---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You revel in the smoke that the words…"
description: "\"“You revel in the smoke that the words send up.”\" — Toni Morrison"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg"
---

#  You revel in the smoke that the words send up.

![“You revel in the smoke that the words send up.” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg)

> ““You revel in the smoke that the words send up.””

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

## About This Quote

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

Words emit smoke that rises, symbolizing lingering impact and hidden meanings.

**In simple terms:** Language leaves lingering traces.

Key Takeaway

Read between the lines.

Themes

language symbolism memory

Mood

poetic enigmatic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- interpretive reading
- creative writing
- critical analysis

Key Concepts

literature psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What “smoke” does this quote suggest?
- How does hidden meaning affect perception?

A Different Perspective

Metaphor may be obscure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Revel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revel/) [Revel Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revel-smoke-2306559/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Smoke Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke-words-2306556/) [Words Send](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-send-1068287/)

## Related quotes

> [You rely on a sentence to say more than the denotation and the connotation; you revel in the smoke that the words send up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-rely-on-a-sentence-to-say-more-than-the-denotation-and-the/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“So, thought Septimus, looking up, they are signalling to me. Not indeed in actual words; that is, he could not read the language yet;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/so-thought-septimus-looking-up-they-are-signalling-to-me-not-indeed/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“It doesn't matter who came to talk to me,' he said (Barack Obama). He went on to say that I needed to realize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-mastromonaco/it-doesn-t-matter-who-came-to-talk-to-me-he-said-barack-obama-he-went/)

[Alyssa Mastromonaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-mastromonaco/)

> [Do you ever wonder what happens to the words that we send Do they bend, do they break from the flight that they take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/do-you-ever-wonder-what-happens-to-the-words-that-we-send-do-they/)

[Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/)

> [Accept who you are; and revel in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/accept-who-you-are-and-revel-in-it/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [“At least one person is going to be naked,' I say. 'You know it's true. I've never been to a single revel in Faerie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/at-least-one-person-is-going-to-be-naked-i-say-you-know-it-s-true-i/)

[Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/)

> [I have brought you to the revel, now dance if you can!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wallace/i-have-brought-you-to-the-revel-now-dance-if-you-can/)

[William Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wallace/)

> [“Why are we afraid of the silence that ensues after our death? Wasn’t it the same silence we endured before birth? Isn’t it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/why-are-we-afraid-of-the-silence-that-ensues-after-our-death-wasn-t/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [“Unpopularity is my thing. I revel in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynna-gabrielson/unpopularity-is-my-thing-i-revel-in-it/)

[Brynna Gabrielson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynna-gabrielson/)

> [Revel in beuaty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revel-in-beuaty/)

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

> [We revel in the laxness of the path we take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/we-revel-in-the-laxness-of-the-path-we-take/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [“Tell me again what you said at the revel,” he says, climbing over me, his body against mine. “What?” I can barely think. “That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/tell-me-again-what-you-said-at-the-revel-he-says-climbing-over-me-his/)

[Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/)

> [“It is better to revel in life than to wallow in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/it-is-better-to-revel-in-life-than-to-wallow-in-it/)

[Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/)

> [“While we revel in the passion of the ‘moment’ braving the whirlpool of time, a flow of vibrations may surprise us and reveal unsuspected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/while-we-revel-in-the-passion-of-the-moment-braving-the-whirlpool-of/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [Hot bag get it warm, touch her when she needs to be More than revel gotta waited in that jet sky Now how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tay/hot-bag-get-it-warm-touch-her-when-she-needs-to-be-more-than-revel/)

[Tay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tay/)

## More by Toni Morrison

> [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

[Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

## More Language quotes

> [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/)

[Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/)

> [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/)

[Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/)

[TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/)

> [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/)

[Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/)

[Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/)

> [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/)

[Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/)

> [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/)

[Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/)

> [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/)

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

> [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/)

[Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/)

[Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“You revel in the smoke that the words send up.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Toni Morrison"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-send-up/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Language"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-send-up/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/toni-morrison-271_language_you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-se_3027976.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You revel in the smoke that the words send up.” — Toni Morrison",
                "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": "Toni Morrison",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“You revel in the smoke that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-send-up/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-revel-in-the-smoke-that-the-words-send-up/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
