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).
I'll break my staff, bury it certain fathoms in the earth, and deeper than did ever plummet sound, I'll drown my book!
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects a deep struggle with the power of knowledge and the decision to abandon it.
In this quote, Shakespeare conveys the profound conflict between the weight of knowledge and the desire to escape from it. The breaking of the staff symbolizes the relinquishment of power, while burying the book indicates a rejection of the wisdom or knowledge it holds, suggesting a sense of despair or a transformational moment where one feels overwhelmed by the weight of their own understanding and chooses to escape from it altogether.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the burden of knowledge, this quote could serve as a poignant reminder of the challenges that come with understanding.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove 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.
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Holy is the dish and drain, the soap and sink, and the cup and plate and the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile, showerheads and good dry towelsand frying eggs sound like psalms, with bits of salt measured in my palm. It's all a part of a sacrament, as holy as a day is spent.