--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever…" description: "\"Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever aware of transience, not only in the sonnets, but also powerfully in his plays - spectacles for a brief period of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg" --- # Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever aware of transience… ![“Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever aware of transience, not only in the sonnets, but also powerfully in his plays - spectacles for a brief period of time and then gone, as when Prospero describes the pageant fading, leaving "not a rack behind."” quote by Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg) > “Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever aware of transience, not only in the sonnets, but also powerfully in his plays - spectacles for a brief period of time and then gone, as when Prospero describes the pageant fading, leaving "not a rack behind."” [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shakespeare’s works illustrate how art is fleeting, like a spectacle that disappears after its moment. **In simple terms:** Art is temporary and fades. Key Takeaway Appreciate moments before they pass. Themes art impermanence theater Mood reflective poignant Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - theater reviews - personal reflection - historical analysis Key Concepts ephemerality legacy performance Questions to Reflect On - How do we preserve fleeting art? - What does transience teach about value? A Different Perspective Some works endure despite transience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pageant/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Prospero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospero/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Sonnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sonnet/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transience/) ## Related quotes > [“Come, thou tortoise!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/come-thou-tortoise/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [ I saw all of the films \[based on The Tempest\] available, including the one with Helen Mirren in which Prospero is Prospera - you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-saw-all-of-the-films-based-on-the-tempest-available-including-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“At the happy ending of the Tempest, Prospero brings the kind back togeter with his son, and finds Miranda's true love and punishes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-happy-ending-of-the-tempest-prospero-brings-the-kind-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves, And ye that on the sands with printless foot Do chase the ebbing Neptune and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ye-elves-of-hills-brooks-standing-lakes-and-groves-and-ye-that-on-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Do I do as false prophets do and puff air into simulacra? Am I a Sorcerer--like Macbeth's witches--mixing truth and lies in incandescent shapes?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-i-do-as-false-prophets-do-and-puff-air-into-simulacra-am-i-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes, of course, the artist does give up, saying, in effect, "I've done enough". Prospero declares that the revels are ended, and breaks his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/sometimes-of-course-the-artist-does-give-up-saying-in-effect-i-ve/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [“Thou most lying slave, Whom stripes may move, not kindness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-most-lying-slave-whom-stripes-may-move-not-kindness/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [ One of the reasons \[William\] Shakespeare is so endlessly fascinating is that you can look at that figure from about 10 different angles: Caliban… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/one-of-the-reasons-william-shakespeare-is-so-endlessly-fascinating-is/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself Upon thy wicked dam”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-poisonous-slave-got-by-the-devil-himself-upon-thy-wicked-dam/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Auden, who asked two things of an imagined world-that it be somehow like ours and somehow unlike-would be Ben Marcus's ideal reader, yet even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-howard/auden-who-asked-two-things-of-an-imagined-world-that-it-be-somehow/) [Richard Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-howard/) > [“the doctrine of Transience supplies us with an inexhaustible source of hope and comfort, leads us into the living universe, and introduces us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/the-doctrine-of-transience-supplies-us-with-an-inexhaustible-source/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [The generation of youth in the early 21st century has no way of grasping if they will ever be free from the gnawing sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-generation-of-youth-in-the-early-21st-century-has-no-way-of/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [“It can't last forever. Others have thought such things, in bad times before this, and they were always right, they did get out one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-can-t-last-forever-others-have-thought-such-things-in-bad-times/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream? For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“It is the transience of life which proves its inestimable worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-harrop/it-is-the-transience-of-life-which-proves-its-inestimable-worth/) [D.B. Harrop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-harrop/) ## More by Martha Ronk > [Even your own memory changes over time because of circumstances or even because your body changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/even-your-own-memory-changes-over-time-because-of-circumstances-or/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I can't remember the past, or I can't see very clearly, or I've gotten older and the person I was isn't there anymore, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-can-t-remember-the-past-or-i-can-t-see-very-clearly-or-i-ve-gotten/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I want literature to open all the doors that I can't open by myself, and to allow me to see things that I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-want-literature-to-open-all-the-doors-that-i-can-t-open-by-myself/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I think those of us who use language are always trying for this, trying to keep everything from floating away by trying to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-think-those-of-us-who-use-language-are-always-trying-for-this/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I know that in some ways I operate from a kind of antiquated interest in imagery, while many contemporary poets are not so interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-know-that-in-some-ways-i-operate-from-a-kind-of-antiquated-interest/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I've always been interested in the fragility of things, and with special urgency now because of climate change, but also because of the accidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-fragility-of-things-and-with/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [“He finds me charming and so long as I don't think about it, it's ok, but I worry, what if I forget to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/he-finds-me-charming-and-so-long-as-i-don-t-think-about-it-it-s-ok/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [Everyone had always told me I had to see alpine flowers, since I was writing about flowers, and I had never seen these. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/everyone-had-always-told-me-i-had-to-see-alpine-flowers-since-i-was/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [Language is as fragile as the little alpine plant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/language-is-as-fragile-as-the-little-alpine-plant/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [I think about the kinds of gardens that Queen Elizabeth put up. She made gardens in the shape of an "E," for Elizabeth, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-think-about-the-kinds-of-gardens-that-queen-elizabeth-put-up-she/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [One of the reasons I like immersing myself in different texts, putting myself in the company of other writers, is that they do change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/one-of-the-reasons-i-like-immersing-myself-in-different-texts-putting/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [Our mind is dark in some way, and so we use rhetoric as a kind of prop or foil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/our-mind-is-dark-in-some-way-and-so-we-use-rhetoric-as-a-kind-of-prop/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [A number of poems don't work alone. They need to fit together to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/a-number-of-poems-don-t-work-alone-they-need-to-fit-together-to-work/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [Gardens do offer a temporal tableau and certainly mean differently in different eras and indeed geographies (think of the formal gardens in France).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/gardens-do-offer-a-temporal-tableau-and-certainly-mean-differently-in/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [Often poets fall into groups that exclude others, and don't pay attention to those who write in different ways. It seems so limited to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/often-poets-fall-into-groups-that-exclude-others-and-don-t-pay/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) [Explore all 31 Martha Ronk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) ## More Behinds quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever aware of transience, not only in the sonnets, but also powerfully in his plays - spectacles for a brief period of time and then gone, as when Prospero describes the pageant fading, leaving \"not a rack behind.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha Ronk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-aware-of-transience-not-only-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-aware-of-transience-not-only-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/martha-ronk-20222_behinds_shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-awar_3207697.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever aware of transience, not only in the sonnets, but also powerfully in…” — Martha Ronk", "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": "Martha Ronk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Shakespeare, of course, makes us ever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-aware-of-transience-not-only-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/shakespeare-of-course-makes-us-ever-aware-of-transience-not-only-in/#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 } } ] } ```