Skip to content

Green grass Quote by Neil Gaiman

“Diggory's Dyke was a deep cut between two chalk downs-high, green hills, where a thin layer of green grass and reddish earth covered the chalk, and there was scarcely soil enough for trees. The Dyke looked, from a distance, like a white chalk gash on a green velvet board. Local legend had it that…” quote by Neil Gaiman
Download Open image
““Diggory's Dyke was a deep cut between two chalk downs-high, green hills, where a thin layer of green grass and reddish earth covered the chalk, and there was scarcely soil enough for trees. The Dyke looked, from a distance, like a white chalk gash on a green velvet board. Local legend had it that the cut was dug, in a day and a night, by one Diggory, using a spade that had once been a sword blade before Wayland Smith had melted it down and beaten it out, on his journey into Faerie from the Wall. There was those who said the sword had once been Flamberge, and others, that it was one the sword Balmung; but there was none who claimed to know just who Diggory had been, and it might all have been stuff and nonsense. Anyway, the path to Wall went through Diggory's Dyke, and any foot-traveler or any person going by any manner of wheeled vehicle went through the Dyke, where the chalk rose on either side of you like thick white walls, and the Downs rose up above them like green pillows of a giant's bed.””

Neil Gaiman

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, 2008

A deep chalk trench, mythic and ancient, serves as a boundary between natural and supernatural realms, hinting at forgotten legends.

In simple terms: A mythic trench marks a border between worlds.

Key Takeaway

Notice how landscapes hold hidden stories.

Themes

myth landscape boundary

Mood

mysterious evocative

Type

literary worldbuilding

When to use this quote

  • hiking
  • historical tours
  • storytelling

Key Concepts

folklore worldbuilding

Questions to Reflect On

  • What legends shape your surroundings?
  • How do physical borders affect imagination?
A Different Perspective

The description may blur factual geography.

4.7 out of 5 (3 ratings)

More by Neil Gaiman

Explore all 2,527 Neil Gaiman quotes

More Green grass quotes

Browse all 126 Green grass quotes