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
This is the very coinage of your brain: this bodiless creation ecstasy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote refers to the imaginative and creative powers of the mind in producing art and ecstasy.
In this quote, Shakespeare emphasizes the concept that art is a product of the mind, created through imagination. He portrays creative expression as something magical and intangible, equating it to ecstasy, which suggests that art has the power to evoke profound emotions and experiences that transcend the physical world.
Themes
CreativityImaginationArtEcstasyExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about creativity, one might say, 'As Shakespeare reminds us, this is the very coinage of your brain: this bodiless creation ecstasy'.
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