--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would have thought,\" said the prime…" description: "\"“I would have thought,\" said the prime minister, \"that Your Majesty was above literature.\" \"Above literature?\" said the Queen. \"Who is above literature..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/alan-bennett-1922_books_i-would-have-thought-said-the-prime-mini_1717906.jpg" --- # I would have thought," said the prime minister, "that Your… ![“I would have thought," said the prime minister, "that Your Majesty was above literature." "Above literature?" said the Queen. "Who is above literature? You might as well say one is above humanity.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/alan-bennett-1922_books_i-would-have-thought-said-the-prime-mini_1717906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/alan-bennett-1922_books_i-would-have-thought-said-the-prime-mini_1717906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/alan-bennett-1922_books_i-would-have-thought-said-the-prime-mini_1717906.jpg) > ““I would have thought," said the prime minister, "that Your Majesty was above literature." "Above literature?" said the Queen. "Who is above literature? You might as well say one is above humanity.”” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The queen challenges the notion that any authority is beyond the reach of literature, implying that humanity and literature are inseparable. **In simple terms:** No one is above literature or humanity. Key Takeaway Respect all voices, even those in power. Themes authority literature humanity Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political debate - education - cultural criticism Key Concepts philosophy political critique Questions to Reflect On - Who in your life challenges authority with literature? - How does literature humanize power? A Different Perspective Literature may not change entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-said-489044/) [Literature Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-say-1309185/) [Majesty Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majesty-literature-1309186/) [Prime minister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prime-minister/) [Said Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-queen-509216/) [Thought Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-said/) ## Related quotes > [Above literature?' said the Queen. 'Who is above literature? You might as well say one was above humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/above-literature-said-the-queen-who-is-above-literature-you-might-as/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“When they arrived at the palace she had a word with Grant, the young footman in charge, who said it was security and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/when-they-arrived-at-the-palace-she-had-a-word-with-grant-the-young/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm trying to cause people to be interested in the particulars of their lives because I think that's one thing literature can do for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-m-trying-to-cause-people-to-be-interested-in-the-particulars-of/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [The love of writing comes at a very early age. For me, for instance, comic books so affected me. And a lot of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/the-love-of-writing-comes-at-a-very-early-age-for-me-for-instance/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Someone — Cyril Connolly? Ezra Pound? — once said that anything that can be read twice is literature; I would say that anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/someone-cyril-connolly-ezra-pound-once-said-that-anything-that-can-be/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [“I’ve seen middle grade books criticized by adult readers for leaving things for the reader to figure out, for not having perfect happily-ever-after endings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/i-ve-seen-middle-grade-books-criticized-by-adult-readers-for-leaving/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“I like literature," I said. "We started watching the film version of Romeo and Juliet today." 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That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o-translated-from-the-spanish-by-natasha-wimmer/do-you-know-what-the-worst-thing-about-literature-is-said-don/) [Roberto Bolaño translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o-translated-from-the-spanish-by-natasha-wimmer/) > [Relius looked away. "He said that you...cried," he said softly. "But not that he cried as well," said the queen, amused at the memory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/relius-looked-away-he-said-that-you-cried-he-said-softly-but-not-that/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. 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This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/were-we-closer-to-the-ground-as-children-or-is-the-grass-emptier-now/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/but-most-men-regard-their-life-as-a-poem-that-women-threaten-they-may/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/burgess-how-do-you-like-moscow-coral-loathe-it-darling-i-cannot/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-best-moments-in-reading-are-when-you-come-across-something-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/your-whole-life-is-on-the-other-side-of-the-glass-and-there-is-nobody/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. 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It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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