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
O polished perturbation! golden care! That keep'st the ports of slumber open wide To many a watchful night.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the anxiety and worry that disrupt sleep and peace of mind.
In this poetic expression by Shakespeare, the speaker personifies the feelings of anxiety and care as 'polished perturbation' and 'golden care'. These emotions are depicted as forces that keep the doors of restful sleep ajar, allowing worries to invade and disturb many a sleepless night. The imagery captures the struggle between seeking tranquility and being burdened by nagging thoughts.
In practice
In a speech about mental health awareness, one could use this quote to highlight the impact of anxiety on sleep.
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).
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
Everything was coming my way, but I was going down. I was painfully empty.
People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest.
All of life like a series of tableaux, and in the living we missed so much, hid so much, left so much undone and unsaid.
Even though I'm seventeen, I guess I still thought this would always be true - that there would always be that lost-and-found, and not the lost-and-still-lost that I am now trapped inside.
It's hard enough to write a good drama, it's much harder to write a good comedy, and it's hardest of all to write a drama with comedy. Which is what life is.
Don't lament so much about how your career is going to turn out. You don't have a career. You have a life. Do the work. Keep the faith. Be true blue. You are a writer because you write. Keep writing and quit your bitching. Your book has a birthday. You don't know what it is yet.
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