldn't just trade some skin for scraps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakshi-narula/i-didn-t-love-like-the-women-who-swiped-left-and-right-from-one/)

[Sakshi Narula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakshi-narula/)

> [“Overthinking: I love the fact that we now live in the „someday"- And that it feels so much easier than the past ever prepared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-chouette/overthinking-i-love-the-fact-that-we-now-live-in-the-someday-and-that/)

[Laura Chouette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-chouette/)

> [I eye 'Modern Love' warily between that second and third cup of coffee on Sunday mornings, calculating how much of a push I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-tsing-loh/i-eye-modern-love-warily-between-that-second-and-third-cup-of-coffee/)

[Sandra Tsing Loh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-tsing-loh/)

> [“All the subjects are becoming more modern, day by day. Similarly, love means was to sacrifice yourself for beloved, but modern love means sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehsan-sehgal/all-the-subjects-are-becoming-more-modern-day-by-day-similarly-love/)

[Ehsan Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehsan-sehgal/)

> [It is the unspecified 'you' of modern love poems that I am mostly concerned with here. At least, the addressee is commonly a lover,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fuller/it-is-the-unspecified-you-of-modern-love-poems-that-i-am-mostly/)

[John Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fuller/)

> [“Beyond watching eyes With sweet and tender kisses Our souls reached out to each other In breathless wonder And when I awoke From a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/beyond-watching-eyes-with-sweet-and-tender-kisses-our-souls-reached/)

[Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/)

[Browse all 24 Modern love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-love/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I wondered which other phrases he´d plucked. I felt like a bird he kept for quills.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Naoise Dolan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoise-dolan/i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-plucked-i-felt-like-a-bird-he/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Modern love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoise-dolan/i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-plucked-i-felt-like-a-bird-he/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/naoise-dolan-265316_modern-love_i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-pluc_1662403.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I wondered which other phrases he´d plucked. I felt like a bird he kept for quills.” — Naoise Dolan",
                "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": "Naoise Dolan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naoise-dolan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I wondered which other phrases he´d...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoise-dolan/i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-plucked-i-felt-like-a-bird-he/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoise-dolan/i-wondered-which-other-phrases-he-d-plucked-i-felt-like-a-bird-he/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
