--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would…" description: "\"Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is in short order sprayed, slic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg" --- # Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how… ![“Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is in short order sprayed, sliced, pierced, pickled, trussed, trimmed, creamed, waxed, painted, rouged and neatly dressed - transformed from a common corpse into a Beautiful…” quote by Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg) > “Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is in short order sprayed, sliced, pierced, pickled, trussed, trimmed, creamed, waxed, painted, rouged and neatly dressed - transformed from a common corpse into a Beautiful Memory Picture.” [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) ## 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 reflects on how modern media transforms death into a curated, aesthetic spectacle, stripping away its raw reality for visual consumption. **In simple terms:** Media sanitizes death into art. Key Takeaway Death is repackaged as visual nostalgia. Themes mortality media critique aestheticization culture consumerism Mood somber reflective critical Type observation commentary cautionary When to use this quote - obituary photography - funeral livestreams - memorial videos - posthumous social media posts Key Concepts visual culture celebrity death spectacle memory Practical Applications - documentary filmmaking - museum exhibitions on death Questions to Reflect On - How does visualizing death affect our grieving process? - What responsibilities do creators have when depicting mortality? A Different Perspective Some argue that such representations preserve memory and honor the deceased, rather than merely commodifying loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-memories/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Funeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funeral/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Alas, poor Yorick!" he said. "She heard mermaids, so it follows that there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. I have caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/alas-poor-yorick-he-said-she-heard-mermaids-so-it-follows-that-there/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [“Alas, poor YORICK!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/alas-poor-yorick/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/alas-poor-yorick-i-knew-him-horatio-a-fellow-of-infinite-jest-of-most/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [All the great Shakespeare plays are about killing. 'Alas, poor Yorick,' that's about death. And in 'Romeo and Juliet' everyone up ends up dying.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/all-the-great-shakespeare-plays-are-about-killing-alas-poor-yorick/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [“There are silences and silences. No one of them is like another. There is the silence of grief in velvet-draped rooms of a plushly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/there-are-silences-and-silences-no-one-of-them-is-like-another-there/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [A piano store looks like a funeral parlor for music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-n-g-mez-de-la-serna/a-piano-store-looks-like-a-funeral-parlor-for-music/) [Ramon Gomez de la Serna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-n-g-mez-de-la-serna/) > [The only thing they can get me for is running a funeral parlor without a license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/the-only-thing-they-can-get-me-for-is-running-a-funeral-parlor/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [“When I was first getting to know her we were in a viewing room at the funeral parlor looking at a new line of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gantos/when-i-was-first-getting-to-know-her-we-were-in-a-viewing-room-at-the/) [Jack Gantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gantos/) > [“A no-name place, as far as I could see, but it had a miserable cafe-cum-garage-cum-funeral parlor shared by a gang of silent locals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-no-name-place-as-far-as-i-could-see-but-it-had-a-miserable-cafe-cum/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I almost moved into a place over a funeral parlor. My father said, 'That's just too macabre,' but I thought I'd be embracing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/i-almost-moved-into-a-place-over-a-funeral-parlor-my-father-said-that/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [Wonderful gifts don't have expiration. They remain our most beautiful memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/wonderful-gifts-don-t-have-expiration-they-remain-our-most-beautiful/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [From that morning I met you until this morning, I always cherish the fact that I received the chance to meet a wonderful person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aston-royce/from-that-morning-i-met-you-until-this-morning-i-always-cherish-the/) Aston Royce > [She may cry but not in my shoulder she may laugh but never seen by my eye... Her tears is my weakness but her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/she-may-cry-but-not-in-my-shoulder-she-may-laugh-but-never-seen-by-my/) Unkown > [Wherever a beautiful soul has been there is a trail of beautiful memories...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/wherever-a-beautiful-soul-has-been-there-is-a-trail-of-beautiful/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It's one of the most beautiful memories of my life. Not everyone has a chance to meet Greta Garbo! I was so in awe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanna-cau/it-s-one-of-the-most-beautiful-memories-of-my-life-not-everyone-has-a/) [Giovanna Cau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanna-cau/) ## More by Jessica Mitford > [I discovered that Human Nature was not, as I had always supposed, a fixed and unalterable entity, that wars are not caused by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/i-discovered-that-human-nature-was-not-as-i-had-always-supposed-a/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/you-may-not-be-able-to-change-the-world-but-at-least-you-can/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Picking other people's brains is an art worth cultivating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/picking-other-people-s-brains-is-an-art-worth-cultivating/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [A thirteen-year-old is a kaleidoscope of different personalities, if not in most ways a mere figment of her own imagination. At that age, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/a-thirteen-year-old-is-a-kaleidoscope-of-different-personalities-if/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [In childbirth, as in other human endeavors, fashions start with the rich, are then adopted by the aspirant middle class with an assist from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/in-childbirth-as-in-other-human-endeavors-fashions-start-with-the/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Now there is a society where the funeral industry got completely out of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/now-there-is-a-society-where-the-funeral-industry-got-completely-out/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Objectivity? I've always had an objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/objectivity-i-ve-always-had-an-objective/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Funeralese has had its ups and downs. The word 'morticians,' first used in Embalmers Monthly for February, 1895, was barred by the Chicago Tribune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/funeralese-has-had-its-ups-and-downs-the-word-morticians-first-used/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Objectivity? I always have an objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/objectivity-i-always-have-an-objective/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [the whole point of muck-raking, apart from all the jokes, is to try to do something about what you've been writing about. You may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/the-whole-point-of-muck-raking-apart-from-all-the-jokes-is-to-try-to/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Things on the whole are faster in America; people don't stand for election, they run for office. If a person says he's sick, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/things-on-the-whole-are-faster-in-america-people-don-t-stand-for/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-expensive-joke-on-the-american/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Things on the whole are much faster in America; people don't 'stand for election', they 'run for office.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/things-on-the-whole-are-much-faster-in-america-people-don-t-stand-for/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Prison walls are meant not only to keep convicts in, but to keep the would-be investigator out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/prison-walls-are-meant-not-only-to-keep-convicts-in-but-to-keep-the/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [It is somehow reassuring to discover that the word travel is derived from travail, denoting the pains of childbirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/it-is-somehow-reassuring-to-discover-that-the-word-travel-is-derived/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) [Explore all 28 Jessica Mitford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) ## More Alas quotes > [“Muchos de los ángeles de Dios no tienen alas...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/muchos-de-los-ngeles-de-dios-no-tienen-alas/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Time, time - that is our greatest master! Alas, like Ugolino, time devours its own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/time-time-that-is-our-greatest-master-alas-like-ugolino-time-devours/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [Removing prejudices is, alas! too often removing the boundary of a delightful near prospect in order to let in a shockingly extensive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/removing-prejudices-is-alas-too-often-removing-the-boundary-of-a/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The flesh is sad, alas, and I have read all the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-phane-mallarm/the-flesh-is-sad-alas-and-i-have-read-all-the-books/) [Stephane Mallarme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-phane-mallarm/) > [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [In spite of the honestest efforts to annihilate my I-ity, or merge it in what the world doubtless considers my better half, I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/in-spite-of-the-honestest-efforts-to-annihilate-my-i-ity-or-merge-it/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [The dumpling is indeed of more ancient institution, and of foreign origin; but alas, what were those dumplings? Nothing but a few lentils sodden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arbuthnot/the-dumpling-is-indeed-of-more-ancient-institution-and-of-foreign/) [John Arbuthnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arbuthnot/) > [“World is so beautiful, but alas! There are so many assholes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/world-is-so-beautiful-but-alas-there-are-so-many-assholes/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Ideally a painter (and, generally, an artist) should not become conscious of his insights: without taking the detour through his reflective processes, and incomprehensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/ideally-a-painter-and-generally-an-artist-should-not-become-conscious/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Alas! we makeA ladder of our thoughts, where angels step,But sleep ourselves at the foot: our high resolvesLook down upon our slumbering acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/alas-we-makea-ladder-of-our-thoughts-where-angels-step-but-sleep/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) Browse all 453 Alas quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is in short order sprayed, sliced, pierced, pickled, trussed, trimmed, creamed, waxed, painted, rouged and neatly dressed - transformed from a common corpse into a Beautiful Memory Picture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jessica Mitford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/jessica-mitford-21991_alas_alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would_77653.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral…” — Jessica Mitford", "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": "Jessica Mitford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/#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 } } ] } ```