---
title: "22 Way Quotes By Tom Stoppard"
description: "22 Way quotes by Tom Stoppard. Plus more from Tom Stoppard and more Way sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/tom-stoppard-437_grave_i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-tell_1806629.png"
---

> [I will take his secret to the grave, telling people I meet on the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-telling-people-i-meet-on-the-way/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/tom-stoppard-437_grave_i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-tell_1806629.png)

> [I wanted to be in the theater. It is simply the way I felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-wanted-to-be-in-the-theater-it-is-simply-the-way-i-felt/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-wanted-to-be-in-the-theater-it-is-simp_1006957.png)

> [The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-unpredictable-and-the-predetermined-unfold-together-to-make/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/tom-stoppard-437_predetermined_the-unpredictable-and-the-predetermined_2909056.png)

> [I write fiction because it's a way of making statements I can disown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-making-statements-i-can-disown/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/tom-stoppard-437_disown_i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-ma_2123615.png)

> [I write plays because dialogue is the most respectable way of contradicting myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-plays-because-dialogue-is-the-most-respectable-way-of/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-dialogue-is-the-mo_3030981.png)

> [I write plays because writing dialogue is the only respectable way of contradicting yourself. I put a position, rebut it, refute the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-plays-because-writing-dialogue-is-the-only-respectable-way-of/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-writing-dialogue-i_2713922.png)

> [The way 'star' used to be reserved for a small number of people, and when the star category became so vast, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-way-star-used-to-be-reserved-for-a-small-number-of-people-and/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/tom-stoppard-437_became_the-way-star-used-to-be-reserved-for-a-s_2829838.png)

> [In the theater there is often a tension, almost a contradiction, between the way real people would think and behave, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/in-the-theater-there-is-often-a-tension-almost-a-contradiction/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/tom-stoppard-437_behave_in-the-theater-there-is-often-a-tension_3010555.png)

> [One of the reasons why there are so many versions of Chekhov is that translations date in a way that the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many-versions-of-chekhov-is-that/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/tom-stoppard-437_chekhov_one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many_1826265.png)

> [The idea that public safety, the safety of the innocent, is an absolute which trumps every other consideration, is tacitly abandoned in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-idea-that-public-safety-the-safety-of-the-innocent-is-an-absolute/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/984/tom-stoppard-437_abandoned_the-idea-that-public-safety-the-safety-o_1847706.png)

> [If you let the plot be determined by what you feel is in the character's mind at that point, it may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-let-the-plot-be-determined-by-what-you-feel-is-in-the/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tom-stoppard-437_behaving_if-you-let-the-plot-be-determined-by-wha_1545647.png)

> [I don't want to come over as some boringly self-deprecating person. But I don't see myself as a groundbreaking writer in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-don-t-want-to-come-over-as-some-boringly-self-deprecating-person/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/tom-stoppard-437_come_i-don-t-want-to-come-over-as-some-boring_1592437.png)

> [I don't look at my work in a critical or analytical way; I just don't think of myself objectively. It doesn't interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or-analytical-way-i-just-don-t/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/tom-stoppard-437_analytical_i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or_524200.png)

> [I feel that when I began writing, I had a need to know more about the play before I got into it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a-need-to-know-more-about-the/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/tom-stoppard-437_about_i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a_1015073.jpg)

> [Once rehearsals are done the writer really doesn't have a function on the set. If the script is stabilized, then the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/once-rehearsals-are-done-the-writer-really-doesn-t-have-a-function-on/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/tom-stoppard-437_chairs_once-rehearsals-are-done-the-writer-real_717088.png)

> [The trouble is, I can't find a part of myself where you're not important. I write in order to be worth your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-trouble-is-i-can-t-find-a-part-of-myself-where-you-re-not/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/tom-stoppard-437_care_the-trouble-is-i-can-t-find-a-part-of-my_1289680.png)

> [I think theater ought to be theatrical ... you know, shuffling the pack in different ways so that it's -- there's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-think-theater-ought-to-be-theatrical-you-know-shuffling-the-pack-in/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-think-theater-ought-to-be-theatrical-y_877057.png)

> [It's probably unprecedented for a filmmaker simply to take the writers' script and treat it as the instructions on the package. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/it-s-probably-unprecedented-for-a-filmmaker-simply-to-take-the/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/tom-stoppard-437_filmmaker_it-s-probably-unprecedented-for-a-filmma_1941434.jpg)

> [When you try to grasp the way the Western world is going, you see that we are on a ratchet towards a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/when-you-try-to-grasp-the-way-the-western-world-is-going-you-see-that/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/tom-stoppard-437_accepting_when-you-try-to-grasp-the-way-the-wester_3092230.jpg)

> [Comparing what we're looking for misses the point. It's wanting to know that makes us matter. Otherwise we're going out the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/comparing-what-we-re-looking-for-misses-the-point-it-s-wanting-to/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/tom-stoppard-437_afterlife_comparing-what-we-re-looking-for-misses_1932537.jpg)

> [I love love. I love having a lover and being one. The insularity of passion. I love it. I love the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-love-love-i-love-having-a-lover-and-being-one-the-insularity-of/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/tom-stoppard-437_blur_i-love-love-i-love-having-a-lover-and-be_2876222.png)

> [One feels that the past stays the way you left it, whereas the present is in constant movement; it's unstable all around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/one-feels-that-the-past-stays-the-way-you-left-it-whereas-the-present/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/tom-stoppard-437_around_one-feels-that-the-past-stays-the-way-yo_1545083.png)

## Other authors on Way

## More by Tom Stoppard

> [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/#itemlist",
            "name": "22 Way Quotes By Tom Stoppard",
            "numberOfItems": 22,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I will take his secret to the grave, telling people I meet on the way.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-telling-people-i-meet-on-the-way/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/tom-stoppard-437_grave_i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-tell_1806629.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/tom-stoppard-437_grave_i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-tell_1806629.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/tom-stoppard-437_grave_i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-tell_1806629.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I will take his secret to the grave, telling people I meet on the way.” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I wanted to be in the theater. It is simply the way I felt.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-wanted-to-be-in-the-theater-it-is-simply-the-way-i-felt/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-wanted-to-be-in-the-theater-it-is-simp_1006957.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-wanted-to-be-in-the-theater-it-is-simp_1006957.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-wanted-to-be-in-the-theater-it-is-simp_1006957.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I wanted to be in the theater. It is simply the way I felt.” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-unpredictable-and-the-predetermined-unfold-together-to-make/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/tom-stoppard-437_predetermined_the-unpredictable-and-the-predetermined_2909056.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/tom-stoppard-437_predetermined_the-unpredictable-and-the-predetermined_2909056.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/tom-stoppard-437_predetermined_the-unpredictable-and-the-predetermined_2909056.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is.” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I write fiction because it's a way of making statements I can disown.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-making-statements-i-can-disown/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/tom-stoppard-437_disown_i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-ma_2123615.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/tom-stoppard-437_disown_i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-ma_2123615.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/tom-stoppard-437_disown_i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-ma_2123615.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I write fiction because it's a way of making statements I can disown.” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I write plays because dialogue is the most respectable way of contradicting myself.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-plays-because-dialogue-is-the-most-respectable-way-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-dialogue-is-the-mo_3030981.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-dialogue-is-the-mo_3030981.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-dialogue-is-the-mo_3030981.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I write plays because dialogue is the most respectable way of contradicting myself.” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I write plays because writing dialogue is the only respectable way of contradicting yourself. I put a position, rebut it, refute the rebuttal, and rebut the refutation.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-plays-because-writing-dialogue-is-the-only-respectable-way-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-writing-dialogue-i_2713922.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-writing-dialogue-i_2713922.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/tom-stoppard-437_communication_i-write-plays-because-writing-dialogue-i_2713922.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I write plays because writing dialogue is the only respectable way of contradicting yourself. I put a…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 7,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The way 'star' used to be reserved for a small number of people, and when the star category became so vast, they came up with 'superstar,' and then they came up with 'megastar.'",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-way-star-used-to-be-reserved-for-a-small-number-of-people-and/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/tom-stoppard-437_became_the-way-star-used-to-be-reserved-for-a-s_2829838.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/tom-stoppard-437_became_the-way-star-used-to-be-reserved-for-a-s_2829838.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/tom-stoppard-437_became_the-way-star-used-to-be-reserved-for-a-s_2829838.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The way 'star' used to be reserved for a small number of people, and when the star category became so vast…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 8,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "In the theater there is often a tension, almost a contradiction, between the way real people would think and behave, and a kind of imposed dramaticness.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/in-the-theater-there-is-often-a-tension-almost-a-contradiction/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/tom-stoppard-437_behave_in-the-theater-there-is-often-a-tension_3010555.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/tom-stoppard-437_behave_in-the-theater-there-is-often-a-tension_3010555.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/tom-stoppard-437_behave_in-the-theater-there-is-often-a-tension_3010555.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“In the theater there is often a tension, almost a contradiction, between the way real people would think and…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 9,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "One of the reasons why there are so many versions of Chekhov is that translations date in a way that the original doesn't; translations seem to be of their time.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many-versions-of-chekhov-is-that/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/tom-stoppard-437_chekhov_one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many_1826265.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/tom-stoppard-437_chekhov_one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many_1826265.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/tom-stoppard-437_chekhov_one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many_1826265.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“One of the reasons why there are so many versions of Chekhov is that translations date in a way that the…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 10,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The idea that public safety, the safety of the innocent, is an absolute which trumps every other consideration, is tacitly abandoned in the way we live.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-idea-that-public-safety-the-safety-of-the-innocent-is-an-absolute/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/984/tom-stoppard-437_abandoned_the-idea-that-public-safety-the-safety-o_1847706.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/984/tom-stoppard-437_abandoned_the-idea-that-public-safety-the-safety-o_1847706.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/984/tom-stoppard-437_abandoned_the-idea-that-public-safety-the-safety-o_1847706.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The idea that public safety, the safety of the innocent, is an absolute which trumps every other…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 11,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "If you let the plot be determined by what you feel is in the character's mind at that point, it may not turn out to be a very good play, but at least it will be a play where people are behaving in a kind of truthful way.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-let-the-plot-be-determined-by-what-you-feel-is-in-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tom-stoppard-437_behaving_if-you-let-the-plot-be-determined-by-wha_1545647.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tom-stoppard-437_behaving_if-you-let-the-plot-be-determined-by-wha_1545647.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tom-stoppard-437_behaving_if-you-let-the-plot-be-determined-by-wha_1545647.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“If you let the plot be determined by what you feel is in the character's mind at that point, it may not turn…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 12,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I don't want to come over as some boringly self-deprecating person. But I don't see myself as a groundbreaking writer in the way plays are structured.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-don-t-want-to-come-over-as-some-boringly-self-deprecating-person/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/tom-stoppard-437_come_i-don-t-want-to-come-over-as-some-boring_1592437.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/tom-stoppard-437_come_i-don-t-want-to-come-over-as-some-boring_1592437.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/tom-stoppard-437_come_i-don-t-want-to-come-over-as-some-boring_1592437.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I don't want to come over as some boringly self-deprecating person. But I don't see myself as a…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 13,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I don't look at my work in a critical or analytical way; I just don't think of myself objectively. It doesn't interest me.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or-analytical-way-i-just-don-t/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/tom-stoppard-437_analytical_i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or_524200.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/tom-stoppard-437_analytical_i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or_524200.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/tom-stoppard-437_analytical_i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or_524200.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I don't look at my work in a critical or analytical way; I just don't think of myself objectively. It…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 14,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I feel that when I began writing, I had a need to know more about the play before I got into it. I think that's the way I was thinking. But my actual experience is that the best way to find out what the structure is, is by writing the play out laterally. You just have got to be brave enough to start without knowing where you are going.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a-need-to-know-more-about-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/tom-stoppard-437_about_i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a_1015073.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/tom-stoppard-437_about_i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a_1015073.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/tom-stoppard-437_about_i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a_1015073.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I feel that when I began writing, I had a need to know more about the play before I got into it. I think…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 15,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Once rehearsals are done the writer really doesn't have a function on the set. If the script is stabilized, then the writer becomes a celebrity tourist visiting the set, trying not to get in the way. It's very good for the ego, to go visit a film set if you are the writer, because they give you a special chair, and tell you where you can sit to watch the monitor. They make you feel special, but at the same time, they make it perfectly plain that you are irrelevant!",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/once-rehearsals-are-done-the-writer-really-doesn-t-have-a-function-on/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/tom-stoppard-437_chairs_once-rehearsals-are-done-the-writer-real_717088.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/tom-stoppard-437_chairs_once-rehearsals-are-done-the-writer-real_717088.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/tom-stoppard-437_chairs_once-rehearsals-are-done-the-writer-real_717088.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Once rehearsals are done the writer really doesn't have a function on the set. If the script is stabilized…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 16,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The trouble is, I can't find a part of myself where you're not important. I write in order to be worth your while and to finance the way I want to live with you. Not the way you want to live. The way I want to live with you. Without you I wouldn't care. I'd eat tinned spaghetti and put on yesterday's clothes. But as it is I change my socks, and make money, and tart up Brodie's unspeakable drivel into speakable drivel so he can be an author too, like me.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-trouble-is-i-can-t-find-a-part-of-myself-where-you-re-not/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/tom-stoppard-437_care_the-trouble-is-i-can-t-find-a-part-of-my_1289680.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/tom-stoppard-437_care_the-trouble-is-i-can-t-find-a-part-of-my_1289680.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/tom-stoppard-437_care_the-trouble-is-i-can-t-find-a-part-of-my_1289680.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The trouble is, I can't find a part of myself where you're not important. I write in order to be worth your…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 17,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I think theater ought to be theatrical ... you know, shuffling the pack in different ways so that it's -- there's always some kind of ambush involved in the experience. You're being ambushed by an unexpected word, or by an elephant falling out of the cupboard, whatever it is.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-think-theater-ought-to-be-theatrical-you-know-shuffling-the-pack-in/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-think-theater-ought-to-be-theatrical-y_877057.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-think-theater-ought-to-be-theatrical-y_877057.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/tom-stoppard-437_actor_i-think-theater-ought-to-be-theatrical-y_877057.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I think theater ought to be theatrical ... you know, shuffling the pack in different ways so that it's…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 18,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It's probably unprecedented for a filmmaker simply to take the writers' script and treat it as the instructions on the package. What really happens is you pretty much suppress your own instincts - and your own views on the matter - and write things the way filmmakers would like to have them, though the filmmakers often don't know what they want. They can only find out by reading what you do.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/it-s-probably-unprecedented-for-a-filmmaker-simply-to-take-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/tom-stoppard-437_filmmaker_it-s-probably-unprecedented-for-a-filmma_1941434.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/tom-stoppard-437_filmmaker_it-s-probably-unprecedented-for-a-filmma_1941434.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8b/tom-stoppard-437_filmmaker_it-s-probably-unprecedented-for-a-filmma_1941434.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It's probably unprecedented for a filmmaker simply to take the writers' script and treat it as the…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 19,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "When you try to grasp the way the Western world is going, you see that we are on a ratchet towards a surveillance state, which is coming to include the whole population in its surveillance. This is our reward for accepting the restraints on the way we live now.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/when-you-try-to-grasp-the-way-the-western-world-is-going-you-see-that/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/tom-stoppard-437_accepting_when-you-try-to-grasp-the-way-the-wester_3092230.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/tom-stoppard-437_accepting_when-you-try-to-grasp-the-way-the-wester_3092230.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/tom-stoppard-437_accepting_when-you-try-to-grasp-the-way-the-wester_3092230.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“When you try to grasp the way the Western world is going, you see that we are on a ratchet towards a…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 20,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Comparing what we're looking for misses the point. It's wanting to know that makes us matter. Otherwise we're going out the way we came in. That's why you can't believe in the afterlife, Valentine. Believe in the after, by all means, but not the life. Believe in God, the soul, the spirit, the infinite, believe in angels if you like, but not in the great celestial get-together for an exchange of views. If the answers are in the back of the book I can wait, but what a drag. Better to struggle on knowing that failure is final.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/comparing-what-we-re-looking-for-misses-the-point-it-s-wanting-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/tom-stoppard-437_afterlife_comparing-what-we-re-looking-for-misses_1932537.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/tom-stoppard-437_afterlife_comparing-what-we-re-looking-for-misses_1932537.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/tom-stoppard-437_afterlife_comparing-what-we-re-looking-for-misses_1932537.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Comparing what we're looking for misses the point. It's wanting to know that makes us matter. Otherwise…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 21,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I love love. I love having a lover and being one. The insularity of passion. I love it. I love the way it blurs the distinction between everyone who isn't one's lover.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-love-love-i-love-having-a-lover-and-being-one-the-insularity-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/tom-stoppard-437_blur_i-love-love-i-love-having-a-lover-and-be_2876222.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/tom-stoppard-437_blur_i-love-love-i-love-having-a-lover-and-be_2876222.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/tom-stoppard-437_blur_i-love-love-i-love-having-a-lover-and-be_2876222.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I love love. I love having a lover and being one. The insularity of passion. I love it. I love the way it…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 22,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "One feels that the past stays the way you left it, whereas the present is in constant movement; it's unstable all around you.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Tom Stoppard"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/one-feels-that-the-past-stays-the-way-you-left-it-whereas-the-present/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/tom-stoppard-437_around_one-feels-that-the-past-stays-the-way-yo_1545083.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/tom-stoppard-437_around_one-feels-that-the-past-stays-the-way-yo_1545083.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/tom-stoppard-437_around_one-feels-that-the-past-stays-the-way-yo_1545083.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“One feels that the past stays the way you left it, whereas the present is in constant movement; it's…” — Tom Stoppard",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/",
            "name": "Way Quotes by Tom Stoppard",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/tom-stoppard-437_grave_i-will-take-his-secret-to-the-grave-tell_1806629.png"
            },
            "description": "22 Way quotes by Tom Stoppard. Plus more from Tom Stoppard and more Way sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Way",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Tom Stoppard",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-stoppard/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```