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
If there were a sympathy in choice, War, death, or sickness, did lay siege to it, Making it momentary as a sound, Swift as a shadow, short as any dream, Brief as the lightning in the collied night That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth, And ere a man hath power to say 'Behold!' The jaws of darkness do devour it up; So quick bright things come to confusion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the fleeting nature of life and beauty, emphasizing that even the brightest moments can be quickly lost.
In this quote by William Shakespeare, he contemplates the ephemeral quality of life and experiences. He suggests that beautiful and significant moments can vanish as swiftly as sounds or shadows, highlighting our vulnerability to loss. The imagery of war, death, sickness, and darkness serves to remind us that despite the vibrancy of life, it is consistently under threat from the inevitability of time and fate, thereby encouraging a deeper appreciation for transient joys.
Themes
LifeBeautyEphemeralLossMomentsNature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about appreciating life.
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
And when we look in through the windows, all we see are shadows. And when we try and listen, all we hear is a whispering. And we cannot understand the whispering, because our minds have been invaded by a war. A war that we have both won and lost. The very worst sort of war. A war that captures dreams and re-dreams them. A war that has made us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves.
Arundhati RoyRead
It was all a matter of control. And Choice. Nothing more, nothing less
Paulo CoelhoRead
There's a lot of things that there's misconceptions. Evidently it's a misconceptions that Americans believe that Muslims are terrorists.
George W. BushRead
all I wanted to do was sneak out into the night and disappear somewhere, and go and find out what everybody was doing all over the country.
Jack KerouacRead
It's easier for the former masters to put aside the masks that hid their humanity than for the former slaves to recognise the faces underneath. Or to trust that this is not a new mask these are wearing.
Nadine GordimerRead
So long ago, was it in a dream, was it just a dream?
John LennonRead