--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the…" description: "\"“It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the important stuff in Shakespeare happens offstage - you just hear about it.”\" — John Irving" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png" --- # It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the important stuff in… ![“It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the important stuff in Shakespeare happens offstage - you just hear about it.” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png) > ““It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the important stuff in Shakespeare happens offstage - you just hear about it.”” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Much of Shakespeare's crucial action occurs offstage, leaving audiences to infer its significance. **In simple terms:** Key events happen offstage, requiring imagination. Key Takeaway Pay attention to what is unsaid. Themes literature theatre interpretation Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical interpretive When to use this quote - reading Shakespeare - writing drama - teaching literature Key Concepts dramatic irony subtext Questions to Reflect On - How do you infer meaning from what is not shown? - What does offstage drama reveal about characters? A Different Perspective Offstage action may be missed without careful listening. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespearean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespearean/) ## Related quotes > [I try to inhabit each of the characters as fully as I can, however short-lived they are. But most of my show happens offstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-mays/i-try-to-inhabit-each-of-the-characters-as-fully-as-i-can-however/) [Jefferson Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-mays/) > [Once you get offstage you're just like everyone else, and everyone else can get into a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-attell/once-you-get-offstage-you-re-just-like-everyone-else-and-everyone/) [Dave Attell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-attell/) > [Most people think the character I do onstage is the way I am offstage, but I'm just a regular guy who spends time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/most-people-think-the-character-i-do-onstage-is-the-way-i-am-offstage/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [I got offstage and was just looking at my hands, and they were shaking. I was like, 'I wanna kill someone! What's happening?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-e-clark/i-got-offstage-and-was-just-looking-at-my-hands-and-they-were-shaking/) [Annie E. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-e-clark/) > [When most artists walk offstage, they go to a lonely hotel room. I went home to my family. They were there before the show,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/when-most-artists-walk-offstage-they-go-to-a-lonely-hotel-room-i-went/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [I just always found it easier to be the same guy onstage as you are offstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-smoove/i-just-always-found-it-easier-to-be-the-same-guy-onstage-as-you-are/) [J. B. Smoove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-smoove/) > [If I wasn't going through a thing where I was also being my characters offstage, uh, I'm much happier just wearing the most low-profile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/if-i-wasn-t-going-through-a-thing-where-i-was-also-being-my/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I mean, you still can't jump offstage and go read a book. But I'm getting better at it. It is something you can manage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-mean-you-still-can-t-jump-offstage-and-go-read-a-book-but-i-m/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [I'm capable offstage of having some dark, twisted thoughts but the kind of things I like to do onstage are just more conceptual and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/i-m-capable-offstage-of-having-some-dark-twisted-thoughts-but-the/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [You can do stuff onstage that you can't do offstage. You can be angry as hell and enraged and get away with it onstage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-dean-stanton/you-can-do-stuff-onstage-that-you-can-t-do-offstage-you-can-be-angry/) [Harry Dean Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-dean-stanton/) > [I didn't know if I could be funny on stage or write a joke. But I saw that there are no rules. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumail-nanjiani/i-didn-t-know-if-i-could-be-funny-on-stage-or-write-a-joke-but-i-saw/) [Kumail Nanjiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumail-nanjiani/) > [“Offstage, she fixed him in place with compliments and ironic bossiness, and he tended not to look at her at all when they spoke.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-phillips/offstage-she-fixed-him-in-place-with-compliments-and-ironic-bossiness/) [Arthur Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-phillips/) > [I haven't been offstage for more than two days since I started doing comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-rock/i-haven-t-been-offstage-for-more-than-two-days-since-i-started-doing/) [Tony Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-rock/) > [For me the most important thing is being a really good person, and that doesn’t depend on what you do on stage, that depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/for-me-the-most-important-thing-is-being-a-really-good-person-and/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [You can poke fun at some pretty difficult circumstances, and it's just a way to pop the bubble. I don't do that thing onstage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/you-can-poke-fun-at-some-pretty-difficult-circumstances-and-it-s-just/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. His eyes will tell me: You might look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/only-the-chicken-lover-will-understand-me-he-will-give-me-a-kindly/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' But they both must have known that you can know someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-nice-cushie-told-him-squeezing-his-hand-and-you-re-my-oldest/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Because of A Prayer for Owen Meany, many of my readers assume I am “religious.” I go to church only occasionally—like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-of-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-many-of-my-readers-assume-i-am/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Did anyone who was in love and was unsatisfied with how he was loved in return ever feel saved?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/did-anyone-who-was-in-love-and-was-unsatisfied-with-how-he-was-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Explore all 641 John Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More Shakespeare quotes > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [“This was going to be worse than the time I table danced in the diner in high school!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bryson/this-was-going-to-be-worse-than-the-time-i-table-danced-in-the-diner/) [Kathy Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bryson/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Anything well written with good language and clarity and honesty is worth doing. It comes out of the same tradition as Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/anything-well-written-with-good-language-and-clarity-and-honesty-is/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [“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/) > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/shakespeare-s-hamlet-there-is-nothing-either-good-or-bad-but-thinking/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Nernst was a great admirer of Shakespeare, and it is said that in a conference concerned with naming units after appropriate persons, he proposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-partington/nernst-was-a-great-admirer-of-shakespeare-and-it-is-said-that-in-a/) J.R. Partington > [Shakespeare put no children in his plays for a reason," Sir Godfrey muttered, glaring at Alf and Binnie. "You're forgetting the Little Prince," Polly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/shakespeare-put-no-children-in-his-plays-for-a-reason-sir-godfrey/) [Connie Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [Juilliard is wonderful in that they don't pick just one way of working. They give you a palette. There is method acting. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-camargo/juilliard-is-wonderful-in-that-they-don-t-pick-just-one-way-of/) [Christian Camargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-camargo/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [I've definitely learned that if you want to have power as a woman in Shakespeare's time, and it's still relevant today, that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/i-ve-definitely-learned-that-if-you-want-to-have-power-as-a-woman-in/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [“I'm afraid I always find Shakespeare terribly dreary. All those long scenes where everybody is drunk and it's supposed to be funny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-m-afraid-i-always-find-shakespeare-terribly-dreary-all-those-long/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Life... is a paradise to what we fear of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/life-is-a-paradise-to-what-we-fear-of-death/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 1,516 Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the important stuff in Shakespeare happens offstage - you just hear about it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-important-stuff-in-shakespeare/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shakespeare" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-important-stuff-in-shakespeare/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/john-irving-337_shakespeare_it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-impo_935303.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the important stuff in Shakespeare happens offstage - you just hear about…” — John Irving", "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": "John Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's Shakespearean, Bill; lots of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-important-stuff-in-shakespeare/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-s-shakespearean-bill-lots-of-the-important-stuff-in-shakespeare/#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 } } ] } ```