[Vocabulary] being touched by life and etched in fire

[beeja]

Hello there,

I have a question. I don't understand what exactly the writer wants to say. The sentence is "Dylan writes of being touched by life and etched in fire." What does it exactly mean? Dyland writes of both "good-feeling, touching" stories and "bad, as terrible as hell (fire)" ones?

Thank you for your explanation.

Beeja

 

[MikeNewYork]

This is only a guess. The first part, "touched by life" means that life's experiences have affected him and molded him into what he is today. The second part is a bit more difficult. Etching can be physically scratching a design or message on to hard objects, such as glass or steel. This requires a hard instrument and often involves the use of acid. In a metaphorical use, etching can refer to imprinting something like an image in one's mind. Another meaning of "etching" is "to delineate", "to define", "to describe in detail". Fire is probably also used metaphorically here. This may refer to trials, tough times, etc., or the heat that is used to strengthen steel or glass. The last part, then, might mean that he has been strengthened by his experience or at least changed (imprinted) by them.

 

[beeja]

Thank you Mike, so, can I say Dylan writes of some incidents that make him strong and be what he is today? Sounds reasonable.

 

[Tdol]

That's sounds like a reasonable interpretation to me.

 

[MikeNewYork]

That was the best I could make of it.

 

[Rover_KE]

Beeja, instead of sending your thanks in a separate message, just click the Like button, please.

The reason is that it is flagged as a new post, so we think you might have a follow-up question or something to add. Those of us with slow internet connections and/or old computers have to waste valuable time waiting for it to appear.

Thank you.

Rover