As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
Alas, their love may be call'd appetite. No motion of the liver, but the palate
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that some forms of love are merely physical desire rather than true affection.
In this quote, Shakespeare explores the idea that certain expressions of love may not stem from genuine emotional connection but rather from physical attraction or desire. It contrasts the depth of true love with superficial urges that lack emotional substance, emphasizing the distinction between genuine feelings and mere physical appetites.
Themes
LoveDesireEmotionAppetiteConnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the difference between physical attraction and true love.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes →Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
William ShakespeareRead
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
William ShakespeareRead
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
William ShakespeareRead
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
William ShakespeareRead
Similar quotes
Love is like a flower - you have to let it grow.
John LennonRead
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. If I never loved I never would have cried...I am a rock.
Paul SimonRead
I will love you forever, he thought. I am lying, he thought, and this time he was right
Orson Scott CardRead
And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, and the sun shone upon her.
J. R. R. TolkienRead
She might be a great person, but life's so much bigger than just loving someone.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
You know what my mum once said?’ said Rosie… ‘She said that if a just-married couple put a coin in a jar every time they make love in their first year, and take a coin out for every time that they make love in the years that follow, the jar will never be emptied.’ And this means…?’ Well’, she said. ‘It’s interesting, isn’t it?
Neil GaimanRead