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
Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front; _x000D_ _x000D_ And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds _x000D_ _x000D_ To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, _x000D_ _x000D_ He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber _x000D_ _x000D_ To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The harshness of war has changed the nature of those who engage in it, leading them to seek different pursuits.
This quote by Shakespeare reflects on the transformation brought about by war, suggesting that its brutal nature has refined and altered those who participate in it. Instead of continuing in their roles as fearsome warriors, they find themselves in more delicate and sensual environments, highlighting a contrast between the violence of war and the pleasures of life beyond it.
Themes
WarTransformationLifePeaceSensuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the impacts of war on soldiers' mental states.
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
Smell that? You smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Robert DuvallRead
Desert Storm created the pattern for the American way of war that eventually prevailed in Kosovo. America learned from Vietnam that unilateral use of force eventually forfeits international legitimacy and domestic support. Desert Storm demonstrated the political necessity of coalition warfare.
Michael IgnatieffRead
We know now that in modern warfare, fought on any considerable scale, there can be no possible economic gain for any side. Win or lose, there is nothing but waste and destruction.
Lester B. PearsonRead
Air power may either end war or end civilization.
Winston ChurchillRead
Women are so much a part of war, even if they tend to see another side of it. To say they don't understand war is ridiculous.
Margaret MacmillanRead
In listening to the narratives of the Congolese, I came to terms with the extent to which their bodies had become battlefields.
Lynn NottageRead