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
Discuss unto me: art thou officer, Or art thou base, common, and popular?
Interpretation
The quote questions one's status and value in society, distinguishing between the nobility of an officer and the commonness of the populace.
In this quote by Shakespeare, the speaker probes the identity and societal role of the addressed person, juxtaposing the esteemed position of an officer against the more ordinary nature of common folk. This reflection speaks to broader themes of class, identity, and the intrinsic value of individuals in society.
In practice
During a discussion on class in a literature class, one could use this quote to highlight Shakespeare's exploration of social status.
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.
In the theatre, every form once born is mortal; every form must be reconceived, and its new conception will bear the marks of all the influences that surround it.
I often make films about subjects I don't really know much about. Maybe it's laziness, but I don't go in there having done a tonne of research; the research happens while I'm making the film.
The world concerns me only in so far as I have a certain debt and duty to it, because I have lived in it for thirty years and owe to it to leave behind some souvenir in the shape of drawings and paintings β not done to please any particular movement, but within which a genuine human sentiment is expressed.
Performers are so vulnerable. They're frightened of humiliation, sure their work will be crap. I try to make an environment where it's warm, where it's OK to fail - a kind of home, I suppose.
When people say, 'I don't get art' ... that means art is working.
But let me see thee stoop from heaven on wings That fill the sky with silver glitterings!
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.