--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The stage was thought to have a shaping…" description: "\"“The stage was thought to have a shaping influence, for the most part a bad one, on youthful character and conduct in much the way television is though..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg" --- # The stage was thought to have a shaping influence, for the… ![“The stage was thought to have a shaping influence, for the most part a bad one, on youthful character and conduct in much the way television is thought to have in our day.” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg) > ““The stage was thought to have a shaping influence, for the most part a bad one, on youthful character and conduct in much the way television is thought to have in our day.”” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stage and TV shape youth, often negatively, reflecting societal concerns about media influence. **In simple terms:** Stage and TV affect young character, often poorly. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate media’s impact on youth. Themes media influence youth development culture Mood concerned analytical Type critical observational When to use this quote - parental guidance - media literacy programs - school curricula Key Concepts media studies psychology of adolescence Questions to Reflect On - What media positively shaped you? - How can we guide youth toward healthy media? A Different Perspective Not all media is harmful; some can inspire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [A young man is not a proper hearer of lectures on political science; for he is inexperienced in the actions that occur in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-young-man-is-not-a-proper-hearer-of-lectures-on-political-science/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“I still can't quite grasp what you are telling me. I find it impossible to believe that there would be such unreasoning feeling against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-still-can-t-quite-grasp-what-you-are-telling-me-i-find-it/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad. The world is wide and has many marvellous people in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/don-t-spoil-him-don-t-try-to-influence-him-your-influence-would-be/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I probably don't look healthy, but I have never got to the stage where I thought I was going to pass out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-mccoy/i-probably-don-t-look-healthy-but-i-have-never-got-to-the-stage-where/) [Tony McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-mccoy/) > [I did a show back when I was in high school - so I was about 17 - and it was the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-diaz/i-did-a-show-back-when-i-was-in-high-school-so-i-was-about-17-and-it/) [Guillermo Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-diaz/) > [When I was ten, I saw 'Grease' on stage and thought: 'I want to be part of that; it looks like so much fun.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-ryan/when-i-was-ten-i-saw-grease-on-stage-and-thought-i-want-to-be-part-of/) [Michelle Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-ryan/) > [The third stage is no thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-third-stage-is-no-thought/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The only reason I signed on for a speech and drama course was because I thought it would be easy, but as soon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-murray-abraham/the-only-reason-i-signed-on-for-a-speech-and-drama-course-was-because/) [F. Murray Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-murray-abraham/) > [Steven and I stood on the stage at the Boston Garden after the Stones had just played there and the stage was still up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-perry/steven-and-i-stood-on-the-stage-at-the-boston-garden-after-the-stones/) [Joe Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-perry/) > [My grandmother took me to a play, and... there was a little girl on stage. And as soon as I saw her on stage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/my-grandmother-took-me-to-a-play-and-there-was-a-little-girl-on-stage/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/on-stage-you-can-bring-all-those-strong-emotions-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## More Stage quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [The minute you step onstage, you get eight feet taller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/the-minute-you-step-onstage-you-get-eight-feet-taller/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/on-stage-you-can-bring-all-those-strong-emotions-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [Drumming's pretty physical. We sit at the back of the stage getting beat up like a workhorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/drumming-s-pretty-physical-we-sit-at-the-back-of-the-stage-getting/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [If I look at the performance of another friend Sting, whenever I hear him take over a stage and share his art with millions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/if-i-look-at-the-performance-of-another-friend-sting-whenever-i-hear/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [When I'm on a stage, it's just me, singing a song with words that I wrote and I believe in. And if I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-dacus/when-i-m-on-a-stage-it-s-just-me-singing-a-song-with-words-that-i/) [Lucy Dacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-dacus/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) [Browse all 8,384 Stage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The stage was thought to have a shaping influence, for the most part a bad one, on youthful character and conduct in much the way television is thought to have in our day.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edith Wharton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping-influence-for-the-most-part-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Stage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping-influence-for-the-most-part-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/edith-wharton-512_stage_the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping_191178.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The stage was thought to have a shaping influence, for the most part a bad one, on youthful character and…” — Edith Wharton", "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": "Edith Wharton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The stage was thought to have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping-influence-for-the-most-part-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-stage-was-thought-to-have-a-shaping-influence-for-the-most-part-a/#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 } } ] } ```