--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I wrote a play with four characters…" description: "\"If I wrote a play with four characters every single one of them would talk like me regardless of age or sex.\" — Norman MacCaig" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png" --- # If I wrote a play with four characters every single one of… ![“If I wrote a play with four characters every single one of them would talk like me regardless of age or sex.” quote by Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png) > “If I wrote a play with four characters every single one of them would talk like me regardless of age or sex.” [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer’s voice may dominate every character, reflecting personal perspective regardless of their identity. **In simple terms:** The author’s style can dominate all characters. Key Takeaway Recognize diverse voices in writing. Themes literature voice identity Mood reflective critical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - editorial reviews - collaborative projects Key Concepts Narrative voice characterization authorial bias Questions to Reflect On - How to encourage distinct character voices? - What techniques diversify dialogue? A Different Perspective Uniform voices can limit realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Characters Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-single-2376908/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-characters-232419/) [Regardless Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regardless-age-532629/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Wrote Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-play-341187/) ## Related quotes > [You have to play your characters, not like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/you-have-to-play-your-characters-not-like-them/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I've been lucky to play characters that are really broad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-yelchin/i-ve-been-lucky-to-play-characters-that-are-really-broad/) [Anton Yelchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-yelchin/) > [I do tend to play characters that have a lot of costume and hair change. I sort of like the change of physicality thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-sagal/i-do-tend-to-play-characters-that-have-a-lot-of-costume-and-hair/) [Katey Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-sagal/) > [I do not fault anyone else who makes choices to play characters that they wished they hadn't... Because at the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-do-not-fault-anyone-else-who-makes-choices-to-play-characters-that/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [If you look at the rest of my stuff, I always play characters that kind of don't look like me, 'cause I love transforming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-rasuk/if-you-look-at-the-rest-of-my-stuff-i-always-play-characters-that/) [Victor Rasuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-rasuk/) > [Even while I'm really interested in playing female characters that are varied and interesting and dynamic, I'm not of the mind that you always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-thompson/even-while-i-m-really-interested-in-playing-female-characters-that/) [Tessa Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-thompson/) > [Every actor, I don't care what they say, their roles are a lot more interesting than we are, and at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moon-bloodgood/every-actor-i-don-t-care-what-they-say-their-roles-are-a-lot-more/) [Moon Bloodgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moon-bloodgood/) > [I normally play very serious characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-bunbury/i-normally-play-very-serious-characters/) [Kylie Bunbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-bunbury/) > [“Do not restrain yourself from fellowshipping with people, regardless of their age or status”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/do-not-restrain-yourself-from-fellowshipping-with-people-regardless/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Responsibility for learning belongs to the student, regardless of age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-martin/responsibility-for-learning-belongs-to-the-student-regardless-of-age/) [Robert Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-martin/) > [Your child is always your child, regardless of age. You feel their feelings, share in their joys and hurt in their sorrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/your-child-is-always-your-child-regardless-of-age-you-feel-their/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I promise you my opponents don't care about how old I am. They want to beat me just as bad regardless of my age,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-gauff/i-promise-you-my-opponents-don-t-care-about-how-old-i-am-they-want-to/) [Coco Gauff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-gauff/) > [Regardless of your age or current physical condition you'll laugh, cry, moan, groan, sweat and experience the most exciting, hard working and effective therapeutic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/regardless-of-your-age-or-current-physical-condition-you-ll-laugh-cry/) [Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/) > [You do connect with people, regardless of their age. And how do you do that? By taking an interest in what they do, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-maddon/you-do-connect-with-people-regardless-of-their-age-and-how-do-you-do/) [Joe Maddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-maddon/) > [Regardless of our age, experience, or station in life, we are all missionaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/regardless-of-our-age-experience-or-station-in-life-we-are-all/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) ## More by Norman MacCaig > [“The day Was like the buzzard on the pine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/the-day-was-like-the-buzzard-on-the-pine/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [In fact a lot of them I think are absolute baloney. Those Charles Olsens and people like that. At first I was interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/in-fact-a-lot-of-them-i-think-are-absolute-baloney-those-charles/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [I don't think of myself all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/i-don-t-think-of-myself-all-the-time/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [And it's impossible for me to read Henry James.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/and-it-s-impossible-for-me-to-read-henry-james/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/and-the-second-question-can-poetry-be-taught-i-didn-t-think-so/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [Anybody who writes doesn't like to be misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/anybody-who-writes-doesn-t-like-to-be-misunderstood/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [All those authors there, most of whom of course I've never met. That's the poetry side, that's the prose side, that's the fishing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/all-those-authors-there-most-of-whom-of-course-i-ve-never-met-that-s/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [And in a way, that's been a help to me, because I take great passions for a particular poet - sometimes it lasts for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/and-in-a-way-that-s-been-a-help-to-me-because-i-take-great-passions/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [But I hang on to books. I love them. I even think they're very nice decor in a room - far better than paintings...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/but-i-hang-on-to-books-i-love-them-i-even-think-they-re-very-nice/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [I find it's impossible for me to read Proust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/i-find-it-s-impossible-for-me-to-read-proust/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [I was very interested in American poetry for many years. Much less now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/i-was-very-interested-in-american-poetry-for-many-years-much-less-now/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [A terrible thing about getting oldish is that your friends start dying, and in the last ten years I have lost seven or eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/a-terrible-thing-about-getting-oldish-is-that-your-friends-start/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [I learned words, I learned words; but half of them died from lack of exercise. And the ones I use often look at me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/i-learned-words-i-learned-words-but-half-of-them-died-from-lack-of/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [Well, I love fishing. I wouldn't kill a fly myself but I've no hesitation in killing a fish. A lot of men are like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/well-i-love-fishing-i-wouldn-t-kill-a-fly-myself-but-i-ve-no/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [I never think about poetry except when I'm writing it. I mean my poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/i-never-think-about-poetry-except-when-i-m-writing-it-i-mean-my-poetry/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) [Explore all 42 Norman MacCaig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I wrote a play with four characters every single one of them would talk like me regardless of age or sex.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman MacCaig" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-every-single-one-of-them-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-every-single-one-of-them-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/norman-maccaig-15658_age_if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-e_235879.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I wrote a play with four characters every single one of them would talk like me regardless of age or sex.” — Norman MacCaig", "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": "Norman MacCaig", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I wrote a play with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-every-single-one-of-them-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/if-i-wrote-a-play-with-four-characters-every-single-one-of-them-would/#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 } } ] } ```