--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Boston serpents whistle at the cold." description: "\"In Boston serpents whistle at the cold.\" — Robert Lowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg" --- # In Boston serpents whistle at the cold. ![“In Boston serpents whistle at the cold.” quote by Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg) > “In Boston serpents whistle at the cold.” [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city feels hostile, as if even the wind whispers threats, reflecting a bleak, cold atmosphere. **In simple terms:** Boston feels hostile and cold. Key Takeaway Notice and address environmental negativity. Themes urban decay coldness hostility Mood melancholic observational Type poetic literary When to use this quote - city planning - mental health - creative writing Key Concepts poetry urban studies Questions to Reflect On - How does environment affect your mood? - What can soften a hostile atmosphere? A Different Perspective Interpretation may vary; not all perceive the city similarly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Serpents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpents/) ## Related quotes > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. 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She is more noxious than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-gods-have-sent-medicines-for-the-venom-of-serpents-but-there-is/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“When reading the history of the Jewish people, of their flight from slavery to death, of their exchange of tyrants, I must confess that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/when-reading-the-history-of-the-jewish-people-of-their-flight-from/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [Where there is the tree of knowledge, there is always Paradise: so say the most ancient and most modern serpents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/where-there-is-the-tree-of-knowledge-there-is-always-paradise-so-say/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“There are many dangerous serpents in India-the cobra, the boa, the python, water snakes, vipers, king cobras, and even some that fly.” That didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/there-are-many-dangerous-serpents-in-india-the-cobra-the-boa-the/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [All men possess in their bodies a poison which acts upon serpents; and the human saliva, it is said, makes them take to flight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/all-men-possess-in-their-bodies-a-poison-which-acts-upon-serpents-and/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [“Presently a serpent sought them out privately, and came to them walking upright, which was the way of serpents in those days. The serpent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/presently-a-serpent-sought-them-out-privately-and-came-to-them/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Among all the kinds of serpents, there is none comparable to the Dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-topsell/among-all-the-kinds-of-serpents-there-is-none-comparable-to-the-dragon/) [Edward Topsell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-topsell/) > [Those who give you a serpent when you ask for a fish, may have nothing but serpents to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/those-who-give-you-a-serpent-when-you-ask-for-a-fish-may-have-nothing/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“Snakes are the most widely dreamed about, most feared, most religiously significant creature in the world. A squiggle, they are believed to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-christy/snakes-are-the-most-widely-dreamed-about-most-feared-most-religiously/) Bryan Christy > [Red serpents, fiery forms, and yelling hags, Fit company for mad adventurers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-freneau/red-serpents-fiery-forms-and-yelling-hags-fit-company-for-mad/) [Philip Freneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-freneau/) > [“I hate and fear snakes, because if you look into the eyes of any snake you will see that it knows all and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/i-hate-and-fear-snakes-because-if-you-look-into-the-eyes-of-any-snake/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [ “Then there's the pillar statue in the semi-subterranean temple at Tiahuanaco \[Bolivia\]. Like the Totem Pole of Göbekli Tepe, it is anthropomorphic. Like the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/then-there-s-the-pillar-statue-in-the-semi-subterranean-temple-at/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [...those serpents! There's no pleasing them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/those-serpents-there-s-no-pleasing-them/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) ## More by Robert Lowell > [“Naval officers were not mother's sort; very few people were her sort in those days, and that was her trouble - a very authentic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/naval-officers-were-not-mother-s-sort-very-few-people-were-her-sort/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone; peace to our children when they fall in small war on the heel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/pity-the-planet-all-joy-gone-from-this-sweet-volcanic-cone-peace-to/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“Then morning comes, saying, "This was a night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/then-morning-comes-saying-this-was-a-night/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“The English departments were clogged with worthy but outworn and backwardlooking scholars whose tastes in the moderns were most often superficial, random, and vulgar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/the-english-departments-were-clogged-with-worthy-but-outworn-and/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [It's the light of the oncoming train.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/it-s-the-light-of-the-oncoming-train/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“Sleeper in the Valley" The river sings and cuts a hole in the meadow, madly hooking white tatters on the rushes. light escalades the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/sleeper-in-the-valley-the-river-sings-and-cuts-a-hole-in-the-meadow/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“Reading Myself" Like thousands I took just pride and more than just, struck matches that brought my blood to a boil; I memorized the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/reading-myself-like-thousands-i-took-just-pride-and-more-than-just/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/pity-the-planet-all-joy-gone-from-this-sweet-volcanic-cone/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“We are poor passing facts. warned by that to give each figure in the photograph his living name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/we-are-poor-passing-facts-warned-by-that-to-give-each-figure-in-the/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“Those blessèd structures, plot and rhyme— why are they no help to me now I want to make something imagined, not recalled?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/those-bless-d-structures-plot-and-rhyme-why-are-they-no-help-to-me/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [It's a completely powerful and serious book, as good as anything in prose or poetry written by a 'beat' writer, and one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/it-s-a-completely-powerful-and-serious-book-as-good-as-anything-in/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [Life begins to happen. My hoppped up husband drops his home disputes, and hits the streets to cruise for prostitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/life-begins-to-happen-my-hoppped-up-husband-drops-his-home-disputes/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“The slick bare tar, the same suburban station.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/the-slick-bare-tar-the-same-suburban-station/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“Things last, but sometimes for days here only children seem fit to handle children, and there is no utility or inspiration in the wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/things-last-but-sometimes-for-days-here-only-children-seem-fit-to/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“This is the departure strip, the dream-road. Whoever built it left numbers, words and arrows. He had to leave in a hurry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/this-is-the-departure-strip-the-dream-road-whoever-built-it-left/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) [Explore all 96 Robert Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) ## More Boston quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [“Mom, I live in the South End, not South Boston. They are entirely different neighborhoods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-swanson-goodreads-author/mom-i-live-in-the-south-end-not-south-boston-they-are-entirely/) Peter Swanson (Goodreads Author > [I think there are four or five interesting pockets where a lot of cool technology companies are getting started. Chicago is one of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lefkofsky/i-think-there-are-four-or-five-interesting-pockets-where-a-lot-of/) [Eric Lefkofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lefkofsky/) > [I love cooking but I still always go and sneak a little bit of sides from Boston Market, and it's so good. They're so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-walsh/i-love-cooking-but-i-still-always-go-and-sneak-a-little-bit-of-sides/) [Kate Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-walsh/) > [Boston is one of my favorite places to wrestle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rikishi/boston-is-one-of-my-favorite-places-to-wrestle/) [Rikishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rikishi/) > [I ain't got no problem in Boston, I especially like the attention. I know that I'm one of the top guys in this game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-ramirez/i-ain-t-got-no-problem-in-boston-i-especially-like-the-attention-i/) [Manny Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-ramirez/) > [I lived to play basketball. Growing up as a kid, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics were my favorite team. The way they played,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/i-lived-to-play-basketball-growing-up-as-a-kid-bill-russell-and-the/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [The success of Boston's economy is intertwined with the health and well-being of every neighborhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wu/the-success-of-boston-s-economy-is-intertwined-with-the-health-and/) [Michelle Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wu/) > [2004 was a great year for Boston! The Patriots won the Super Bowl! Boston hosted its first national political convention! And - the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-menino/2004-was-a-great-year-for-boston-the-patriots-won-the-super-bowl/) [Thomas Menino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-menino/) > [ It was when Boston invited us to do a parade one November, and I was the only \[Star Wars\] cast member skeptical of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ratzenberger/it-was-when-boston-invited-us-to-do-a-parade-one-november-and-i-was/) [John Ratzenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ratzenberger/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Boston's justice system is in serious need of reform. Many of its policies and practices are antiquated, expensive, and don't really even make Boston…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/boston-s-justice-system-is-in-serious-need-of-reform-many-of-its/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [I grew up outside of Boston in a town called Manchester by the Sea, and we spent our summers in Nantucket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-faxon/i-grew-up-outside-of-boston-in-a-town-called-manchester-by-the-sea/) [Nat Faxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-faxon/) > [Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture, ... When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/priests-like-all-of-us-are-affected-by-culture-when-the-culture-is/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) [Browse all 787 Boston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In Boston serpents whistle at the cold.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Lowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boston" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/robert-lowell-6901_boston_in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold-5_553482.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In Boston serpents whistle at the cold.” — Robert Lowell", "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": "Robert Lowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In Boston serpents whistle at the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/in-boston-serpents-whistle-at-the-cold/#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 } } ] } ```