--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the moon smiled, she would resemble…" description: "\"“If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression Of something beautiful, but annihilating. Both of you are great light borrow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/sylvia-plath-149_quote_if-the-moon-smiled-she-would-resemble-yo_1547081.jpg" --- # If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the… ![“If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression Of something beautiful, but annihilating. Both of you are great light borrowers. Her O-mouth grieves at the world; yours is unaffected, And your first gift is making stone out of everything.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/sylvia-plath-149_quote_if-the-moon-smiled-she-would-resemble-yo_1547081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/sylvia-plath-149_quote_if-the-moon-smiled-she-would-resemble-yo_1547081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/sylvia-plath-149_quote_if-the-moon-smiled-she-would-resemble-yo_1547081.jpg) > ““If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression Of something beautiful, but annihilating. Both of you are great light borrowers. Her O-mouth grieves at the world; yours is unaffected, And your first gift is making stone out of everything.”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem likens the moon’s smile to a beloved’s impact, describing both as sources of beautiful yet destructive light, and the speaker’s ability to transform everything into stone. **In simple terms:** Comparing a lover to the moon, noting both beauty and danger, and the power to solidify experiences. Key Takeaway Recognize the dual nature of admiration and its consequences. Themes beauty danger transformation Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - psychological analysis Key Concepts metaphor light creation Questions to Reflect On - What does “making stone” symbolize for you? - How do you balance admiration with self‑preservation? A Different Perspective May romanticize destructive aspects of relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impression Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impression-beautiful-2180943/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Moon Smiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon-smiled-2787643/) [Resemble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resemble/) [Smiled Resemble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiled-resemble-2787644/) ## Related quotes > [If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression Of something beautiful, but annihilating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-the-moon-smiled-she-would-resemble-you-you-leave-the-same-2/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-tillman/on-the-night-you-were-born-the-moon-smiled-with-such-wonder-that-the/) [Nancy Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-tillman/) > [“The moon! It smiled at her with all its might, she could see it! through the broken wood beams of a crude ceiling, nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-i-hope/the-moon-it-smiled-at-her-with-all-its-might-she-could-see-it-through/) [K.I. Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-i-hope/) > [One very clear impression I had of all the Beautiful People was their prudence. It may be that they paid for their own airline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-brady/one-very-clear-impression-i-had-of-all-the-beautiful-people-was-their/) [James Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-brady/) > [A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haas/a-picture-is-the-expression-of-an-impression-if-the-beautiful-were/) [Ernst Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haas/) > [“In time, they have lost their personalities and begun to resemble each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-donmez/in-time-they-have-lost-their-personalities-and-begun-to-resemble-each/) [Mustafa Donmez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-donmez/) > [“Next to me was Jacob, this riddle Laurie and I had made. 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But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. 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No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Moon quotes > [“Because as the moon followed the sun, when Illium ascended to become an archangel, Aodhan would go with him as his second.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/because-as-the-moon-followed-the-sun-when-illium-ascended-to-become/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [The moon of a bright silver, which dazzles by its shining, illumines a world which surely is no longer ours; for it resembles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/the-moon-of-a-bright-silver-which-dazzles-by-its-shining-illumines-a/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > ['The Choirboys' is very much a product of its mid-1970s time, especially in its two-dimensional portrayals of cop groupies Ora Lee and Carolina Moon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-choirboys-is-very-much-a-product-of-its-mid-1970s-time-especially/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we can send a guy to the moon we can certainly go a quarter of a mile and not get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-prudhomme/if-we-can-send-a-guy-to-the-moon-we-can-certainly-go-a-quarter-of-a/) [Don Prudhomme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-prudhomme/) > [Never ignore a person who love you, care fot you,and misses you,because one day,you might wake up and realize, you lost the moon while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chou/never-ignore-a-person-who-love-you-care-fot-you-and-misses-you/) [Chou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chou/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) [Browse all 6,418 Moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. 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