---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and…"
description: "\"To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, \"I wish I had known this some time ago.\" — Roger Zelazny"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png"
---

#  To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys…

![“To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, &quot;I wish I had known this some time ago.” quote by Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png)

> “To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, "I wish I had known this some time ago.”

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Regret over not knowing vital information earlier, echoed across classic tragedies.

**In simple terms:** Wishing we’d known earlier, like Oedipus or Hamlet.

Key Takeaway

Seek knowledge early to avoid later regret.

Themes

regret knowledge tragedy

Mood

reflective cautious

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- career planning
- relationship advice

Key Concepts

literary allusion foreshadowing

Questions to Reflect On

- What information would change your current path?
- How can we foster early insight?

A Different Perspective

Learning too late can cause lasting pain.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hindsight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hindsight/) [Oedipus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oedipus/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/)

## Related quotes

> [Shakespeare carries us to such a lofty strain of intelligent activity, as to suggest a wealth which beggars his own; and we then feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/shakespeare-carries-us-to-such-a-lofty-strain-of-intelligent-activity/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [“Oedipus did not remember the thongs that bound his feet; nevertheless the marks they left testified to that doom toward which his feet were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/oedipus-did-not-remember-the-thongs-that-bound-his-feet-nevertheless/)

[James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/)

> [Death of the Father would deprive literature of many of its pleasures. If there is no longer a Father, why tell stories? Doesn't every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/death-of-the-father-would-deprive-literature-of-many-of-its-pleasures/)

[Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/)

> [How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there's no help in truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/how-dreadful-knowledge-of-the-truth-can-be-when-there-s-no-help-in-2/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [The latest incarnation of Oedipus, the continued romance of Beauty and the Beast, stand this afternoon on the corner of Forty-second Street and Fifth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-latest-incarnation-of-oedipus-the-continued-romance-of-beauty-and/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The population question is the real riddle of the sphinx, to which no political Oedipus has as yet found the answer. In view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/the-population-question-is-the-real-riddle-of-the-sphinx-to-which-no/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

> [“...What was wrong between Diana and me was that she was too much a mother to me, and as I had had one mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/what-was-wrong-between-diana-and-me-was-that-she-was-too-much-a/)

[Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/)

> [I like violence because I like looking at it and I like understanding emotional and physical violence and how they work with one another...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-peirce/i-like-violence-because-i-like-looking-at-it-and-i-like-understanding/)

[Kimberly Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-peirce/)

> [“It struck me that my backside was my best asset and that keeping it hidden would be like Oedipus pulling out his eyes so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-thurlow/it-struck-me-that-my-backside-was-my-best-asset-and-that-keeping-it/)

[Chloe Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-thurlow/)

> [How terrible is wisdom, when it brings no profit to the man that's wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/how-terrible-is-wisdom-when-it-brings-no-profit-to-the-man-that-s-wise/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [My husband, who's the greatest actor in the world, can do anything. Look at what he did in The Critic and Oedipus. In every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivien-leigh/my-husband-who-s-the-greatest-actor-in-the-world-can-do-anything-look/)

[Vivien Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivien-leigh/)

> [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-of-oedipus-in-blackface-i-did/)

[Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/)

> [“OEDIPUS: O, O, O, they will all come, all come out clearly! Light of the sun, let me look upon you no more after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/oedipus-o-o-o-they-will-all-come-all-come-out-clearly-light-of-the/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [It is the courage to make a clean breast of it in the face of every question that makes the philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-the-courage-to-make-a-clean-breast-of-it-in-the-face-of-every/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

## More by Roger Zelazny

> [“I was willing to die fighting, but it was senseless for all these men to go down with me. Perhaps my blood was tainted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-was-willing-to-die-fighting-but-it-was-senseless-for-all-these-men/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [I know, too, that death is the only god who comes when you call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-know-too-that-death-is-the-only-god-who-comes-when-you-call/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [There's no such thing as civilization. The word just means the art of living in cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/there-s-no-such-thing-as-civilization-the-word-just-means-the-art-of/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [“Time, too, is a function of Shadow, and even Dworkin did not know all of its ins and outs. Or perhaps he did. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/time-too-is-a-function-of-shadow-and-even-dworkin-did-not-know-all-of/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [I've always been impulsive. My thinking is usually pretty good, but I always seem to do it after I do my talking — by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-ve-always-been-impulsive-my-thinking-is-usually-pretty-good-but-i/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [“And again, damn. Of troubles I considered myself amply possessed. But those who have do seem to get. Some spiritual form of compound interest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/and-again-damn-of-troubles-i-considered-myself-amply-possessed-but/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [“Far below, the ocean was a bluegray rug being pulled out from beneath us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/far-below-the-ocean-was-a-bluegray-rug-being-pulled-out-from-beneath/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [A powerful flight of the imagination . . . an entirely enjoyable reading experience, wrought by a pair of writers noted for excellence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/a-powerful-flight-of-the-imagination-an-entirely-enjoyable-reading/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [The function of criticism should not be confused with the function of reform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/the-function-of-criticism-should-not-be-confused-with-the-function-of/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [I always wanted to write, ever since I was a kid. I started writing at the age of 11. All I wanted to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-always-wanted-to-write-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-started-writing-at/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [While I had often said that I wanted to die in bed, what I really meant was that in my old age I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/while-i-had-often-said-that-i-wanted-to-die-in-bed-what-i-really/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [“That was the first time in my life that I knew the meaning of despair. I read, I worked, I drank, I whored, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/that-was-the-first-time-in-my-life-that-i-knew-the-meaning-of-despair/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [“I watched until the sizzlecloud drew its legs up into itself, hung like a burning cocoon, then died like an ember retreating into ash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-watched-until-the-sizzlecloud-drew-its-legs-up-into-itself-hung/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [To waste! You are unknown and unwanted, save by me. This, because you are fairly adept at the various embalming arts and you occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-waste-you-are-unknown-and-unwanted-save-by-me-this-because-you-are/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

> [I watched the spinning stars, grateful, sad and proud, as only a man who has outlived his destiny and realizes he might yet forge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-watched-the-spinning-stars-grateful-sad-and-proud-as-only-a-man-who/)

[Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

[Explore all 220 Roger Zelazny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/)

## More Guy quotes

> [There are guys who play lacrosse, and there are lacrosse players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-mundorf/there-are-guys-who-play-lacrosse-and-there-are-lacrosse-players/)

Brendan Mundorf

> [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [I have three words for you," EMT Guy said. "Possible internal bleeding." I turned back to him. "Don't you think if I was bleeding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-have-three-words-for-you-emt-guy-said-possible-internal-bleeding-i/)

[Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/)

> [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/)

[Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

> [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/)

[Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/)

[Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/)

> [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/)

[Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/)

[Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/)

> [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [I was never the best-looking guy; I was never the Tom Cruise-looking guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-sheffer/i-was-never-the-best-looking-guy-i-was-never-the-tom-cruise-looking/)

[Craig Sheffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-sheffer/)

Browse all 14,708 Guy quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, \"I wish I had known this some time ago.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Roger Zelazny"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-all-those-guys-i-wish-i-had/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Guy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-all-those-guys-i-wish-i-had/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/roger-zelazny-1604_guy_to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-al_1986092.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, \"I wish I had known this some time ago.” — Roger Zelazny",
                "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": "Roger Zelazny",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-all-those-guys-i-wish-i-had/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-paraphrase-oedipus-hamlet-lear-and-all-those-guys-i-wish-i-had/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
