Humor Quote by Christopher Marlowe
““I must have wanton Poets, pleasant wits, Musitians, that with touching of a string May draw the pliant king which way I please: Musicke and poetrie is his delight, Therefore ile have Italian maskes by night, Sweete speeches, comedies, and pleasing showes, And in the day when he shall walke abroad, Like Sylvian Nimphes my pages shall be clad, My men like Satyres grazing on the lawnes, Shall with their Goate feete daunce an antick hay. Sometime a lovelie boye in Dians shape, With haire that gilds the water as it glides, Crownets of pearle about his naked armes, And in his sportfull hands an Olive tree, To hide those parts which men delight to see, Shall bathe him in a spring, and there hard by, One like Actaeon peeping through the grove, Shall by the angrie goddesse be transformde, And running in the likenes of an Hart, By yelping hounds puld downe, and seeme to die. Such things as these best please his majestie, My lord.””
About This Quote
Source Play: Doctor Faustus, 1592
The speaker describes using music, poetry, and theatrical spectacle to manipulate and please a powerful ruler, employing elaborate disguises and performances to control his perception.
In simple terms: Artful entertainment can sway a ruler’s favor.
Key Takeaway
Use creative arts to influence powerful audiences.
Themes
art
politics
manipulation
performance
theatre
Mood
cunning
dramatic
strategic
Type
advice
political
theatrical
When to use this quote
- royal court
- political persuasion
- theatrical productions
- creative diplomacy
Key Concepts
Rhetoric
courtly intrigue
spectacle
Questions to Reflect On
- What ethical lines are crossed when art is used for manipulation?
- How does spectacle affect political power?
A Different Perspective
Such manipulation can backfire if the ruler sees through the artifice.
![“Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. [Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.]” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bd4/horace-172_booksellers_neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-she_23851.jpg)
![“[poems are] crystals deposited after the effervescent contact of the spirit with reality. (cristaux deposes apres l'effervescent contact de l'esprit avec la realite)” quote by Pierre Reverdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb1/pierre-reverdy-33281_crystals_poems-are-crystals-deposited-after-the-e_13424.jpg)
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
