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
Desperate times breed desperate measures
Interpretation
What this quote means
In difficult circumstances, people may resort to extreme actions.
This quote suggests that when faced with challenging or desperate situations, individuals or groups might adopt unconventional or drastic methods to survive or address their problems. It highlights the human tendency to make tough choices when the stakes are high and normal solutions seem inadequate.
Themes
DesperationMeasuresTimesCircumstancesHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
In a business meeting discussing how to handle a financial emergency, one might say, 'As Shakespeare reminds us, desperate times breed desperate measures.'
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