--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's like those eerie stories nurses…" description: "\"It's like those eerie stories nurses tell, Of how some actor on a stage played Death, With pasteboard crown, sham orb and tinselled dart, And called hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/robert-browning-734_actors_it-s-like-those-eerie-stories-nurses-tel_3230509.jpg" --- # It's like those eerie stories nurses tell, Of how some… ![“It's like those eerie stories nurses tell, Of how some actor on a stage played Death, With pasteboard crown, sham orb and tinselled dart, And called himself the monarch of the world; Then, going in the tire-room afterward, Because the play was done, to shift himself, Got touched upon the sleeve…” quote by Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/robert-browning-734_actors_it-s-like-those-eerie-stories-nurses-tel_3230509.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/robert-browning-734_actors_it-s-like-those-eerie-stories-nurses-tel_3230509.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/robert-browning-734_actors_it-s-like-those-eerie-stories-nurses-tel_3230509.jpg) > “It's like those eerie stories nurses tell, Of how some actor on a stage played Death, With pasteboard crown, sham orb and tinselled dart, And called himself the monarch of the world; Then, going in the tire-room afterward, Because the play was done, to shift himself, Got touched upon the sleeve familiarly, The moment he had shut the closet door, By Death himself. Thus God might touch a Pope At unawares, ask what his baubles mean, And whose part he presumed to play just now. Best be yourself, imperial, plain and true!” [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A performer pretends to be Death, but true mortality catches everyone, even the powerful. **In simple terms:** Acting as death reveals real limits of power. Key Takeaway Recognize humility and authenticity. Themes humility mortality authenticity power theatre Mood reflective somber thoughtful Type philosophical literary dramatic When to use this quote - stage performance - leadership - religious authority - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism roleplay vanity Questions to Reflect On - How does pretending to control fate affect real decisions? - What does true humility look like in power? A Different Perspective Even the mighty cannot escape death's inevitability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Being yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-yourself/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Eerie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eerie/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Monarchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monarchs/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Tire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tire/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I've played death metal, punk rock, hardcore, funk... I've done it all. 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Nobody ever thought himself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-highet/many-people-have-played-themselves-to-death-many-people-have-eaten/) [Gilbert Highet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-highet/) > [“She loved the games men played with death, Where death must win”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/she-loved-the-games-men-played-with-death-where-death-must-win/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [“It wasn’t the first time I played on death’s porch, but it didn’t mean that I was used to it either. 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No god can touch the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-queen/no-human-can-touch-the-sky-no-god-can-touch-the-ground/) [Derek Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-queen/) > [We pray that God would touch you and fill your life afresh with His grace and mercy so youll know that you are blessed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-lowndes/we-pray-that-god-would-touch-you-and-fill-your-life-afresh-with-his/) [M S Lowndes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-lowndes/) > [If God can't touch you touch Him to touch you Like a Samaritan woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/efiosiugbore/if-god-can-t-touch-you-touch-him-to-touch-you-like-a-samaritan-woman/) @efiosiugbore > [A single God - touch From God's Compassion - Height Can transform man's unimaginable And countless weaknesses Into God's own infinite,Immortal and omnipotent Power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/a-single-god-touch-from-god-s-compassion-height-can-transform-man-s/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Dear God, touch the people I care for. Keep them safe & happy. Give them love & good health. Bless them!especially the one reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara/dear-god-touch-the-people-i-care-for-keep-them-safe-happy-give-them/) [Kara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara/) > [“Submission is 'ducking low enough so God can touch your husband.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/submission-is-ducking-low-enough-so-god-can-touch-your-husband/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [The King walks. He nods. His glance is like God's touch - under it all things spring to life. A wave of his hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/the-king-walks-he-nods-his-glance-is-like-god-s-touch-under-it-all/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) ## More by Robert Browning > [I would have rummaged, ransacked at the word; Those old odd corners of an empty heart; For remnants of dim love the long disused,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/i-would-have-rummaged-ransacked-at-the-word-those-old-odd-corners-of/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“One who never turned his back but marched breast forward, never doubted clouds would break, never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/one-who-never-turned-his-back-but-marched-breast-forward-never/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [All service ranks the same with God,- With God, whose puppets, best and worst, Are we: there is no last nor first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/all-service-ranks-the-same-with-god-with-god-whose-puppets-best-and/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“Have you found your life distasteful? 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How fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/how-good-is-man-s-life-the-mere-living-how-fit-to-employ-all-the/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Oh, to be in England Now that April's there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/oh-to-be-in-england-now-that-april-s-there-and-whoever-wakes-in/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [The ultimate, angels' law, Indulging every instinct of the soul There where law, life, joy, impulse are one thing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/the-ultimate-angels-law-indulging-every-instinct-of-the-soul-there/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/grow-old-along-with-me-the-best-is-yet-to-be-the-last-of-life-for/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, lest you should think he never could recapture the first fine careless rapture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/that-s-the-wise-thrush-he-sings-each-song-twice-over-lest-you-should/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Look not down but up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/look-not-down-but-up/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [What a thing friendship is - World without end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/what-a-thing-friendship-is-world-without-end/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Silence 'tis awe decrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/silence-tis-awe-decrees/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) [Explore all 386 Robert Browning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) ## More Actors quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. 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We all have pricks and cunts, or are you different from the rest of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/american-actors-are-coy-we-all-have-pricks-and-cunts-or-are-you/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) [Browse all 11,394 Actors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's like those eerie stories nurses tell, Of how some actor on a stage played Death, With pasteboard crown, sham orb and tinselled dart, And called himself the monarch of the world; Then, going in the tire-room afterward, Because the play was done, to shift himself, Got touched upon the sleeve familiarly, The moment he had shut the closet door, By Death himself. Thus God might touch a Pope At unawares, ask what his baubles mean, And whose part he presumed to play just now. 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