--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s awful, telling it like this, isn’t…" description: "\"“It’s awful, telling it like this, isn’t it? As though we didn’t know the ending. As though it could have another ending. It’s like watching Romeo drin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/elizabeth-wein-3764_death_it-s-awful-telling-it-like-this-isn-t-it_1584708.png" --- # It’s awful, telling it like this, isn’t it? As though we… ![“It’s awful, telling it like this, isn’t it? As though we didn’t know the ending. As though it could have another ending. It’s like watching Romeo drink poison. Every time you see it you get fooled into thinking his girlfriend might wake up and stop him. Every single time you see it you want to…” quote by Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/elizabeth-wein-3764_death_it-s-awful-telling-it-like-this-isn-t-it_1584708.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/elizabeth-wein-3764_death_it-s-awful-telling-it-like-this-isn-t-it_1584708.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/elizabeth-wein-3764_death_it-s-awful-telling-it-like-this-isn-t-it_1584708.png) > ““It’s awful, telling it like this, isn’t it? As though we didn’t know the ending. As though it could have another ending. It’s like watching Romeo drink poison. Every time you see it you get fooled into thinking his girlfriend might wake up and stop him. Every single time you see it you want to shout, 'You stupid ass, just wait a minute,' and she’ll open her eyes! 'Oi, you , you twat, open your eyes, wake up! Don’t die this time!' But they always do.”” [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses frustration at predictable tragic endings, wishing the characters could defy fate and survive. **In simple terms:** Frustration with inevitable tragedy. Key Takeaway Accept that some stories are meant to end sadly. Themes tragedy fate frustration Mood melancholy irritated Type literary reflective When to use this quote - reading fiction - watching movies - discussing plot twists Key Concepts narrative inevitability character agency Questions to Reflect On - What makes a tragic ending satisfying? - Can defying fate improve a story? A Different Perspective Not all narratives can be altered without losing impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Romeo and juliet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romeo-and-juliet/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I remember watching Romeo + Juliet when I was 14 and listening to the soundtrack. 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Every word is wistful. When he says, 'O, teach me how I should forget to think!' I,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/he-is-romeo-and-he-is-heartbroken-every-word-is-wistful-when-he-says/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > ['Romeo and Juliet,' 'Manon,' 'Giselle' - they are not stupid stories. They have fantastic characters. They have a big package of emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/romeo-and-juliet-manon-giselle-they-are-not-stupid-stories-they-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [It was watching Franco's 'Romeo and Juliet' at the age of 15 that first made me want to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-tarbuck/it-was-watching-franco-s-romeo-and-juliet-at-the-age-of-15-that-first/) [Liza Tarbuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-tarbuck/) ## More by Elizabeth Wein > [“It was wonderful flirting with him, all the razor-edged literary banter, like Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. A battle of wit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/it-was-wonderful-flirting-with-him-all-the-razor-edged-literary/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“She was never so petty. She did not dabble with minnows at the surface when there were thirty-pound salmon swimming deeper down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/she-was-never-so-petty-she-did-not-dabble-with-minnows-at-the-surface/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [A part of me will always be unflyable, stuck in the climb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/a-part-of-me-will-always-be-unflyable-stuck-in-the-climb/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“I, of course, took the opportunity to interpose with pigheaded Wallace pride, 'I am not English, you ignorant Jerry bastard, I am a SCOT.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-of-course-took-the-opportunity-to-interpose-with-pigheaded-wallace/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“I seem to be good at asking for trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-seem-to-be-good-at-asking-for-trouble/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [Incredible what slender threads you begin to hang your hopes on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/incredible-what-slender-threads-you-begin-to-hang-your-hopes-on/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“Which would you rather have––an unlimited supply of Chanel No. 5, or freedom?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/which-would-you-rather-have-an-unlimited-supply-of-chanel-no-5-or/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“And this, even more wonderful and mysterious, is also true: when I read it, when I read what Julie's written, she is instantly alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/and-this-even-more-wonderful-and-mysterious-is-also-true-when-i-read/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [I tend not to attempt to describe pain. I don't feel I can comprehend or re-create the personal suffering of others, so I simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-tend-not-to-attempt-to-describe-pain-i-don-t-feel-i-can-comprehend/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“KISS ME, HARDY! Kiss me, QUICK!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/kiss-me-hardy-kiss-me-quick/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“She gave a low and delighted chuckle. Her eyes were black as a moonless December night and reflected the electric lights like stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/she-gave-a-low-and-delighted-chuckle-her-eyes-were-black-as-a/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“Kiss me, Hardy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/kiss-me-hardy/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“I don't believe for a minute-that we wouldn't have become friends somehow-that an unexploded bomb wouldn't have gone off and blown us both into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-don-t-believe-for-a-minute-that-we-wouldn-t-have-become-friends/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“FLY THE PLANE, MADDIE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/fly-the-plane-maddie/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“Writing to you like this makes me feel that you are still alive. It’s an illusion I’ve noticed before—words on a page are like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/writing-to-you-like-this-makes-me-feel-that-you-are-still-alive-it-s/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) [Explore all 120 Elizabeth Wein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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