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
Thou hast the most unsavoury similes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously critiques someone's unappealing comparisons.
In this quote, Shakespeare uses wit to express disapproval of another person's choice of similes, illustrating the idea that words can be chosen poorly and can lead to awkward or unpleasant communication. It highlights the importance of language and the impact that our expressions have on meaning and perception, particularly in a humorous context.
Themes
HumorLanguageCommunicationSimilesWit
In practice
Example use cases
In a comedic performance highlighting the quirks of language.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove 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
I go to dance clubs...about once a year just to justify the other 364 days I spend in my apartment going 'God, what idiots!'
Bill HicksRead
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.
Mark TwainRead
I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.
Muhammad AliRead
Work is the curse of the drinking classes.
Oscar WildeRead
Jokes of the proper kind, properly told, can do more to enlighten questions of politics, philosophy, and literature than any number of dull arguments.
Isaac AsimovRead