"Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night": These quotes capture the quiet beauty of the winter season

"Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night": These quotes capture the quiet beauty of the winter season

Winter is a season of contrasts – harsh yet beautiful, cold yet comforting. These quotes from the great authors capture the essence of the colder months in all their wonder and melancholy


From the dawn frost to the long, eery nights, winter holds a lot of magic. From Oscar Wilde's musings on wisdom to Steinbeck's reminder that the cold makes the warmth so much sweeter, these quotes reflect winter's stillness, beauty and quiet introspection.

Best quotes about winter

"Winter is coming." (George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones)

"Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night." (Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room)

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness." (John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America)

"Snow was falling / so much like stars / filling the dark trees / that one could easily imagine / its reason for being was nothing more / than prettiness." (Mary Oliver, Snowy Night)

"In the night the snow came. She awoke on Christmas morning in that unmistakeable light, coming up from the earth and shining between her curtains." (Stella Gibbons, Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm)

"Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow." (TS Eliot, The Waste Land)

"O, wind, / If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" (Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind)

"Outside, snow solidified itself into graceful forms. The peace of winter stars seemed permanent." (Toni Morrison, Beloved)

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." (Albert Camus)

"Wisdom comes with winters." (Oscar Wilde)

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