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
Oh, thou did'st then ne'er love so heartily. If thou rememb'rest not the slightest folly That ever love did make thee run inot, Thou has not loved. Of if thou has't not sat as I do now, Wearying they hearer in thy mistress's praise, Thou has not loved. Of if thou hast not broke from company Abruptly, as my passion now makes me, Thou has not loved. (Silvius)
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love is characterized by deep feelings, often leading to various emotional and irrational behaviors.
In this quote, Silvius expresses that true love encompasses a spectrum of passionate behaviors and experiences, suggesting that if one has not experienced folly, obsessive praise, and emotional turmoil for their beloved, they have not truly loved. Shakespeare highlights the irrational yet powerful nature of love, implying that these intense feelings are essential markers of genuine affection.
Themes
LovePassionEmotionAffectionHeartfelt
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a wedding ceremony to illustrate the depth of true love.
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
Where there is love, do what you will, it will be right action. It will never bring conflict to one's life. In the flame of love, all fear is consumed.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiRead
One cannot give what he does not possess. To give love you must possess love. To love others you must love yourself.
Leo BuscagliaRead
I knew from the minute I saw her (Hillary) that if I got involved with her I would fall in love with her.
William J. ClintonRead
O love, if I regret the age when one savors you, it is not for the hour of pleasure, but for the one that follows it.
Jean-Jacques RousseauRead
Soon, everything else would come rushing at him. Like the ground to a falling man, it would come rushing up and hit him all at once - the place, the company, her words; one implication would lead to another and shatter him - but around that intake of breath the world hung silent and bright, so bright, and Akiva only knew this one thing, and held on to it and wanted to live inside of it and stay there forever. Karou was alive.
Laini TaylorRead
Just as one candle lights another and can light thousands of other candles, so one heart illuminates another heart and can illuminate thousands of other hearts.
Leo TolstoyRead