--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting…" description: "\"Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate, Whose table once a Guest, but not The second time, is set. Whose crumbs the crows inspect, And with ironic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/emily-dickinson-310_cooking_fame-is-a-fickle-food-upon-a-shifting-pl_748682.jpg" --- # Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate, Whose table… ![“Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate, Whose table once a Guest, but not The second time, is set. Whose crumbs the crows inspect, And with ironic caw Flap past it to the Farmer's corn; Men eat of it and die.” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/emily-dickinson-310_cooking_fame-is-a-fickle-food-upon-a-shifting-pl_748682.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/emily-dickinson-310_cooking_fame-is-a-fickle-food-upon-a-shifting-pl_748682.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25d/emily-dickinson-310_cooking_fame-is-a-fickle-food-upon-a-shifting-pl_748682.jpg) > “Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate, Whose table once a Guest, but not The second time, is set. Whose crumbs the crows inspect, And with ironic caw Flap past it to the Farmer's corn; Men eat of it and die.” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame is unstable, offering fleeting benefits that can turn harmful when misused. **In simple terms:** Fame is fleeting and can become dangerous. Key Takeaway Recognize fame’s fleeting nature and stay grounded. Themes fame impermanence hubris Mood cautionary reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - celebrity culture - political power - media scrutiny - personal ambition Key Concepts ephemeral success public perception ego consequence Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay humble amid praise? - What safeguards prevent fame from corrupting? A Different Perspective Fame can lead to self‑destruction if not tempered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Corn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corn/) [Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crow/) [Crumbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crumbs/) [Crumbs Crows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crumbs-crows-5828731/) [Culinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culinary/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Fame Fickle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame-fickle-1561145/) [Farmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farmers/) [Fickle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fickle/) [Fickle Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fickle-food-1561146/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Guests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guests/) [Ironic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ironic/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Plates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plates/) [Shifting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shifting/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) ## Related quotes > [Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/fame-is-a-fickle-food-upon-a-shifting-plate/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Honor is unstable and seldom the same; for she feeds upon opinion, and is as fickle as her food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/honor-is-unstable-and-seldom-the-same-for-she-feeds-upon-opinion-and/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Fame is fickle, and I know it. It has its compensations but it also has its drawbacks, and I've experienced them both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/fame-is-fickle-and-i-know-it-it-has-its-compensations-but-it-also-has/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Fame is a fickle thing that only lasts as long as you can be out there offering yourself to the public. And as soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-stone/fame-is-a-fickle-thing-that-only-lasts-as-long-as-you-can-be-out/) [Jesse Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-stone/) > [Fame is fickle. If the media turn against me, I will just have more time in the library. Not bad as a fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/fame-is-fickle-if-the-media-turn-against-me-i-will-just-have-more/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Fame is a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fame-is-a-fickle-friend-harry-celebrity-is-as-celebrity-does-remember/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fame is fickle, but Obscurity is usually faithful to the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/fame-is-fickle-but-obscurity-is-usually-faithful-to-the-end/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Fame. Everyone dreams of fame. You long to live forever, to gain the power of light. But fame is fickle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-suddain/fame-everyone-dreams-of-fame-you-long-to-live-forever-to-gain-the/) [Matt Suddain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-suddain/) > [“Now and then he caught a phrase like, “Fame’s a fickle friend, Harry,” or “Celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/now-and-then-he-caught-a-phrase-like-fame-s-a-fickle-friend-harry-or/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-that-perches-in-the-soul-and-sings-2/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [If I shouldn't be alive When the Robins come, Give the one in Red Cravat, A Memorial crumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-shouldn-t-be-alive-when-the-robins-come-give-the-one-in-red/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [God gave a loaf to every bird, But just a crumb to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/god-gave-a-loaf-to-every-bird-but-just-a-crumb-to-me/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I had been hungry all the years- My noon had come, to dine- I, trembling, drew the table near And touched the curious wine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-had-been-hungry-all-the-years-my-noon-had-come-to-dine-i-trembling/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He always had bread crumbs in his voice, and I followed them like a fairy tale.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-c-stevens/he-always-had-bread-crumbs-in-his-voice-and-i-followed-them-like-a/) [Courtney C. Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-c-stevens/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One step at a time is all it takes to get you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-step-at-a-time-is-all-it-takes-to-get-you-there/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Whose fingers string the stalactite- Who counts the Wampum of the night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/whose-fingers-string-the-stalactite-who-counts-the-wampum-of-the-night/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My life closed twice before its close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-life-closed-twice-before-its-close/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/until-you-have-loved-you-cannot-become-yourself/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Explore all 692 Emily Dickinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More Cooking quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I enjoy cooking, but stick to modern dishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-enjoy-cooking-but-stick-to-modern-dishes/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“In the back of the fridge I checked out some stewed apples destined to fester. I examined them closely and reckoned they had only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-brown/in-the-back-of-the-fridge-i-checked-out-some-stewed-apples-destined/) [Helen Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-brown/) > [My Mom always cooked healthy. Greek food lends itself to cooking healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cora/my-mom-always-cooked-healthy-greek-food-lends-itself-to-cooking/) [Cat Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cora/) > [Cooking brings me so much joy. I love everything, down to the execution of the plate to picking out fresh ingredients at the market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-budig/cooking-brings-me-so-much-joy-i-love-everything-down-to-the-execution/) [Kathryn Budig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-budig/) > [Recipes don't work unless you use your heart!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-jones/recipes-don-t-work-unless-you-use-your-heart/) [Dylan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-jones/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I have a great time cooking and eating Thai green chicken curry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-have-a-great-time-cooking-and-eating-thai-green-chicken-curry/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There are times when born hollandaise heads, as well as nouveaux turbot freaks and recherche escargotphiles alike crave the saignet abundance of a New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-greene/there-are-times-when-born-hollandaise-heads-as-well-as-nouveaux/) [Gael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-greene/) > [Speaking of trust, ever since I wrote this book, 'Liespotting,' no one wants to meet me in person anymore - no, no, no, no,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-meyer/speaking-of-trust-ever-since-i-wrote-this-book-liespotting-no-one/) [Pamela Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-meyer/) > [Balance is key in cooking - you want a little acid, a little sweet, a little savory - the flavors should be harmonious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simmons/balance-is-key-in-cooking-you-want-a-little-acid-a-little-sweet-a/) [Gail Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simmons/) > [A combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman and the pantologist, assisted by the skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellwanger/a-combination-of-the-qualities-of-the-scholar-the-master-cook-the/) [George Ellwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellwanger/) [Browse all 2,937 Cooking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate, Whose table once a Guest, but not The second time, is set. 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