--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother taught Shakespeare and used to…" description: "\"My mother taught Shakespeare and used to act.\" — Derek Walcott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg" --- # My mother taught Shakespeare and used to act. ![“My mother taught Shakespeare and used to act.” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg) > “My mother taught Shakespeare and used to act.” [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning Shakespeare from his mother shaped artistic identity, highlighting familial transmission of culture. **In simple terms:** Mother taught Shakespeare, influencing artistic growth. Key Takeaway Value cultural inheritance and artistic mentorship. Themes education family culture art mentorship Mood thoughtful nostalgic inspired Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - family storytelling - school curricula - theatre workshops - personal artistic practice Key Concepts Literary transmission cultural heritage creative development Questions to Reflect On - What artistic traditions did you inherit? - How does family shape your creative voice? A Different Perspective May overlook other influences beyond mother. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) ## Related quotes > [I believe kids shouldn't be taught Shakespeare. They should experience it first by seeing a great production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-believe-kids-shouldn-t-be-taught-shakespeare-they-should-experience/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [I was taught Shakespeare brilliantly by an eccentric genius at Harrow named Jeremy Lemmon who made me want to be a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/i-was-taught-shakespeare-brilliantly-by-an-eccentric-genius-at-harrow/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [I had a fabulous teacher, my headmistress's husband, who taught Shakespeare for A-level, and then I found this person called William Shakespeare and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-james/i-had-a-fabulous-teacher-my-headmistress-s-husband-who-taught/) [Geraldine James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-james/) > [“ Shakespeare used the word 'flush' to indicate plenty of money. Well, just remember there was only one Shakespeare , and he was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-devlin/shakespeare-used-the-word-flush-to-indicate-plenty-of-money-well-just/) [Joseph Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-devlin/) > [“Puns are the lowest form of humor,” he proclaimed the cliché proudly. “Shakespeare used puns,” I observed. “You are not Shakespeare.” I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-de-lamet/puns-are-the-lowest-form-of-humor-he-proclaimed-the-clich-proudly/) [Hamish De'Lamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-de-lamet/) > [Did you know that forty percent of the words used by Shakespeare were used by him only once?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/did-you-know-that-forty-percent-of-the-words-used-by-shakespeare-were/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [First of all, there was a volcano of words, an eruption of words that Shakespeare had never used before that had never been used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/first-of-all-there-was-a-volcano-of-words-an-eruption-of-words-that/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [When I heard the word ''stream'' uttered with such a revolting primness, what I think of is urine and not the contemporary novel. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/when-i-heard-the-word-stream-uttered-with-such-a-revolting-primness/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [My mother always taught me to be strong and to never be a victim. Never make excuses. Never expect anyone else to provide for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/my-mother-always-taught-me-to-be-strong-and-to-never-be-a-victim/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [My mother taught me a lot of things, but they had big presuppositions built in - like her expectation that I'd be a missionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-wattleton/my-mother-taught-me-a-lot-of-things-but-they-had-big-presuppositions/) [Faye Wattleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-wattleton/) > [I am a good sewer. My mother taught me how to sew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-am-a-good-sewer-my-mother-taught-me-how-to-sew/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I had a mother who taught me there is no such thing as failure. It is just a temporary postponement of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-ebsen/i-had-a-mother-who-taught-me-there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-it-is/) [Buddy Ebsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-ebsen/) > [My father was a professor of civil engineering at MIT, and my mother taught high school English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allin-cornell/my-father-was-a-professor-of-civil-engineering-at-mit-and-my-mother/) [Eric Allin Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allin-cornell/) > [My mother taught me when you go someplace, you leave it better than you found it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/my-mother-taught-me-when-you-go-someplace-you-leave-it-better-than/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [My mother taught me three things, respect, knowledge-search for knowledge, it's an eternal journey. That's like my hair-cut, the line, 360 degrees, find knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/my-mother-taught-me-three-things-respect-knowledge-search-for/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) ## More by Derek Walcott > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/peel-your-own-image-from-the-mirror-sit-feast-on-your-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-feel-i-ve-arrived-home-until-i-get-on-the-beach-all-my-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“As human beings we’ve certainly suffered the loss of awe, the loss of sacredness, and the loss of the fact that we’re not here—…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/as-human-beings-we-ve-certainly-suffered-the-loss-of-awe-the-loss-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I shall unlearn feeling, unlearn my gift. That is greater and harder than what passes there for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-shall-unlearn-feeling-unlearn-my-gift-that-is-greater-and-harder/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The greatest writers have been, at heart, parochial, provincial in their rootedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-greatest-writers-have-been-at-heart-parochial-provincial-in-their/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My mother, who is nearly ninety now, still talks continually about my father. All my life, I've been aware of her grief about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-who-is-nearly-ninety-now-still-talks-continually-about-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My family background really only consists of my mother. She was a widow. My father died quite young; he must have been thirty-one. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-family-background-really-only-consists-of-my-mother-she-was-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I am the man my father loved and was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-the-man-my-father-loved-and-was/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Like any art, what is the most imprisoning thing is also the most delivering thing. If an actor knows he only has 12 syllables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/like-any-art-what-is-the-most-imprisoning-thing-is-also-the-most/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The thing that is believed is a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-thing-that-is-believed-is-a-reality/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The history of the world - by which, of course, we mean Europe - is a record of intertribal lacerations, of ethnic cleansings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-history-of-the-world-by-which-of-course-we-mean-europe-is-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-english-language-is-nobody-s-special-property-it-is-the-property/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Explore all 177 Derek Walcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## More Act quotes > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [Teachers' unions don't act in the interest of most teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-khan/teachers-unions-don-t-act-in-the-interest-of-most-teachers/) [Sal Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-khan/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [People take years learning how to act; it's a skill, not just a job. If I tried it out and thought I'd be OK,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/people-take-years-learning-how-to-act-it-s-a-skill-not-just-a-job-if/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I have no interest in watching myself act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wesley/i-have-no-interest-in-watching-myself-act/) [Paul Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wesley/) > [“Don't wait, just sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/don-t-wait-just-sweat/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I do believe some people can naturally act and don't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/i-do-believe-some-people-can-naturally-act-and-don-t-know-it/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) > [Regardless of what I do, whether I write a book or whether I act or whether I host, I'll always do stand-up comedy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/regardless-of-what-i-do-whether-i-write-a-book-or-whether-i-act-or/) [Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/) > [On 'Workaholics,' I feel like I'm just hanging out with my buddies being filmed, but on 'Mindy,' I'm around professional funny people who act.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-holm/on-workaholics-i-feel-like-i-m-just-hanging-out-with-my-buddies-being/) [Anders Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-holm/) > [I'm not an artist, and I want to take risks, and when the possibility of failure occurs, it's because the idea is all exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-m-not-an-artist-and-i-want-to-take-risks-and-when-the-possibility/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [I don't have a huge amount of gear, but on the software side, I have a number of plug-in chains that act as abstracted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/i-don-t-have-a-huge-amount-of-gear-but-on-the-software-side-i-have-a/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [I honestly didn't know that I wanted to act until I was probably 12.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-rae-mayo/i-honestly-didn-t-know-that-i-wanted-to-act-until-i-was-probably-12/) [Miranda Rae Mayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-rae-mayo/) Browse all 1,802 Act quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My mother taught Shakespeare and used to act.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Walcott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to-act/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Act" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to-act/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/derek-walcott-2220_act_my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to_2661275.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My mother taught Shakespeare and used to act.” — Derek Walcott", "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": "Derek Walcott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My mother taught Shakespeare and used...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to-act/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-taught-shakespeare-and-used-to-act/#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 } } ] } ```