20 Epic Quotes from “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson

Guides → 20 Epic Quotes from “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson

Step into a world of apocalyptic darkness, where the last remnants of humanity struggle to survive against an eternal and merciless foe.

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson's masterpiece, is a haunting tale of isolation, despair, and hope that has captivated readers for generations. Penned in 1954, this seminal novel not only spawned a wave of zombie-inspired films but also explored profound themes of loneliness, love, and the human condition.

Through the eyes of Robert Neville, a lone survivor with an unshakeable resolve to live on, Matheson crafts an unforgettable narrative that challenges readers to confront their deepest fears and darkest doubts.

In this article, we'll delve into the heart of I Am Legend by exploring some of its most epic quotes that illuminate the struggles and triumphs of Neville's extraordinary journey.

1) “Full circle. A new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am legend.”

2) “The strength of the vampire is that no one will believe in him.” Thank you, Dr. Van Helsing, he thought, putting down his copy of Dracula.”

3) “He forgot everything, time and place; it was just the two of them together, needing each other, survivors of a black terror embracing because they had found each other.”

4) “I’m an animal! he exulted. I’m a dumb, stupid animal and I’m going to drink!”

5) “There were still many things to learn, but not so many as before. Strangely, life was becoming almost bearable.”

6) “After a while, though, even the deepest sorrow faltered, even the most penetrating despair lost its scalpel edge. The flagellant’s curse, he thought, to grow inured even to the whip.”

7) “Silence held him in its cold and gentle hands.”

8) “All these books, he thought, the residue of a planet’s intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourri of artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing.”

9) “In a world of monotonous horror there could be no salvation in wild dreaming.”

10) “How long did it take for a past to die?”

11) “How quickly one accepts the incredible if only one sees it enough.”

12) “He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. All these books, he thought, the residue of a planet’s intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourri of artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing.”

13) “The keynote of minority prejudice is this: They are loathed because they are feared.”

14) “Despite everything he had or might have (except, of course, another human being), life gave no promise of improvement or even of change. The way things shaped up, he would live out his life with no more than he already had. And how many years was that? Thirty, maybe forty if he didn’t drink himself to death. The thought of forty more years of living as he was made him shudder.”

15) “He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. All these books, he thought, the residue of a planet's intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourri of artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing.”

16) “The cross. He held one in his hand, gold and shiny in the morning sun. This, too, drove the vampires away. Why? Was there a logical answer, something he could accept without slipping on banana skins of mysticism?”

17) “There was no sound but that of his shoes and the now senseless singing of birds. Once I thought they sang because everything was right with the world, Robert Neville thought. I know now I was wrong. They sing because they’re feeble minded.”

18) “The last man in the world was irretrievably stuck with his delusions.”

19) “From that day on he learned to accept the dungeon he existed in, neither seeking to escape with sudden derring-do nor beating his pate bloody on its walls. And, thus resigned, he returned to work.”

20) “He leaned back against the brick step, puffing out slow clouds of smoke. Far out across that field he knew there was still a depression in the ground where he had buried Virginia, where she had unburied herself. But knowing it brought no glimmer of reflective sorrow to his eyes. Rather than go on suffering, he had learned to stultify himself to introspection. Time had lost its multidimensional scope. There was only the present for Robert Neville; a present based on day-to-day survival marked by neither heights of joy nor depths of despair. I am predominantly vegetable, he often thought to himself. That was the way he wanted it.”