--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't…" description: "\"When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around.\" — Ken Kesey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png" --- # When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff… ![“When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around.” quote by Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png) > “When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around.” [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shakespeare wrote to make words move, not just sit still; his language should be dynamic and alive. **In simple terms:** Writing should be kinetic. Key Takeaway Write with movement. Themes literature creativity performance language Mood inspirational analytical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - theatre - public speaking - education - marketing Key Concepts dramatic effect embodied storytelling audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can you make static text feel alive? - What techniques bring words to motion? A Different Perspective May overlook static forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't understand that TV writing wasn't writing; it was pitching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-saracho/i-didn-t-understand-that-tv-writing-wasn-t-writing-it-was-pitching/) [Tanya Saracho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-saracho/) > [In the same way that Shakespeare was writing very much for his time, he was also unearthing observations that would last for generations beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-denisof/in-the-same-way-that-shakespeare-was-writing-very-much-for-his-time/) [Alexis Denisof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-denisof/) > [I remember, the players have often mentioned it as an honour to Shakespeare, that in his writing (whatsoever he penned) he never plotted out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/i-remember-the-players-have-often-mentioned-it-as-an-honour-to/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [You talk about auteur de cinema having things in their heads and putting them all across, can you imagine Shakespeare writing screenplays?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/you-talk-about-auteur-de-cinema-having-things-in-their-heads-and/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [Shakespeare was writing about his time, and it was a time when women were beginning to demand a voice, demand a say in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllida-lloyd/shakespeare-was-writing-about-his-time-and-it-was-a-time-when-women/) [Phyllida Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllida-lloyd/) > [With Will Shakespeare writing your government's propaganda, you can't go wrong, can you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hambleton/with-will-shakespeare-writing-your-government-s-propaganda-you-can-t/) [Peter Hambleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hambleton/) > [This writing wasn't painful. 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Sometimes when I go to exertin' myself I use up all the air nearby and grown men faint from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/okay-stand-outa-the-way-sometimes-when-i-go-to-exertin-myself-i-use/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [The frontiers we broke into in the '60s are still largely unexplored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-frontiers-we-broke-into-in-the-60s-are-still-largely-unexplored/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [There's something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/there-s-something-about-taking-a-plow-and-breaking-new-ground-it/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [The best of all possible cages.' Ben stepped back to regard the job with a sad smile. 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It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [I just can’t, Nick, okay? Now, please give me a second to lie here in silence and bleed.” – Caleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-just-can-t-nick-okay-now-please-give-me-a-second-to-lie-here-in/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) [Browse all 13,166 Lying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Kesey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-writing-for-stuff-to-lie-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-writing-for-stuff-to-lie-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65a/ken-kesey-1034_lying_when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-w_262742.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and…” — Ken Kesey", "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": "Ken Kesey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-writing-for-stuff-to-lie-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/when-shakespeare-was-writing-he-wasn-t-writing-for-stuff-to-lie-on/#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 } } ] } ```