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
I love a ballad in print o' life, for then we are sure they are true.
Interpretation
Shakespeare appreciates the authenticity of life captured in written ballads.
In this quote, Shakespeare reflects on the power of written ballads to convey genuine truths about life. He values the way these narratives, when captured in print, provide a reliable and authentic representation of human experiences and emotions, allowing readers to connect deeply with the essence of life.
In practice
During a poetry reading, the host could use this quote to highlight the significance of written works in conveying emotional truths.
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).
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
Gene [Siskel] often mentioned something François Truffaut once told him: the most beautiful sight in a movie theater is to walk down to the front, turn around, and look at the light from the screen reflected on the upturned faces of the members of the audience.
I do feel that if you can write one good sentence and then another good sentence and then another, you end up with a good story.
The lighter the skin, the more acceptable you are. The darker the skin, the more marginalised you become. I want to demonstrate that you can produce beauty in the context of a figure that has that kind of velvety blackness. It can be done.
Montreal was a very active jazz center until club owners started putting in strippers instead of music. Before long, there was nothing to hear.
Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right — as right as you can, anyway — it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it.
Erotica is using a feather; pornograpy is using the whole chicken.
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