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And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe._x000D_ _x000D_ And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot;_x000D_ _x000D_ And thereby hangs a tale.
William Shakespeare
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Life progresses through cycles of growth and decay.

This quote by William Shakespeare reflects the inevitability of life's cycle, where we experience growth and maturation ('ripe') followed by decline and decay ('rot'). The phrase 'and thereby hangs a tale' suggests that this cycle of existence, from flourishing to fading, holds deeper stories and truths about the human condition and the nature of time.

Themes

LifeGrowthDecayTimeChange

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the stages of life.

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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).
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Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
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Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
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Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
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Quote by William Shakespeare | QuoteProject