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
When daisies pied and violets blue And lady-smocks all silver-white And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue Do paint the meadows with delight, The cuckoo then, on every tree, Mocks married men; for thus sings he, Cuckoo; Cuckoo, cuckoo; O, word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the transition of seasons and the mocking nature of love and marriage.
In this quote, Shakespeare uses vivid imagery of spring flowers to symbolize the beauty and delight of love. However, he juxtaposes this with the cuckoo's call, which is associated with unfaithfulness and mockery towards married men, hinting at the complexities and fears that can accompany romantic relationships, especially after the initial bliss fades.
Themes
LoveMarriageNatureMockerySpring
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding toast, one might quote this to humorously address the realities of marriage.
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
To her whose heart is my heart's quiet home,_x000D_ _x000D_ To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee_x000D_ _x000D_ I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome.
Christina RossettiRead
Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.
Ann LandersRead
I was late to understand that chaos and intensity are no subsitute for lasting love, nor are they necessarily an improvement on real life. Normal people are not always boring. On the contrary. Volatility and passion, although often more romantic and enticing, are not intrinsically preferable to a steadiness of experience and feeling about another person.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
Suffering can become a means to greater love and greater generosity.
Mother TeresaRead
If soul my look and body touch, Which is the more blest?
William Butler YeatsRead
For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.
Rosemonde GerardRead