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
Is this the generation of love? Hot blood, hot thoughts and hot deeds? Why, they are vipers. Is love a generation of vipers?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the true nature of love within its generation, suggesting that it may be filled with passionate but harmful impulses.
In this quote, Shakespeare examines the complexities of love by referring to a generation characterized by intense emotions and actions, likening them to vipers—creatures often associated with danger and malice. This suggests that while love can ignite fervor and passion, it may also lead to destructive behavior and betrayal, prompting a deeper reflection on the qualities of love and relationships within a given time.
Themes
LoveGenerationPassionDeceptionEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on contemporary relationships, one might invoke this quote to illustrate the contentious nature of modern love.
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
Why is it that words like these seem dull and cold? Is it because there is no word tender enough to be your name?
James JoyceRead
I hid my love when young till I_x000D_ Couldn't bear the buzzing of a fly;_x000D_ I hid my life to my despite_x000D_ Till I could not bear to look at light:_x000D_ I dare not gaze upon her face_x000D_ But left her memory in each place;_x000D_ Where'er I saw a wild flower lie_x000D_ I kissed and bade my love good-bye.
John ClareRead
I am the most well-known homosexual in the world.
Elton JohnRead
The inner reality of love can be recognized only by love.
Hans Urs Von BalthasarRead
How horrifying that morning when you wake up and your first thought is not of the person who has left. That’s when you know, I will never die of a broken heart.
Kamila ShamsieRead
A baseball bat could not have hit me harder than that smile did. I was sixteen years old. In that time, how many thousands of smiles had been aimed at me? so why did this one feel like the first?
Jerry SpinelliRead