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
My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel; I know not where I am nor what I do.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the confusion and chaos of the speaker's thoughts and existence.
In this quote, Shakespeare conveys a sense of disorientation and uncertainty, likening the unpredictability of his mind to the spinning of a potter's wheel. The powerful imagery suggests that the speaker feels lost and lacks control over their own thoughts and actions, mirroring the complexities of the human condition and the struggle to find clarity in moments of turmoil.
In practice
In a speech about the creative process, one could use this quote to illustrate the chaotic nature of inspiration.
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).
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
I don't want to be immortal through my works. I want to be immortal by not dying.
I know that to personalize the Earth System as Gaia, as I have often done and continue to do in this book, irritates the scientifically correct, but I am unrepentant because metaphors are more than ever needed for a widespread comprehension of the true nature of the Earth and an understanding of the lethal dangers that lie ahead.
Influence is to be measured, not by the extent of surface it covers, but by its kind.
Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.
I would say as a journalist, I would envision travelling to other countries that have had to reckon with their past and see how they've done it: what worked, what didn't work, finding characters that would tell the story of how that process was done.
The Way is hidden and nameless. Still only the Way nourishes and completes.
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