--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the theatre one needs long arms; it…" description: "\"For the theatre one needs long arms; it is better to have them too long than too short. An artiste with short arms can never, never make a fine gesture..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/roland-barthes-1062_arms_for-the-theatre-one-needs-long-arms-it-i_1257767.png" --- # For the theatre one needs long arms; it is better to have… ![“For the theatre one needs long arms; it is better to have them too long than too short. An artiste with short arms can never, never make a fine gesture.” quote by Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/roland-barthes-1062_arms_for-the-theatre-one-needs-long-arms-it-i_1257767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/roland-barthes-1062_arms_for-the-theatre-one-needs-long-arms-it-i_1257767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/roland-barthes-1062_arms_for-the-theatre-one-needs-long-arms-it-i_1257767.png) > “For the theatre one needs long arms; it is better to have them too long than too short. An artiste with short arms can never, never make a fine gesture.” [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Theatre demands extended reach; short arms limit expressive gestures, hindering performance. **In simple terms:** Long arms aid theatrical expression. Key Takeaway Cultivate expressive physicality. Themes art theatre body language Mood analytical creative Type theoretical practical When to use this quote - acting workshops - dance training - stage design Key Concepts gesture embodiment performance theory Questions to Reflect On - How can actors compensate for physical limitations? - What non‑physical tools enhance performance? A Different Perspective Physical attributes are only one factor; skill and imagination also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [For the theatre one needs long arms... an artiste with short arms can never make a fine gesture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bernhardt/for-the-theatre-one-needs-long-arms-an-artiste-with-short-arms-can/) [Sarah Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bernhardt/) > [Well, being 6' 5', pull-ups are my nemesis. I have really long arms so I have to do twice the work of someone with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manganiello/well-being-6-5-pull-ups-are-my-nemesis-i-have-really-long-arms-so-i/) [Joe Manganiello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manganiello/) > [“I am an octopus on four wheels. What are my four free arms for? To better love you, of course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-am-an-octopus-on-four-wheels-what-are-my-four-free-arms-for-to/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“When truth and virtue are so rare in almost every area of our society the world needs theatre and the theatre needs actors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bruder/when-truth-and-virtue-are-so-rare-in-almost-every-area-of-our-society/) Melissa Bruder > [Where film can eat up story, theatre needs space and breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tiffany/where-film-can-eat-up-story-theatre-needs-space-and-breath/) [John Tiffany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tiffany/) > [It is a common thing for men to benumb their own arms, and make them as dead and useless by leaning too much upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flavel/it-is-a-common-thing-for-men-to-benumb-their-own-arms-and-make-them/) [John Flavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flavel/) > [“I so ill deserve the place his arms make for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whitcomb-riley/i-so-ill-deserve-the-place-his-arms-make-for-me/) [James Whitcomb Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whitcomb-riley/) > [A film released in a theatre needs to provide entertainment to more people. It is different with an OTT platform, not just in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dileesh-pothan/a-film-released-in-a-theatre-needs-to-provide-entertainment-to-more/) [Dileesh Pothan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dileesh-pothan/) > [I can do things with my arms that make guys throw up sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sale/i-can-do-things-with-my-arms-that-make-guys-throw-up-sometimes/) [Chris Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sale/) > [If God didn't want you to masturbate, he would have given you short arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-god-didn-t-want-you-to-masturbate-he-would-have-given-you-short/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [I got the nickname T-Rex when I was 11 years old. Back when I was younger, I was very skinny and I had short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claressa-shields/i-got-the-nickname-t-rex-when-i-was-11-years-old-back-when-i-was/) [Claressa Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claressa-shields/) > [My torso is short, but my arms are really long and gangly and my legs and my neck, and my feet and hands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/my-torso-is-short-but-my-arms-are-really-long-and-gangly-and-my-legs/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [Would not want to be a T-Rex with the short arms. I have some visible gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lopez/would-not-want-to-be-a-t-rex-with-the-short-arms-i-have-some-visible/) [Robin Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lopez/) > [I have very short arms. I can't really reach down and pick things off the floor when they fall. I can't really reach up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrick-brennan/i-have-very-short-arms-i-can-t-really-reach-down-and-pick-things-off/) [Fredrick Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrick-brennan/) > [I wasn't born to be a fighter. My hands are too small, and look at these short arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lamotta/i-wasn-t-born-to-be-a-fighter-my-hands-are-too-small-and-look-at/) [Jake LaMotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lamotta/) ## More by Roland Barthes > [“Werther identifies himself with the madman, with the footman. As a reader, I can identify myself with Werther. Historically, thousands of subjects have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/werther-identifies-himself-with-the-madman-with-the-footman-as-a/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [The Text is not a definitive object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-text-is-not-a-definitive-object/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Valéry used to speak of those people who die in an accident because they are unwilling to let go of their umbrellas; how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/val-ry-used-to-speak-of-those-people-who-die-in-an-accident-because/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Today there is no symbolic compensation for old age, no recognition of a specific value: wisdom, perceptiveness, experience, vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/today-there-is-no-symbolic-compensation-for-old-age-no-recognition-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“A creative writer is one for whom writing is a problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/a-creative-writer-is-one-for-whom-writing-is-a-problem/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Man does not exist prior to language, either as a species or as an individual. We never encounter a state where man is separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/man-does-not-exist-prior-to-language-either-as-a-species-or-as-an/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“It is said that Time soothes mourning – No, Time makes nothing happen; it merely makes the emotivity of mourning pass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/it-is-said-that-time-soothes-mourning-no-time-makes-nothing-happen-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“So long as I perceive the world as hostile, I remain linked to it: \*I am not crazy\*. But sometimes, once my bad temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/so-long-as-i-perceive-the-world-as-hostile-i-remain-linked-to-it-i-am/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/i-think-that-cars-today-are-almost-the-exact-equivalent-of-the-great/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“(Sartre) (The world is full without me, as in Nausea; the world plays at living behind a glass partition; the world is in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/sartre-the-world-is-full-without-me-as-in-nausea-the-world-plays-at/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Like love, mourning affects the world—and the worldly—with unreality, with importunity. I resist the world, I suffer from what it demands of me, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/like-love-mourning-affects-the-world-and-the-worldly-with-unreality/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Painting can feign reality without having seen it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/painting-can-feign-reality-without-having-seen-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“There is an age at which we teach what we know. Then comes another age at which we teach what we do not know;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/there-is-an-age-at-which-we-teach-what-we-know-then-comes-another-age/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [As a jealous man, I suffer four times over: because I am jealous, because I blame myself for being so, because I fear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/as-a-jealous-man-i-suffer-four-times-over-because-i-am-jealous/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) [Explore all 282 Roland Barthes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. 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Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. 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