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Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
William Shakespeare
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Our desires often influence our thoughts and beliefs.

This quote from Shakespeare suggests that our wishes and desires can shape our thoughts, implying that what we long for can lead us to create narratives that justify or support those desires. It highlights the subjective nature of perception, indicating that people's interpretations are frequently colored by their hopes and aspirations.

Themes

WishThoughtDesirePerceptionInfluence

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about personal aspirations, one might say, 'Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought, reminding us that our hopes shape our view of reality.'

More from William Shakespeare

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).
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Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
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Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
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Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
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Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
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Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
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