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
All love's pleasure shall not match its woe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The joys of love cannot compare to the pains it can cause.
This quote by William Shakespeare highlights the duality of love, suggesting that while love brings immense joy and pleasure, it also comes with deep sorrow and heartache. The intensity of emotional experiences in love can be overwhelming, indicating that the suffering incurred can overshadow the happiness derived from love itself.
Themes
LovePleasureWoeSorrowEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding speech, to emphasize the complexities of love.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
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Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
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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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Similar quotes
Because your eyes are slant and slow, Because your hair is sweet to touch, My heart is high again; but oh, I doubt if this will get me much.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
Love is a place & through this place of love move (with brightness of peace) all places yes is a world & in this world of yes live (skillfully curled) all worlds
E. E. CummingsRead
Not less of love, but expanding Of love beyond desire, and so liberation From the Future as well as the past.
T. S. EliotRead
My idea is this, that when you only love a little you're naturally not jealous β or are only jealous also a little, so that it doesn't matter. But when you love in a deeper and intenser way, then you're in the very same proportion jealous; your jealousy has intensity and, no doubt, ferocity.
Henry JamesRead
When your mind is quiet, you enter into the flow of love, and you just flow from one moment to the next as naturally as breathing. Whatever arises, I embrace it with love in the moment. This is my practice of polishing the mirror to reflect love. In this moment there is just awareness and love. If someone asks me how to get into their heart, I give them this practice: I Am Loving Awareness.
Ram DassRead