--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can only be instinctive in my reaction…" description: "\"I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare.\" — David Farr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg" --- # I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare. ![“I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare.” quote by David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg) > “I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare.” [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author admits that his responses to Shakespeare are driven by instinct rather than analysis. **In simple terms:** Instinct guides my Shakespeare reactions. Key Takeaway Trust intuition when engaging with art. Themes intuition literature artistic response Mood thoughtful creative Type reflective artistic When to use this quote - teaching literature - creative writing - performance - personal reflection Key Concepts cognitive psychology literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How does instinct shape your interpretation? - When should you apply scholarly analysis? A Different Perspective Instinct may overlook deeper analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) ## Related quotes > [People in business tend to have an instinctive reaction to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/people-in-business-tend-to-have-an-instinctive-reaction-to-people/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [“Of course he chanted with the rest: it was impossible to do otherwise. To dissemble your feelings, to control your face, to do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/of-course-he-chanted-with-the-rest-it-was-impossible-to-do-otherwise/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of art I'm going counter to my own development. It's more an instinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/so-i-am-totally-aware-that-when-i-defend-the-autonomy-of-art-i-m/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [As soon as that was kind of green-lit, it became very obvious to me what I wanted to do and it was an instinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/as-soon-as-that-was-kind-of-green-lit-it-became-very-obvious-to-me/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [“The instinctive reaction of a world grown morally solipsistic is: 'Do I like that ruling? Does that ruling serve my interests?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-instinctive-reaction-of-a-world-grown-morally-solipsistic-is-do-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've done my fair share of fundraising over the years, and I know how difficult that can be, so I could only imagine people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-shenton/i-ve-done-my-fair-share-of-fundraising-over-the-years-and-i-know-how/) [Rachel Shenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-shenton/) > [Shakespeare's naturalness is attested to by the strange fact that he is the only classical author who remains popular. The critical termites are massed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/shakespeare-s-naturalness-is-attested-to-by-the-strange-fact-that-he/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [I'm very instinctive when I choose my roles, and usually, the number one thing has to be the director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-hope-ashitey/i-m-very-instinctive-when-i-choose-my-roles-and-usually-the-number/) [Clare-Hope Ashitey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-hope-ashitey/) > [In our house caring about food is pretty instinctive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/in-our-house-caring-about-food-is-pretty-instinctive/) [Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/) > [I'd thought sexuality was instinctive or natural, but it's profoundly linked to inner security and cultural context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/i-d-thought-sexuality-was-instinctive-or-natural-but-it-s-profoundly/) [Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/) > [When my heart rate is so high, I seem to be able to play even better, without making bad decisions. It almost switches the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-norrie/when-my-heart-rate-is-so-high-i-seem-to-be-able-to-play-even-better/) [Cameron Norrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-norrie/) > [“The more we're connected to our chosen someone, the more we can pick up what they're feeling. It's instinctive, like breathing." "You can't hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/the-more-we-re-connected-to-our-chosen-someone-the-more-we-can-pick/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“The instinctive preference was to read rather than to act. No wonder our actual lives were more or less a shambles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-instinctive-preference-was-to-read-rather-than-to-act-no-wonder/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Some people say, therefore, that violence and war are inevitable. I say rubbish: Our brains are fully capable of controlling instinctive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-people-say-therefore-that-violence-and-war-are-inevitable-i-say/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [ \[Our understanding is\] not intellectual, but instinctive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/our-understanding-is-not-intellectual-but-instinctive/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) ## More by David Farr > [We go into nature to transform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/we-go-into-nature-to-transform/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [Most Robin Hood stories are not very exciting. There are not a lot of surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/most-robin-hood-stories-are-not-very-exciting-there-are-not-a-lot-of/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [Sometimes we don't want to be lectured; we prefer to be taken on a journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/sometimes-we-don-t-want-to-be-lectured-we-prefer-to-be-taken-on-a/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [I think Le Carre is a great modernist writer, which is to say, in a godless world, he invokes deep, almost religious ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-think-le-carre-is-a-great-modernist-writer-which-is-to-say-in-a/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [The story of Ilium, the ancient city of Troy, has always gripped me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/the-story-of-ilium-the-ancient-city-of-troy-has-always-gripped-me/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [To try to convey literally what the Garden of Eden was like is meaningless. What matters is its symbolic function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/to-try-to-convey-literally-what-the-garden-of-eden-was-like-is/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [We don't live in vacuums; we do care about the world, and we do want to believe our country is doing the right thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/we-don-t-live-in-vacuums-we-do-care-about-the-world-and-we-do-want-to/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [The 'Ramayana' explores the limits of secular freedom and the limits of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/the-ramayana-explores-the-limits-of-secular-freedom-and-the-limits-of/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [When you go into a forest, anything can happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/when-you-go-into-a-forest-anything-can-happen/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [The forest has always been a place, in fairy tales and in Shakespeare, where you go and discover who you are. You get stripped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/the-forest-has-always-been-a-place-in-fairy-tales-and-in-shakespeare/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [The 'Mahabharata' is a more complex and longer saga than the 'Ramayana,' which is like a fairy tale. It's much lighter and more fun,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/the-mahabharata-is-a-more-complex-and-longer-saga-than-the-ramayana/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [I always just read the play and find a world. That world must honour the play, enhance it, and maybe shine some new light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-always-just-read-the-play-and-find-a-world-that-world-must-honour/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [All comedy is funny because it tells us truths that we recognise through laughter, but that doesn't mean it can't be unnerving. Think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/all-comedy-is-funny-because-it-tells-us-truths-that-we-recognise/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [I was very struck by the fact that Robin Hood became increasingly taken over by the middle and upper classes. He starts out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-was-very-struck-by-the-fact-that-robin-hood-became-increasingly/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [Directing is extrovert and gregarious; writing is isolating, introverted, and lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/directing-is-extrovert-and-gregarious-writing-is-isolating/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) [Explore all 39 David Farr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) ## More I can quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [My team mates are fundamental for my characteristics, if they send in crosses I can play inside the area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filippo-inzaghi/my-team-mates-are-fundamental-for-my-characteristics-if-they-send-in/) [Filippo Inzaghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filippo-inzaghi/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) Browse all 24,836 I can quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Farr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction-to-shakespeare/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I can" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction-to-shakespeare/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/david-farr-16748_i-can_i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction_1827849.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare.” — David Farr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "David Farr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can only be instinctive in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction-to-shakespeare/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction-to-shakespeare/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```