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
I thought my heart had been wounded with the claws of a lion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker expresses deep emotional pain comparable to a physical injury caused by a lion's claws.
In this quote, William Shakespeare uses vivid imagery to convey the intensity of heartache. The comparison of emotional suffering to being wounded by a lion's claws highlights the ferocity and depth of the pain experienced in matters of the heart, suggesting that love can bring both immense joy and profound sorrow.
Themes
HeartachePainLoveSufferingEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
In a literature class discussing Shakespeare's works.
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What were all the world's alarms To mighty Paris when he found Sleep upon a golden bed That first dawn in Helen's arms?
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