--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I must have wanton Poets, pleasant wits…" description: "\"“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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/christopher-marlowe-3449_humor_i-must-have-wanton-poets-pleasant-wits-m_1466368.jpg" --- # I must have wanton Poets, pleasant wits, Musitians, that… ![“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…” quote by Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/christopher-marlowe-3449_humor_i-must-have-wanton-poets-pleasant-wits-m_1466368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/christopher-marlowe-3449_humor_i-must-have-wanton-poets-pleasant-wits-m_1466368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/christopher-marlowe-3449_humor_i-must-have-wanton-poets-pleasant-wits-m_1466368.jpg) > ““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.”” [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. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Delight Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight-shall-5042455/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Pliant King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pliant-king-5309543/) [Poetrie Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetrie-delight-5309542/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Wanton Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanton-poets-5309541/) ## Related quotes > [If we make God our heart's delight, we shall have our heart's desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-b-joshua/if-we-make-god-our-heart-s-delight-we-shall-have-our-heart-s-desire/) [T. B. Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) > [I am growing handsome very fast indeed! I expect I shall be the belle of Amherst when I reach my 17th year. 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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. 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