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
What this quote means
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.
Themes
VerbosityArgumentSpeechClaritySubstance
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about public speaking, one might mention Shakespeare's quote to illustrate the importance of clear communication.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove 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
The object of a comedy is not to correct morals or ridicule the vices of society; no, a comedy should depict the discrepancies between life and purpose, should be the fruit of bitter indignation aroused by the degradation of human dignity, should be sarcasm, and not an epigram, convulsive laughter and not an amused grin, should be written with bile and not diluted salt, in a word, it should embrace life in its highest significance.
Vissarion BelinskyRead
A crash is when your competitor's program dies. When your program dies, it is an 'idiosyncrasy'.
Guy KawasakiRead
I used to think you had to live this miserable life and that that would make you funnier, but you don't. The misery will come. The misery will find you.
Bill BurrRead
That young girl is one of the least benightedly unintelligent organic life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting.
Douglas AdamsRead
The worst thing about television is that everybody you see on television is doing something better than what you're doing. You never see anybody on TV just sliding off the front of the sofa, with potato chip crumbs all over their shirt.
Jerry SeinfeldRead
I have a few cavities. I don't like to call them cavities, though - I like to call them 'places to put stuff'. 'Do you know where I can store a pea' 'Yes, I have some locations available.'
Mitch HedbergRead