--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have always derived great comfort from…" description: "\"“I have always derived great comfort from William Shakespeare. After a depressing visit to the mirror or an unkind word from a girlfriend or an incredu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/martin-amis-704_shakespeare_i-have-always-derived-great-comfort-from_2999783.jpg" --- # I have always derived great comfort from William… ![“I have always derived great comfort from William Shakespeare. After a depressing visit to the mirror or an unkind word from a girlfriend or an incredulous stare in the street, I say to myself: 'Well. Shakespeare looked like shit.' It works wonders.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/martin-amis-704_shakespeare_i-have-always-derived-great-comfort-from_2999783.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/martin-amis-704_shakespeare_i-have-always-derived-great-comfort-from_2999783.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/martin-amis-704_shakespeare_i-have-always-derived-great-comfort-from_2999783.jpg) > ““I have always derived great comfort from William Shakespeare. After a depressing visit to the mirror or an unkind word from a girlfriend or an incredulous stare in the street, I say to myself: 'Well. Shakespeare looked like shit.' It works wonders.”” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding humor in revered art eases personal distress; humanize icons. **In simple terms:** Humor eases pain; humanize greatness. Key Takeaway Use humor to cope with disappointment. Themes humor comfort literature Mood lighthearted reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal crisis - art appreciation - mental health Key Concepts catharsis self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - When does humor become disrespect? - How can humor aid healing? A Different Perspective Humor may be seen as disrespectful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort-william-4756326/) [Say Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-shakespeare-819507/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespeare Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-depressing-4756327/) [Shakespeare Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-looked-2224944/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-shakespeare/) ## Related quotes > [“Like all his attempts at fiction it would be as personal as a letter—painful to those who knew him, of no interest to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jackson/like-all-his-attempts-at-fiction-it-would-be-as-personal-as-a-letter/) [Charles Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jackson/) > [“Most people say that Shakespeare rocked merely because most people say that Shakespeare rocked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-people-say-that-shakespeare-rocked-merely-because-most-people/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Whenever possible, Gowan Stoughton of Craigievar, Duke of Kinross, Chief of Clan MacAulay, avoided rooms crowded with Englishmen. They were all babbling gossips with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/whenever-possible-gowan-stoughton-of-craigievar-duke-of-kinross-chief/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [We can say of Shakespeare, that never has a man turned so little knowledge to such great account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-can-say-of-shakespeare-that-never-has-a-man-turned-so-little/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [ I won't say he \[Shakespeare\] 'invented' us, because journalists perpetually misunderstand me on that. I'll put it more simply: he contains us. Our ways… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-won-t-say-he-shakespeare-invented-us-because-journalists/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Anybody who tells a very big lie is paid attention to. If you say, 'Shakespeare could not write. He was illiterate,' everybody says, 'Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-reiner/anybody-who-tells-a-very-big-lie-is-paid-attention-to-if-you-say/) [Carl Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-reiner/) > [I didn't even know for years that people ever even got paid for this, because they don't teach you that in school. They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/i-didn-t-even-know-for-years-that-people-ever-even-got-paid-for-this/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [This is not writing at all. Indeed, I could say that Shakespeare surpasses literature altogether, if I knew what I meant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/this-is-not-writing-at-all-indeed-i-could-say-that-shakespeare/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“They say Shakespeare invented the internal monologue." Oh, I am very familiar with the internal monologue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/they-say-shakespeare-invented-the-internal-monologue-oh-i-am-very/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [You could say Shakespeare is so extraordinary precisely because he was so ordinary. He had all the usual anxieties and understandings of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/you-could-say-shakespeare-is-so-extraordinary-precisely-because-he/) [Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/) > [You speak an infinite deal of nothing. William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespear/you-speak-an-infinite-deal-of-nothing-william-shakespeare-the/) [William Shakespear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespear/) > [I think William Shakespeare was the wisest human being I ever heard of. To be perfectly frank, though, that's not saying much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-william-shakespeare-was-the-wisest-human-being-i-ever-heard/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ \[Thine\] face is not worth sunburning. William Shakespeare, Henry V ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespear/thine-face-is-not-worth-sunburning-william-shakespeare-henry-v/) [William Shakespear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespear/) > [Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespear/love-all-trust-a-few-do-wrong-to-none-william-shakespeare/) [William Shakespear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespear/) > [Mr. William Shakespeare was born at Stratford upon Avon in the county of Warwick. His father was a butcher, and I have been told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/mr-william-shakespeare-was-born-at-stratford-upon-avon-in-the-county/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) ## More by Martin Amis > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“I have always derived great comfort from William Shakespeare. After a depressing visit to the mirror or an unkind word from a girlfriend or an incredulous stare in the street, I say to myself: 'Well. Shakespeare looked like shit.' 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