QuoteProject
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.
William Shakespeare
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Jealousy is a destructive emotion that can lead to one's own suffering.

In this quote from Shakespeare, jealousy is personified as a 'green-eyed monster' that not only maliciously mocks those who harbor it but also feeds off the insecurities of its victim. The quote serves as a cautionary warning about the dangers of jealousy, suggesting that it can devour a person's peace of mind and happiness, turning them into a mere shadow of themselves as they are consumed by envy.

Themes

JealousyEmotionDestructionSelf-ReflectionPersonification

In practice

Example use cases

During a relationship seminar, one might quote this to discuss the negative impacts of jealousy on relationships.

More from William Shakespeare

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
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

What is mind but motion in the intellectual sphere?
Oscar WildeRead
The greater the diversity, the greater the perfection.
Thomas BerryRead
For many years, I have lived uncomfortably with the belief that most planning and architectural design suffers for lack of real and basic purpose. The ultimate purpose, it seems to me, must be the improvement of mankind.
James RouseRead
What is repugnant to every human being is to be reckoned always as a member of a class and not as an individual person.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
You can make some inferences about a man's character if you know something about the conditions in which he has survived and prospered.
Richard DawkinsRead
A principle is the expression of perfection, and as imperfect beings like us cannot practise perfection, we devise every moment limits of its compromise in practice.
Mahatma GandhiRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.