--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The theatre is certainly a place for…" description: "\"The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful glittering absolutely vanished pantomime! Now I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg" --- # The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the… ![“The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful glittering absolutely vanished pantomime! Now I shall abjure magic and become a hermit : put myself in a situation where I can honestly say that I have nothing else to do but to learn to be good.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg) > “The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful glittering absolutely vanished pantomime! Now I shall abjure magic and become a hermit : put myself in a situation where I can honestly say that I have nothing else to do but to learn to be good.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The stage mirrors fleeting fame; abandoning illusion for solitary virtue. **In simple terms:** Life is brief; choose simple goodness. Key Takeaway Embrace humble learning. Themes humanity transience spirituality Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - artistic careers - public life - personal retreats Key Concepts Existentialism self‑renunciation Questions to Reflect On - What does “nothing else to do” mean for you? - Can magic coexist with humility? A Different Perspective Solitude may not suit everyone; community offers growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Be good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-good/) [Brevity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Hermits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hermits/) [Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Pantomime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pantomime/) [Pantomime Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pantomime-shall-4416548/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Theatre Certainly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre-certainly-2546230/) [Vanished Pantomime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanished-pantomime-4416547/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [“The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful glittering absolutely vanished pantomimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-learning-about-the-brevity-of-2/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [My working history as an actor is definitely in the theatre; it certainly was in Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yael-stone/my-working-history-as-an-actor-is-definitely-in-the-theatre-it/) [Yael Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yael-stone/) > [None but those who have loved can be supposed to understand the oratory of the eye, the mute eloquence of a look, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/none-but-those-who-have-loved-can-be-supposed-to-understand-the/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Because of my language and the pantomime with which most Europeans accompany their speech, I was catalogued as a heavy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/because-of-my-language-and-the-pantomime-with-which-most-europeans/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [And then he danced,-all foreigners excel the serious Angels in the eloquence of pantomime;-he danced, I say, right well, with emphasis, and a'so with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-then-he-danced-all-foreigners-excel-the-serious-angels-in-the/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [A lot of actors won't do things because they say it is boring when you are always working. A lot of them won't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-spinetti/a-lot-of-actors-won-t-do-things-because-they-say-it-is-boring-when/) [Victor Spinetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-spinetti/) > [“A magician creates magic and mesmerizes the audience. But it is a pantomime, and the audience knows that it’s a ruse. It’s in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/a-magician-creates-magic-and-mesmerizes-the-audience-but-it-is-a/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [We were raised right in the heart of the Bogside. Everything was so bad at the time that Mammy would bring us to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronagh-gallagher/we-were-raised-right-in-the-heart-of-the-bogside-everything-was-so/) [Bronagh Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronagh-gallagher/) > [In fact, one was so booked out we went from March and were to go till November, but the pantomime was booked so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-wisdom/in-fact-one-was-so-booked-out-we-went-from-march-and-were-to-go-till/) [Norman Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-wisdom/) > [PANTOMIME, n. A play in which the story is told without violence to the language. The least disagreeable form of dramatic action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/pantomime-n-a-play-in-which-the-story-is-told-without-violence-to-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I saw Marti Pellow in pantomime in Glasgow one time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-capaldi/i-saw-marti-pellow-in-pantomime-in-glasgow-one-time/) [Lewis Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-capaldi/) > [“The most amusing thing about a pantomime horse is the necessity of having to shoot it twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/the-most-amusing-thing-about-a-pantomime-horse-is-the-necessity-of/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [If you're trying to learn how to act from a class, you're analyzing the teachers' movements and their intricacies, and it becomes like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/if-you-re-trying-to-learn-how-to-act-from-a-class-you-re-analyzing/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [Remember that although they may speak a different language, they are still the same kind of people as the folks you know at home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-byam/remember-that-although-they-may-speak-a-different-language-they-are/) [Wally Byam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-byam/) > [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [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/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful glittering absolutely vanished pantomime! Now I shall abjure magic and become a hermit : put myself in a situation where I can honestly say that I have nothing else to do but to learn to be good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-learning-about-the-brevity-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-learning-about-the-brevity-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/iris-murdoch-993_actor_the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-lea_1323231.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful…” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The theatre is certainly a place...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-learning-about-the-brevity-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-theatre-is-certainly-a-place-for-learning-about-the-brevity-of/#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 } } ] } ```