QuoteProject
What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living? Beatrice: Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick?
William Shakespeare
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the tension in a romantic relationship, specifically the interplay of disdain and love.

In this exchange, Beatrice sarcastically questions whether her disdain can truly fade while she still finds a worthy target for it in Benedick. This reflects the complexity of their relationship, suggesting that the emotions of love and disdain can coexist, especially in a context where playful banter and wit are part of a deeper connection.

Themes

DisdainLoveRelationshipsRomanceConflict

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used during a discussion about romantic relationships in literature classes.

More from William Shakespeare

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
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

When I think about [characters], I like to think of them in their relationships to each other. In the same way, I think that's how humans are ultimately defined. We are our relationships to one another. And a lot of what's interesting about us happens in the context of other people.
John GreenRead
I have come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying, and for this reason, I can never be satisfied with anyone who would be blockhead enough to have me.
Abraham LincolnRead
Most of us have jobs that require some handling of other peoples' feelings and our own, and in that sense, we are all partly flight attendants.
Arlie Russell HochschildRead
The worth of a human being lies in the ability to extend oneself, to go outside oneself, to exist in and for other people.
Milan KunderaRead
Shyness is about the fear of social judgments - at a job interview or a party you might be excessively worried about what people think of you. Whereas an introvert might not feel any of those things at all, they simply have the preference to be in a quieter setting.
Susan CainRead
Remember on this one thing, said Badger. The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each other's memories. This is how people care for themselves.
Barry LopezRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.