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
What is light, if Sylvia be not seen? What is joy if Sylvia be not by?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the deep connection between love and joy, highlighting that the presence of a loved one is essential for true happiness.
In this quote, William Shakespeare conveys the idea that light and joy are meaningless without the presence of a beloved person, named Sylvia. It emphasizes the crucial role that love plays in our experiences of happiness and fulfillment, suggesting that our emotional states are often intertwined with our relationships with others, particularly those we hold dear.
Themes
LoveJoyHappinessRelationshipsPresence
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote during a wedding ceremony to emphasize the importance of love in a relationship.
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Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
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Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
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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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You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are my divinity, my madness, my selfishness, my transfiguration and purification. You are my rapscallionly fellow vagabond, my tempter and star. I want you.
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The ones I loved fly as birds in the open sky above me. Soaring, weaving, calling to me to join them. I want so badly to follow them, but the seawater saturates my wings, making it impossible to lift them. The ones I hated have taken to the water, horrible scaled things that tear my salty flesh with needle teeth. Biting again and again. Dragging me beneath the surface.
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