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
Love is merely a madness, and, I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love can drive people to irrational behaviors, often resembling madness.
In this quote, Shakespeare suggests that love can be a form of madness, characterized by irrationality and emotional turmoil. Just as society may lock away those who are mad, Shakespeare implies that love too can lead individuals into dark and turbulent emotional states, meriting control or restraint to navigate its challenges.
Themes
LoveMadnessEmotionRelationshipsIrrationality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the complexities of romantic relationships.
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Similar quotes
I would have done anything for him. Maybe that was my sickness. We made love in nothing places and turned the lights off. It felt like crying. We could not look at each other. It always had to be from behind. Like that first time. And I knew he wasn't thinking of me. He squeezed my sides so hard, and pushed so hard. Like he was trying to push me through to somewhere else. Why does anyone ever make love?
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Westley: Hear this now: I will always come for you. Buttercup: But how can you be sure? Westley: This is true love-you think this happens every day? Westley: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn't you wait for me? Buttercup: Well...you were dead. Westley: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while. Buttercup: i will never doubt again. Westley: There will never be a need.
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She wasnt exactly sure when it happened. Or even when it started. All she knew for sure was that right here and now, she was falling hard and she could only pray that he was feeling the same way.
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