--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our birth is but a sleep and a…" description: "\"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. Not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come.\" — William..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/william-wordsworth-403_birth_our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgettin_435615.jpg" --- # Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. Not in entire… ![“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. Not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come.” quote by William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/william-wordsworth-403_birth_our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgettin_435615.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/william-wordsworth-403_birth_our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgettin_435615.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/william-wordsworth-403_birth_our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgettin_435615.jpg) > “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. Not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come.” [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human life begins in a state of oblivion, gradually awakening to the grandeur of existence. **In simple terms:** Life starts in forgetfulness, then reveals glory. Key Takeaway Embrace awakening to life's beauty. Themes existence memory awakening glory Mood contemplative melancholic inspirational Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - reflection - spiritual insight Key Concepts philosophy romanticism human nature Questions to Reflect On - What does “sleep” symbolize in life? - How do you recognize moments of awakening? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering as necessary for enlightenment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Forgetfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetfulness/) [Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The great majority gave no signs one way or the other; like birth, their death was a sleep and a forgetting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/the-great-majority-gave-no-signs-one-way-or-the-other-like-birth/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [“How much more than necessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting that the sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/how-much-more-than-necessary-do-we-spend-in-sleep-forgetting-that-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? 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But self-forgetfulness is pure ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/ignorance-might-be-bliss-but-self-forgetfulness-is-pure-ecstasy/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-3/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The sunshine is a glorious birth; But yet I know, where'er I go, That there hath passed away a glory from the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-sunshine-is-a-glorious-birth-but-yet-i-know-where-er-i-go-that/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Science appears but what in truth she is, Not as our glory and our absolute boast, But as a succedaneum, and a prop To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/science-appears-but-what-in-truth-she-is-not-as-our-glory-and-our/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## More by William Wordsworth > [Spade! 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