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).
Where the bee sucks, there suck I In the cow-slip's bell i lie There I couch when owls do cry
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep connection to nature, illustrating a desire for harmony with the natural world.
In this quote from Shakespeare, the speaker conveys a profound yearning to find solace and belonging within the beauty of nature. The imagery of bees, flowers, and owls symbolizes an intimate relationship with the natural environment, suggesting that true comfort can be found in the tranquility and simplicity of nature, particularly when it is untouched by human civilization. This reflects the idea that nature is not only a refuge but also a source of inspiration and peace.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about preserving the environment, one could quote this to emphasize the connection we share with nature.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove 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.
Similar quotes
The lakes are something which you are unprepared for; they lie up so high, exposed to the light, and the forest is diminished to a fine fringe on their edges, with here and there a blue mountain, like amethyst jewels set around some jewel of the first water, - so anterior, so superior, to all the changes that are to take place on their shores, even now civil and refined, and fair as they can ever be.
We cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention to both the consequences of such interference in other areas and to the well-being of future generations.
The whole of nature cries out at our mistreatment of her. If the planet were a patient, we would have treated her long ago.
Peering down into the water where the morning sun fashioned wheels of light, coronets fanwise in which lay trapped each twig, each grain of sediment, long flakes and blades of light in the dusty water sliding away like optic strobes where motes sifted and spun.
If we want to address global warming, along with the other environmental problems associated with our continued rush to burn our precious fossil fuels as quickly as possible, we must learn to use our resources more wisely, kick our addiction, and quickly start turning to sources of energy that have fewer negative impacts.
Sends Nature forth the daughter of the skies... To dance on earth, and charm all human eyes.