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
But jealous souls will not be answered so, They are not ever jealous for the cause, But jealous for they're jealous. 'Tis a monster Begot upon itself, born on itself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Jealousy is a self-sustaining emotion that thrives without a real cause.
In this quote, Shakespeare highlights the nature of jealousy as a complex and self-referential emotion that does not require an external justification. It suggests that jealous individuals often feel jealousy for the sake of feeling jealous, indicating that such feelings are intrinsic and self-propagating, leading to destructive behavior without rational basis.
Themes
JealousyEmotionSelfPhilosophyDestruction
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about toxic relationships, one might quote Shakespeare to illustrate the irrationality of jealousy.
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Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
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Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
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