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
O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a longing for inspiration to create something extraordinary.
In this quote from Shakespeare, the speaker yearns for a source of inspiration, metaphorically depicted as a muse of fire, that can help them rise to the highest levels of creativity and invention. It reflects the profound desire of artists and writers to transcend ordinary boundaries in their work and achieve greatness through imagination.
Themes
InspirationCreativityImaginationArtFire
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a speech about the creative process in art and literature.
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
A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token. It is therefore risky to send it out into the world. How often it must be impaired by the eyes of the unfeeling and the cruelty of the impotent.
Mark RothkoRead
Dancers today can do anything; the technique is phenomenal. The passion and the meaning to their movement can be another thing.
Martha GrahamRead
Books arrive in my head all at once, and then it becomes an 18-month process of getting it all down on paper.
Douglas CouplandRead
You just go where poetry is, whether it's in your heart or your mind or in books or in places where there's live poetry or recordings.
Joy HarjoRead
Sometimes it's difficult directing yourself on film because you can't quite separate yourself from the subject.
Stanley TucciRead
That's what happens in a good horror movie: there are always metaphors of greater subjects like humanity and empathy and compassion. It's not about the action and scary moments: You really care about these characters because they're mirrors of our own reflections.
Edgar RamirezRead