--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair…" description: "\"Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.\" — Christopher Marlowe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/christopher-marlowe-3449_divine_ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair_63245.jpg" --- # Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an… ![“Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.” quote by Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/christopher-marlowe-3449_divine_ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair_63245.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/christopher-marlowe-3449_divine_ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair_63245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/christopher-marlowe-3449_divine_ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair_63245.jpg) > “Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.” [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A paradoxical praise that juxtaposes the notion of fairness with a darker, more complex character, highlighting the tension between appearance and reality. **In simple terms:** Irony in praise Key Takeaway Fairness can mask deeper flaws Themes Irony Paradox Character complexity Contrast Moral ambiguity Mood Reflective Wry Contemplative Type Poetic line Literary quote When to use this quote - Literary analysis - Character study - Poetic critique - Theatrical performance - Academic discussion Key Concepts Fairness Epithet Duality Perception Practical Applications - Interpretive essays - Creative writing workshops Questions to Reflect On - What does fairness imply about the character? - How does the epithet shape our perception? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divine Zenocrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-zenocrate-852778/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Epithet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epithet/) [Fair Foul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-foul-852777/) [Fair Zenocrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-zenocrate-852775/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Foul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foul/) [Foul Epithet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foul-epithet-852776/) [Thee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thee/) ## Related quotes > [Blessed be the night, which conceals and protects things fair and foul with the same indifferent mantle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/blessed-be-the-night-which-conceals-and-protects-things-fair-and-foul/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Fair or foul the lot apportioned life on earth, we bear alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/fair-or-foul-the-lot-apportioned-life-on-earth-we-bear-alike/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [When you're hot, it's fair, when you're not, it's foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-reynolds/when-you-re-hot-it-s-fair-when-you-re-not-it-s-foul/) [Harold Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-reynolds/) > [“So fair and foul a day I have not seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-fair-and-foul-a-day-i-have-not-seen/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [So fair and foul a day i had not seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-fair-and-foul-a-day-i-had-not-seen/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [First of all, you want umpires to call what they see. In the case of fair or foul, the smartest thing is to call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/first-of-all-you-want-umpires-to-call-what-they-see-in-the-case-of/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/for-at-least-another-hundred-years-we-must-pretend-to-ourselves-and/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fair-is-foul-and-foul-is-fair-hover-through-fog-and-filthy-air/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You women are all the same, if bed's all right, You think everything else can go to the wind. But if there's any infringement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/you-women-are-all-the-same-if-bed-s-all-right-you-think-everything/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [I knew it was gonna go out. It was just a question of it being fair or foul. The wind must have carried it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlton-fisk/i-knew-it-was-gonna-go-out-it-was-just-a-question-of-it-being-fair-or/) [Carlton Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlton-fisk/) > [We mark some days as fair, some as foul, because we do not see that the character of every day as identical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/we-mark-some-days-as-fair-some-as-foul-because-we-do-not-see-that-the/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [Be fair, or foul, or rain, or shine, The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine. Not heaven itself upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/be-fair-or-foul-or-rain-or-shine-the-joys-i-have-possessed-in-spite/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Fair and foul are near of kin And fair needs foul," I cried. "My friends are gone, but that's a truth Nor grave nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/fair-and-foul-are-near-of-kin-and-fair-needs-foul-i-cried-my-friends/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/in-art-all-who-have-done-something-other-than-their-predecessors-have/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) ## More by Christopher Marlowe > [“O, thou art fairer than the evening air Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars; Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter When he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/o-thou-art-fairer-than-the-evening-air-clad-in-the-beauty-of-a/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“The mightiest kings have had their minions; Great Alexander loved Hephaestion, The conquering Hercules for Hylas wept; And for Patroclus, stern Achilles drooped. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/the-mightiest-kings-have-had-their-minions-great-alexander-loved/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“Till swollen with cunning, of a self-conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach, And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/till-swollen-with-cunning-of-a-self-conceit-his-waxen-wings-did-mount/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Accursed be he that first invented war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/accursed-be-he-that-first-invented-war/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [That perfect bliss and sole felicity, the sweet fruition of an earthly crown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/that-perfect-bliss-and-sole-felicity-the-sweet-fruition-of-an-earthly/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/if-we-say-that-we-have-no-sin-we-deceive-ourselves-and-there-s-no/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [O soul, be changed into little waterdrops, / And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/o-soul-be-changed-into-little-waterdrops-and-fall-into-the-ocean-ne/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Above our life we love a steadfast friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/above-our-life-we-love-a-steadfast-friend/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“In summers heate and mid-time of the day To rest my limbes upon a bed I lay, One window shut, the other open stood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/in-summers-heate-and-mid-time-of-the-day-to-rest-my-limbes-upon-a-bed/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“The sight of London to my exiled eyes Is as Elysium to a new-come soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/the-sight-of-london-to-my-exiled-eyes-is-as-elysium-to-a-new-come-soul/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“Quod Me Nutrit Me Destruit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/quod-me-nutrit-me-destruit/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [What are kings, when regiment is gone, but perfect shadows in a sunshine day?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/what-are-kings-when-regiment-is-gone-but-perfect-shadows-in-a/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Time doth run with calm and silent foot, Shortening my days and thread of vital life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/time-doth-run-with-calm-and-silent-foot-shortening-my-days-and-thread/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“Come live with me and be my Love, And we will all the pleasures prove”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/come-live-with-me-and-be-my-love-and-we-will-all-the-pleasures-prove-2/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Lone women, like to empty houses, perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/lone-women-like-to-empty-houses-perish/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) [Explore all 129 Christopher Marlowe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) ## More Divine quotes > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Monsters are divine portents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/monsters-are-divine-portents/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. 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