--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For she was clever. It had not been a lie…" description: "\"“For she was clever. It had not been a lie then, that ecstasy which had visited her when she read A Midsummer Night's Dream on top of the railway coach..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg" --- # For she was clever. It had not been a lie then, that… ![“For she was clever. It had not been a lie then, that ecstasy which had visited her when she read A Midsummer Night's Dream on top of the railway coach last summer. It had meant something. She had understood something. She was drunk with an intoxicating wine of gladness.” quote by Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg) > ““For she was clever. It had not been a lie then, that ecstasy which had visited her when she read A Midsummer Night's Dream on top of the railway coach last summer. It had meant something. She had understood something. She was drunk with an intoxicating wine of gladness.”” [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She experiences a fleeting, ecstatic insight while reading, feeling a profound, intoxicating joy that seems meaningful at the moment. **In simple terms:** Reading can spark brief, intense happiness. Key Takeaway Cherish moments of insight, but stay grounded. Themes literature joy epiphany Mood nostalgic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - reading a classic - traveling - creative inspiration Key Concepts Romanticism subjective experience Questions to Reflect On - What does this joy reveal about her desires? - How can fleeting insights shape lasting purpose? A Different Perspective Such euphoria may be temporary and misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Midsummer night's dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midsummer-night-s-dream/) [Summer Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-night/) ## Related quotes > [Unhappy man! Do you share my maddness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unhappy-man-do-you-share-my-maddness-have-you-drunk-also-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I read 'Midsummer Night's Dream' when I was very young - about nine. I didn't understand it all particularly, but I loved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-fitzgerald/i-read-midsummer-night-s-dream-when-i-was-very-young-about-nine-i/) [Tara Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-fitzgerald/) > [“You are so beautiful, I could eat you,” he said. And it was true. Her smile was as intoxicating as the wine. And he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-eriksson/you-are-so-beautiful-i-could-eat-you-he-said-and-it-was-true-her/) [Jonas Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-eriksson/) > [The perverted ingenuity of man has given to water the power of intoxicating where wine is not procured. Western nations intoxicate themselves by moistened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/the-perverted-ingenuity-of-man-has-given-to-water-the-power-of/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [Actually I think 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' could sit very very perfectly in the middle of a Disney world I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/actually-i-think-a-midsummer-night-s-dream-could-sit-very-very/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd Than that which withering on the virgin thorn Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-earthlier-happy-is-the-rose-distill-d-than-that-which-withering/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I love evening tuberoses. My mother used to have tuberoses in her garden, and in the summers in Sacramento, it would get really hot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lela-loren/i-love-evening-tuberoses-my-mother-used-to-have-tuberoses-in-her/) [Lela Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lela-loren/) > [I've been kind of listening to the composer Britten and his rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' The opening track is a choral section…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-hynes/i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-composer-britten-and-his-rendition/) [Dev Hynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev-hynes/) > [Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so; And, being done, thus Wall away doth go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-have-i-wall-my-part-discharged-so-and-being-done-thus-wall-away/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Such tricks hath strong imagination, That, if it would but apprehend some joy, It comprehends some bringer of that joy; Or in the night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/such-tricks-hath-strong-imagination-that-if-it-would-but-apprehend/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“All's well that ends well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-s-well-that-ends-well/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Things base and vile, holding no quantity, love can transpose to form and dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/things-base-and-vile-holding-no-quantity-love-can-transpose-to-form/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Well?" Nat says after a few seconds. "I'm surprised you're here again, Harriet. I thought you'd be busy auditioning for A Midsummer Night's Dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-smale/well-nat-says-after-a-few-seconds-i-m-surprised-you-re-here-again/) [Holly Smale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-smale/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/never-anything-can-be-amiss-when-simpleness-and-duty-tender-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Winifred Holtby > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [You are quite, quite wrong if you think that ... I find your happiness painful. What matters is that happiness - the golden day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/you-are-quite-quite-wrong-if-you-think-that-i-find-your-happiness/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [Love needs the stiffening of respect, the give and take of equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/love-needs-the-stiffening-of-respect-the-give-and-take-of-equality/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [Sorrow and frustration have their power. The world is moved by people with great discontents. Happiness is a drug. It can make men blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/sorrow-and-frustration-have-their-power-the-world-is-moved-by-people/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [There's never been a lack of men willing to die bravely. The trouble is to find a few able to live sensibly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/there-s-never-been-a-lack-of-men-willing-to-die-bravely-the-trouble/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I advise nobody to drown sorrow in cocoa. It is bad for the figure and it does not alleviate the sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/i-advise-nobody-to-drown-sorrow-in-cocoa-it-is-bad-for-the-figure-and/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [What a strange distance there is between ill people and well ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/what-a-strange-distance-there-is-between-ill-people-and-well-ones/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [The crown of life is neither happiness nor annihilation; it is understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/the-crown-of-life-is-neither-happiness-nor-annihilation-it-is/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [public work brings a vicarious but assured sense of immortality. We may be poor, weak, timid, in debt to our landlady, bullied by our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/public-work-brings-a-vicarious-but-assured-sense-of-immortality-we/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [Everybody's tragedy is somebody's nuisance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/everybody-s-tragedy-is-somebody-s-nuisance/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I can't think why I was cursed with this inordinate desire to write, if the high gods weren't going to give me some more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/i-can-t-think-why-i-was-cursed-with-this-inordinate-desire-to-write/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [If you are rich, you have lovely cars, and jars full of flowers, and books in rows, and a wireless, and the best sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/if-you-are-rich-you-have-lovely-cars-and-jars-full-of-flowers-and/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [What with the reviews of critics, the sarcasms of one's friends, the reproaches of one's own taste, there's precious little peace after publishing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/what-with-the-reviews-of-critics-the-sarcasms-of-one-s-friends-the/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [If we haven't a grouch against Fortune, we seem unable to avoid one against ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/if-we-haven-t-a-grouch-against-fortune-we-seem-unable-to-avoid-one/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [The world, with all its beauty and adventure, its richness and variety, is darkened by cruelty. Death, if it ends the loveliness, the adventure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/the-world-with-all-its-beauty-and-adventure-its-richness-and-variety/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) [Explore all 64 Winifred Holtby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) ## More Last summer quotes > [“Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and Annabeth's vision tunneled. Percy smiled at her-that sarcastic, troublemaker's smile that had annoyed her for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/then-someone-else-appeared-from-the-crowd-and-annabeth-s-vision/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“There are various reasons why an individual might habitually consume large quantities of alcohol, but they all effectively boil down to the same thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-are-various-reasons-why-an-individual-might-habitually-consume/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“My intention all along had been to get my wakeboarding legs back this first day. Maybe I'd do tricks when we went out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/my-intention-all-along-had-been-to-get-my-wakeboarding-legs-back-this/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [“Hey, Arnold," he said. I looked up 'in love with a white girl' on Google and found and article about that white girl named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/hey-arnold-he-said-i-looked-up-in-love-with-a-white-girl-on-google/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I wouldn't mind the early autumn if you came home today I'd tell you how much I miss you and know I'd be okay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-wouldn-t-mind-the-early-autumn-if-you-came-home-today-i-d-tell-you/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I was like the only diverse kid in my high school, and I'm half-Puerto Rican. But yeah, I have a huge family and tons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-plaza/i-was-like-the-only-diverse-kid-in-my-high-school-and-i-m-half-puerto/) [Aubrey Plaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-plaza/) > [Way back last summer I asked some of the most outstanding educational minds in this Nation to tackle this problem. I gave them a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/way-back-last-summer-i-asked-some-of-the-most-outstanding-educational/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [“Last summer, in London at least, the hoodie was transformed from a benign piece of leisurewear into a uniform for the disaffected, the angry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-capell/last-summer-in-london-at-least-the-hoodie-was-transformed-from-a/) [Mark Capell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-capell/) > [“Thus began the weeks of what we termed being reckless - and I worry from that viewpoint, at least, that word defines our entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammara-webber/thus-began-the-weeks-of-what-we-termed-being-reckless-and-i-worry/) [Tammara Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammara-webber/) > [“Meteorologists agree that our planet is heating up! Now I know that many people disagree with this or just think that it is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/meteorologists-agree-that-our-planet-is-heating-up-now-i-know-that/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [I also want to thank Arizona citizens for their efforts at conserving energy last summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-d-hull/i-also-want-to-thank-arizona-citizens-for-their-efforts-at-conserving/) [Jane D. Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-d-hull/) > [The fire in leaf and grass so green it seems each summer the last summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/the-fire-in-leaf-and-grass-so-green-it-seems-each-summer-the-last/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [“The raids brought a revival of recurring rumors of tipoffs on days when hits were made by lucky patrons in the 500 to 1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-harshaw/the-raids-brought-a-revival-of-recurring-rumors-of-tipoffs-on-days/) John W. Harshaw > [When you eat a lot of spicy food, you can lose your taste. When I was in India last summer, I was listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carr/when-you-eat-a-lot-of-spicy-food-you-can-lose-your-taste-when-i-was/) [Jimmy Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carr/) > [A freak but moist flower tangles my lungs, knits into my heart, crawls up my throat and sucks like octopi on my tongue. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/a-freak-but-moist-flower-tangles-my-lungs-knits-into-my-heart-crawls/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) Browse all 144 Last summer quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For she was clever. It had not been a lie then, that ecstasy which had visited her when she read A Midsummer Night's Dream on top of the railway coach last summer. It had meant something. She had understood something. She was drunk with an intoxicating wine of gladness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Winifred Holtby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie-then-that-ecstasy-which-had/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Last summer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie-then-that-ecstasy-which-had/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/winifred-holtby-10595_last-summer_for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie_3117820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For she was clever. It had not been a lie then, that ecstasy which had visited her when she read A Midsummer…” — Winifred Holtby", "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": "Winifred Holtby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For she was clever. It had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie-then-that-ecstasy-which-had/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/for-she-was-clever-it-had-not-been-a-lie-then-that-ecstasy-which-had/#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 } } ] } ```