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
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. -Sonnet 73
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on aging and the inevitable approach of death, likening it to the twilight that follows sunset.
In this quote from Sonnet 73, Shakespeare uses the metaphor of twilight to explore the themes of aging, death, and the passage of time. He illustrates the gradual fading of life, much like the day transitions into night, highlighting the inevitability of death which brings rest after life's struggles. The imagery evokes a sense of melancholy but also acceptance, as it acknowledges the beauty and fleeting nature of existence.
Themes
AgingDeathTwilightLifeNature
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on Shakespeare, I might use this quote to discuss themes of mortality in literature.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes →Love 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
All human things Of dearest value hang on slender strings.
Edmund WallerRead
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids Sprouting despondently at area gates.
T. S. EliotRead
The misery we inflict on sentient beings slackens our human evolution.
Annie BesantRead
Let us repeat the two crucial negative premises as established firmly by all human experience: (1) Words are not the things we are speaking about; and (2) There is no such thing as an object in absolute isolation.
Alfred KorzybskiRead
In the end we all come to be cured of our sentiments.
Cormac MccarthyRead
For me, disability is a physical experience, but it's also a cultural experience and a social experience, and for me, the word 'crip' is the one that best encapsulated all of that.
Stella YoungRead