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.
The story was writing itself and I was having a hard time keeping up with it.
To a degree, the Greek and Roman mythological heroes are just the first superheroes. They appeal to children for much the same reason. These gods and heroes may have powers, but they get angry and they do the wrong thing. They are human too.
The great thing about the arts, and especially popular music, is that it really does cut across genres and races and classes.
Here's the truth you have to wrestle with: the reason that art (writing, engaging, leading, all of it) is valuable is precisely why I can't tell you how to do it. If there were a map, there'd be no art, because art is the act of navigating without a map. Don't you hate that? I love that there's no map.
Gardeners (or just plain simple writers who write about the garden) always have something they like intensely and in particular, right at the moment you engage them in the reality of the borders they cultivate, the space in the garden they occupy at any moment, they like in particular this, or they like in particular that.
I have never been an easy fit. I'm a leading lady character actor; I don't fit in one slot simply.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.