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
Men are April when they woo, December when they wed. Maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that men and women display different characteristics in courtship versus marriage.
William Shakespeare's quote illustrates the contrasting behaviors and phases of men and women as they transition from courtship to marriage. He portrays men as being lighthearted and charming like April in their wooing phase, while they become more somber like December once they wed. Conversely, women are depicted as fresh and vibrant like May during courtship, but their demeanor shifts once they become wives, hinting at the expectations and responsibilities that change their nature.
Themes
RelationshipsCourtshipMarriageLoveBehavior
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a wedding toast to highlight the changes that come with marriage.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes →Love 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
Do you know what makes the prison disappear? Every deep, genuine affection. Being friends, being brothers, loving, that is what opens the prison, with supreme power, by some magic force. Without these one stays dead. But whenever affection is revived, there life revives.
Vincent Van GoghRead
A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.
Gloria SteinemRead
Maybe I`m getting to the age when I`m starting to be senile or nostalgic or both, but people are so angry now. You used to be able to disagree with people and still be friends. Now you hear these talk shows, and everyone who believes differently from you is a moron and an idiot - both on the Right and the Left.
Clint EastwoodRead
Hate and love are reciprocal passions.
Gabriel Garcia MarquezRead
No human law can abolish the natural and original right of marriage, nor in any way limit the chief and principal purpose of marriage ordained by God’s authority from the beginning: “Increase and multiply.
Pope Leo XiiiRead
Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude that she is remarkable. They are right about this. She is smart, funny and thoroughly charming... Often, after hearing her speak at some function or working with her on a project, people will approach me and say something to the effect of "You know, I think the world of you, Barack, but your wife... wow!"
Barack ObamaRead