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).
Where the bee sucks, there suck I In the cow-slip's bell i lie There I couch when owls do cry
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep connection to nature, illustrating a desire for harmony with the natural world.
In this quote from Shakespeare, the speaker conveys a profound yearning to find solace and belonging within the beauty of nature. The imagery of bees, flowers, and owls symbolizes an intimate relationship with the natural environment, suggesting that true comfort can be found in the tranquility and simplicity of nature, particularly when it is untouched by human civilization. This reflects the idea that nature is not only a refuge but also a source of inspiration and peace.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about preserving the environment, one could quote this to emphasize the connection we share with nature.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove 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.
Similar quotes
This oak tree and me, we're made of the same stuff.
Ah! How often when I have been abroad on the mountains has my heart risen in grateful praise to God that it was not my destiny to waste and pine among those noisome congregations of the city.
Man has evolved a mutual relationship with nature on earth, but his power to change its surface has grown so tremendously that this may become a curse instead of a blessing.
It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.
. . . We love fog because it shifts old anomalies into the elements surrounding them. It gives relief from a way of seeing
All the human and animal manure which the world wastes, if returned to the land, instead of being thrown into the sea, would suffice to nourish the world.