---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shakespeare speaks for the human heart…"
description: "\"Shakespeare speaks for the human heart but Dickens speaks for the social man and for injustices.\" — Simon Callow"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png"
---

#  Shakespeare speaks for the human heart but Dickens speaks…

![“Shakespeare speaks for the human heart but Dickens speaks for the social man and for injustices.” quote by Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png)

> “Shakespeare speaks for the human heart but Dickens speaks for the social man and for injustices.”

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

## About This Quote

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

Shakespeare captures universal emotions, while Dickens highlights societal issues and injustices

**In simple terms:** Shakespeare writes about feelings, Dickens about social problems

Key Takeaway

Balance artistic expression with social awareness

Themes

art society justice empathy

Mood

thoughtful inspirational

Type

critical analytical

When to use this quote

- classroom lecture
- book club
- public reading

Key Concepts

dramatic irony social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- What responsibilities do writers have to society?
- How can art inspire social change?

A Different Perspective

Focusing solely on emotion can overlook systemic causes

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Dickens Speaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens-speaks-802121/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-dickens-802122/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespeare Speaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-speaks-802123/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [William Shakespeare was the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known. Homer told of adventure and men at war, Sophocles and Tolstoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marchette-chute/william-shakespeare-was-the-most-remarkable-storyteller-that-the/)

[Marchette Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marchette-chute/)

> [“He very soon acquired the reputation of being the best public speaker of his time. He had taken pains to master the art, approaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/he-very-soon-acquired-the-reputation-of-being-the-best-public-speaker/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [ \[President Johnson\] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“As I know only too well, anticipation od happiness can sometimes be as gratifying as its consummation. Even during the first months of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaynor-arnold/as-i-know-only-too-well-anticipation-od-happiness-can-sometimes-be-as/)

[Gaynor Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaynor-arnold/)

> [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [On the day long after childhood when I suddenly heard of his death, the sky grew dark above my head. I was walking on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/on-the-day-long-after-childhood-when-i-suddenly-heard-of-his-death/)

[Margaret Elizabeth Sangster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/)

> [“The Victorian era was an age of superlatives and larger-than-life characters, and as far as that goes, Dr. Wildman Whitehouse fit right in: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-victorian-era-was-an-age-of-superlatives-and-larger-than-life/)

[Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/)

> [“Dickens's humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dickens-s-humanity-and-compassion-made-an-extraordinary-impact-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In spite of their obvious differences, folk art and popular art have much in common; they are easy to understand, they are romantic, patriotic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-seldes/in-spite-of-their-obvious-differences-folk-art-and-popular-art-have/)

[Gilbert Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-seldes/)

> [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/)

[Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/)

> [I was a complete and typical only child. I was bookish, and sport was out of the question anyway. I had read all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-a-complete-and-typical-only-child-i-was-bookish-and-sport-was/)

[David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/)

> [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/)

[Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/)

> [Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/tolkien-is-as-good-as-dickens-at-sketching-a-scene/)

[Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/)

> [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

## More by Simon Callow

> [To live another person's life is quite a weird thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/to-live-another-person-s-life-is-quite-a-weird-thing/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I don't have any big regrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-don-t-have-any-big-regrets/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [The elderly are all someone's flesh and blood and we cannot just shut them in a cupboard and hand over the responsibility for taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/the-elderly-are-all-someone-s-flesh-and-blood-and-we-cannot-just-shut/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [When children have grieving parents it's also common for them to feel an obligation to cheer them up and make them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/when-children-have-grieving-parents-it-s-also-common-for-them-to-feel/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [He always describes his characters' voices and their physique so brilliantly. As people have said, they are cartoons, caricatures. They're grotesques really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/he-always-describes-his-characters-voices-and-their-physique-so/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I hated Sundays when I was growing up in Streatham, south London. Everything closed down and stopped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-hated-sundays-when-i-was-growing-up-in-streatham-south-london/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [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/)

> [Artists probably should have some impenetrable aspects of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/artists-probably-should-have-some-impenetrable-aspects-of-themselves/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I actually wanted to be a writer long before I wanted to be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-actually-wanted-to-be-a-writer-long-before-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I've come to this conclusion: What makes a great actor is great need. A huge need of acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-ve-come-to-this-conclusion-what-makes-a-great-actor-is-great-need-a/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [Childhood didn't have a big influence on me, really - in fact I spent most of it plotting how to escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/childhood-didn-t-have-a-big-influence-on-me-really-in-fact-i-spent/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I don't practise any religion but I am deeply interested in the answers that mankind has come up with to explain the human situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-don-t-practise-any-religion-but-i-am-deeply-interested-in-the/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [There is something essentially sanguine about me, which I am inclined to attribute to the fact that I was born by caesarean section. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/there-is-something-essentially-sanguine-about-me-which-i-am-inclined/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I am never bored, never short of anything to do and I don't even ever feel lonely. I am quite gregarious and I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-am-never-bored-never-short-of-anything-to-do-and-i-don-t-even-ever/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

> [I'd like to direct more operas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/i-d-like-to-direct-more-operas/)

[Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

[Explore all 36 Simon Callow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/)

## More Dickens quotes

> [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/tolkien-is-as-good-as-dickens-at-sketching-a-scene/)

[Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/)

> [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/)

[Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/)

> [I was a complete and typical only child. I was bookish, and sport was out of the question anyway. I had read all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-a-complete-and-typical-only-child-i-was-bookish-and-sport-was/)

[David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/)

> [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/)

[Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/)

> [In spite of their obvious differences, folk art and popular art have much in common; they are easy to understand, they are romantic, patriotic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-seldes/in-spite-of-their-obvious-differences-folk-art-and-popular-art-have/)

[Gilbert Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-seldes/)

> [“Dickens's humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dickens-s-humanity-and-compassion-made-an-extraordinary-impact-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The Victorian era was an age of superlatives and larger-than-life characters, and as far as that goes, Dr. Wildman Whitehouse fit right in: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-victorian-era-was-an-age-of-superlatives-and-larger-than-life/)

[Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/)

> [On the day long after childhood when I suddenly heard of his death, the sky grew dark above my head. I was walking on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/on-the-day-long-after-childhood-when-i-suddenly-heard-of-his-death/)

[Margaret Elizabeth Sangster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-elizabeth-sangster/)

> [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [“As I know only too well, anticipation od happiness can sometimes be as gratifying as its consummation. Even during the first months of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaynor-arnold/as-i-know-only-too-well-anticipation-od-happiness-can-sometimes-be-as/)

[Gaynor Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaynor-arnold/)

> [ \[President Johnson\] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Something went wrong with my right arm. I no longer could throw hard, and it hurt like the dickens every time I threw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dazzy-vance/something-went-wrong-with-my-right-arm-i-no-longer-could-throw-hard/)

[Dazzy Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dazzy-vance/)

> [“‎Whoever was the person behind Stonehenge was one dickens of a motivator, I'll tell you that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/whoever-was-the-person-behind-stonehenge-was-one-dickens-of-a/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

[Browse all 324 Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Shakespeare speaks for the human heart but Dickens speaks for the social man and for injustices.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Simon Callow"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-but-dickens-speaks-for-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dickens"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-but-dickens-speaks-for-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/simon-callow-17799_dickens_shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-b_856106.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Shakespeare speaks for the human heart but Dickens speaks for the social man and for injustices.” — Simon Callow",
                "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": "Simon Callow",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Shakespeare speaks for the human heart...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-but-dickens-speaks-for-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/shakespeare-speaks-for-the-human-heart-but-dickens-speaks-for-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```