They say you can't study Kabbalah until you are at least 40 years old. You know why? You have to have experienced at least one generation making the same mistakes as the previous one.
David MametRead
The subject of drama is The Lie. At the end of the drama THE TRUTH -- which has been overlooked, disregarded, scorned, and denied -- prevails. And that is how we know the Drama is done.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Drama reveals hidden truths through conflict and deception.
David Mamet's quote reflects the essence of drama as a narrative form that often revolves around lies, through which characters navigate conflict. Ultimately, the resolution of a drama comes when the overlooked, disregarded, or scorned truth emerges, signaling the conclusion of the story and allowing the audience to reflect on the deeper insights presented within the performance.
Themes
DramaTruthLieTheaterRevelation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be a great discussion starter in a theater class about narrative structure.
More from David Mamet
All quotes →My alma mater is the Chicago Public Library. I got what little educational foundation I got in the third-floor reading room, under the tutelage of a Coca-Cola sign.
David MametRead
You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?'
David MametRead
It's hard for a Jew of my generation, an American Jew, who is philo-Zionistic, not to romanticize Israel.
David MametRead
You can't write about history without writing about politics at some point. History is about movements of people. 'What is criminality and what is government' is a theme that runs through every history.
David MametRead
Every reiteration of the idea that nothing matters debases the human spirit.
David MametRead
Similar quotes
As nearly as possible in the spirit of Matthew Salinger, age one, urging a luncheon companion to accept a cool lima bean, I urge my editor, mentor and (heaven help him) closest friend, William Shawn, genius domus of The New Yorker, lover of the long shot, protector of the unprolific, defender of the hopelessly flamboyant, most unreasonably modest of born great artist-editors to accept this pretty skimpy-looking book.
J. D. SalingerRead
I took a straight picture that made me look like a thirty-year-old Italian who'd kill anybody who said something against his mother.
Jack KerouacRead
Night came walking through Egypt swishing her black dress.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
You’re supposed to expand your mind to fit the art, you’re not supposed to chop the art down to fit your mind.
Steven SoderberghRead
A dancer, if she is great, can give to the people something that they can carry with them forever. They can never forget it, and it has changed them, though they may never know it.
Isadora DuncanRead
For the canons of good society are, or should be, the same as the canons of art. Form is absolutely essential to it.
Oscar WildeRead