We do not go to the theatre like our ancestors, to escape from the pressure of reality, so much as to confirm our experience of it.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the idea that theatre serves not only as an escape, but also as a way to understand and validate our real-life experiences.
Charles Lamb suggests that the purpose of attending the theatre has evolved from mere escapism to a form of affirmation and deeper understanding of our own realities. Instead of seeking a break from life's pressures, we now look to theatre to resonate with our lived experiences, allowing the performance to mirror the complexities and challenges we face in daily life, reinforcing our understanding of the world around us.
In practice
In a discussion about the role of art in society, this quote can highlight how theatre connects people to shared experiences.
Thus, when the lamp that lighted The traveller at first goes out, He feels awhile benighted, And looks around in fear and doubt. But soon, the prospect clearing, By cloudless starlight on he treads, And thinks no lamp so cheering As that light which Heaven sheds.
As down in the sunless retreats of the ocean Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee. As still to the star of its worship, though clouded, The needle points faithfully o'er the dim sea, So dark when I roam in this wintry world shrouded, The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee.
The most mortifying infirmity in human nature, to feel in ourselves, or to contemplate in another, is perhaps cowardice.
Oh, ever thus, from childhood's hour, I 've seen my fondest hopes decay; I never loved a tree or flower But 't was the first to fade away. I never nurs'd a dear gazelle, To glad me with its soft black eye, But when it came to know me well And love me, it was sure to die.
May my last breath be drawn through a pipe, and exhaled in a jest.
A pun is not bound by the laws which limit nicer wit. It is a pistol let off at the ear; not a feather to tickle the intellect.
In our hurried world too little value is attached to the part of the connoisseur and dilettante.
Have you ever wondered why young people take to music like fish to water? Maybe it's because music is fun. Plan and simple. It opens up their minds to dream great dreams about where they can go and what they can do when they get older.
Describing Starry Night: Firmament and planets both disappeared, but the mighty breath which gives life to all things and in which all is bound up remained.
Photography has always been a major part of my vision: my excuse for meddling with what the world looks like.
Your job is to get your audience to care about your obsessions.
I think the experience of going to a theater and seeing a movie with a lot of people is still part of the transformational power of the film, and it's equivalent to the old shaman telling a story by the campfire to a bunch of people.
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