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Love is a wonderful, terrible thing
William Shakespeare
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Love is both beautiful and painful.

This quote captures the complex nature of love, highlighting how it can bring immense joy and fulfillment, yet also lead to heartache and suffering. Shakespeare suggests that love's duality is what makes it both wonderful and terrible, embodying the highs and lows of human emotion.

Themes

LoveEmotionPainJoyPassion

In practice

Example use cases

A wedding speech where the dual nature of love is celebrated.

More from William Shakespeare

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).
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Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
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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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