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
He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument.
Interpretation
The quote humorously suggests that someone's elaborate speech often lacks substantial content.
In this quote, William Shakespeare critiques individuals who speak at great length without saying anything meaningful. It highlights the tendency of some people to dress their arguments in excessive language, making them seem more important than they actually are, thereby emphasizing the importance of clarity and substance over mere verbosity.
In practice
In a debate about public speaking, one might mention Shakespeare's quote to illustrate the importance of clear communication.
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.
Percy wouldn't notice a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing one of Dobby's hats.
There was a lot about the military that I thought was pretty silly, but these cartoons weren't meant to take a poke at anybody or anything. They were meant to make people laugh.
We've got a bunch of new writers now who tell me they grew up watching The Simpsons. It's bizarre, and they're writing some very funny stuff.
The only bright spot in the entire evening was the presence of Kevin "Tubby" Matchwell, the eleven-year-old porker who tackled the role of Santa with a beguiling authenticity. The false beard tended to muffle his speech, but they could hear his chafing thighs all the way to the North Pole.
I was the only kid who anybody I knew has ever seen actually walk into a lamppost with his eyes wide open. Everybody assumed that there must be something going on inside, because there sure as hell wasn't anything going on the outside!
He has been a doctor a year now and has had two patients - no, three, I think - yes, it was three; I attended their funerals.
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