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
For now they kill me with a living death.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the pain of emotional suffering that feels worse than actual death.
In this quote, Shakespeare portrays the torment of living in a state of despair or hopelessness, suggesting that the emotional anguish one can experience in life can be so profound that it feels akin to a living death. It evokes a deep sense of suffering and the struggle for existence when faced with overwhelming emotional turmoil.
Themes
SufferingEmotional PainDespairLifeDeath
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about mental health, one could say, 'As Shakespeare said, for now they kill me with a living death, highlighting the impact of depression on one's life.'
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove 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
Everyone needs a hobby, he said. And everyone needs a miracle or two, just to prove life is more than just one long trudge from the cradle to the grave.
Stephen KingRead
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;_x000D_ _x000D_ And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor._x000D_ _x000D_ Eagerly, I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow_x000D_ _x000D_ From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Leonore -_x000D_ _x000D_ For the rare and radiant maiden who the angels name Lenore -_x000D_ _x000D_ Nameless here for evermore.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
And I put the latte down on a table, awash in the happy middle of my greatest adventure.
John GreenRead
Risk, then, is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place. It's the high-anxiety zone, but it's also where you discover who you are.
Nick VujicicRead
Wine is one of the agreeable and essential ingredients of life
Julia ChildRead
In the pathway of the sun, In the footsteps of the breeze, Where the world and sky are one, He shall ride the silver seas, He shall cut the glittering wave. I shall sit at home, and rock; Rise, to heed a neighbor's knock; Brew my tea, and snip my thread; Bleach the linen for my bed. They will call him brave.
Dorothy ParkerRead