--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can read a Shakespeare play, but does…" description: "\"You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn't want to see it on the stage?\" — Stan Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg" --- # You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you… ![“You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn't want to see it on the stage?” quote by Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg) > “You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn't want to see it on the stage?” [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading a Shakespeare play does not guarantee appreciation of a live performance, which adds visual and communal dimensions. **In simple terms:** Reading isn’t the same as seeing live. Key Takeaway Experience theater to fully grasp Shakespeare. Themes literature theater interpretation Mood curious reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - culture - personal enrichment Key Concepts semantic experience audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer reading or watching? - How does live theater change your perception? A Different Perspective Live performance may differ from personal imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespeare play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-play/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [Some people will say, "Why read a comic book? It stifles the imagination. If you read a novel you imagine what people are like.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/some-people-will-say-why-read-a-comic-book-it-stifles-the-imagination/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [My earliest influence was Shakespeare - I read Shakespeare incessantly as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/my-earliest-influence-was-shakespeare-i-read-shakespeare-incessantly/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [It's often assumed that British actors read Shakespeare and sonnets as we're going to bed at night and we're all very familiar with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/it-s-often-assumed-that-british-actors-read-shakespeare-and-sonnets/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“Why do people who read Shakespeare still spend hours watching shitty TV or staring out of the window or arguing about whose dinner party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/why-do-people-who-read-shakespeare-still-spend-hours-watching-shitty/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“I remember the astonishment I felt when I first read Shakespeare. I expected to receive a powerful esthetic pleasure, but having read, one after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-remember-the-astonishment-i-felt-when-i-first-read-shakespeare-i/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Whether it is the cavemen in the caves thousands of years ago, Shakespeare plays, television, movies and books, stories and characters take us on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-burnett/whether-it-is-the-cavemen-in-the-caves-thousands-of-years-ago/) [Mark Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-burnett/) > [All the great Shakespeare plays are about killing. 'Alas, poor Yorick,' that's about death. And in 'Romeo and Juliet' everyone up ends up dying.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/all-the-great-shakespeare-plays-are-about-killing-alas-poor-yorick/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [A lot of people have a fear of Shakespeare. Even actors do. People are like, "Oh, I won't go and see Shakespeare because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-weaving/a-lot-of-people-have-a-fear-of-shakespeare-even-actors-do-people-are/) [Hugo Weaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-weaving/) > [When I was 19, I took a train from Houston to New York, and I had in my lap the collected works of William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/when-i-was-19-i-took-a-train-from-houston-to-new-york-and-i-had-in-my/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I'd read Shakespeare in school, translated into isiXhosa, and loved the stories, but I hadn't realised before I started reading the English text how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kani/i-d-read-shakespeare-in-school-translated-into-isixhosa-and-loved-the/) [John Kani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kani/) > [“What's the use trying to read Shakespeare, especially in one of those little paper editions whose pages get ruffled, or stuck together with sea-water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-s-the-use-trying-to-read-shakespeare-especially-in-one-of-those/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I began reading everyhing in the family library. Kidnapped, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe. And of course, if you're running out of books to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-began-reading-everyhing-in-the-family-library-kidnapped-treasure/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [If you haven't read Shakespeare's Hamlet yet, it means that you haven't reached the summit of the literature yet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-haven-t-read-shakespeare-s-hamlet-yet-it-means-that-you-haven/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [My background is somewhat unusual, as I trained to be a ballet dancer. I worked in the theatre for eight or nine years as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kempe/my-background-is-somewhat-unusual-as-i-trained-to-be-a-ballet-dancer/) [William Kempe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kempe/) ## More by Stan Lee > [I think the way you become a good storyteller is to read a lot of stories and evaluate them in your own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-think-the-way-you-become-a-good-storyteller-is-to-read-a-lot-of/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I enjoy the fact that we have these mobile comics now, which are sort of a cross between a comic book and an animated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-enjoy-the-fact-that-we-have-these-mobile-comics-now-which-are-sort/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [To tell you the truth, I never thought of myself as much of a success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/to-tell-you-the-truth-i-never-thought-of-myself-as-much-of-a-success/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I am so impressed with people who can really make a big movie, a good movie. The amount of work that goes into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-am-so-impressed-with-people-who-can-really-make-a-big-movie-a-good/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [MARVEL IS A CORNUCOPIA OF FANTASY, A WILD IDEA , A SWASHBUCKLING ATTITUDE , AN ESCAPE FROM THE HUMDRUM AND PROSAIC. IT'S A SERENDIPITOUS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/marvel-is-a-cornucopia-of-fantasy-a-wild-idea-a-swashbuckling/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [Your humans slaughter each other because of the color of your skin, or your faith or your plitics -- or for no reason at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/your-humans-slaughter-each-other-because-of-the-color-of-your-skin-or/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [That's what everybody tells me. "I would've had a great comic-book collection, but my mother made me throw them away." But when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/that-s-what-everybody-tells-me-i-would-ve-had-a-great-comic-book/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I have always tried to have a message, not to be a preacher, but a message that shows it's better to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-have-always-tried-to-have-a-message-not-to-be-a-preacher-but-a/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [ I was in the beginning when \[comic book superheroes\] started, but not anymore. Now I expect it. I've gotten very used to it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-was-in-the-beginning-when-comic-book-superheroes-started-but-not/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I always felt the 'X-Men,' in a subtle way, often touched upon the subject of racism and inequality, and I believe that subject has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-always-felt-the-x-men-in-a-subtle-way-often-touched-upon-the/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [Every kid loves fairy tales, stories of witches and giants and magicians. Then, when you get a little older you can't read fairy tales…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/every-kid-loves-fairy-tales-stories-of-witches-and-giants-and/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [Wherever we find news, excitement, mystery and adventure, there, too, we find the newspaper reporter. Always on the alert for something new, ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/wherever-we-find-news-excitement-mystery-and-adventure-there-too-we/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I hated teenagers in comics because they were always sidekicks. And I always felt if I were a superhero, there's no way I'd pal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-hated-teenagers-in-comics-because-they-were-always-sidekicks-and-i/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [The experience of reading a printed comic book will never change, but now, thanks to the digital age, there are many different ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/the-experience-of-reading-a-printed-comic-book-will-never-change-but/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I'm just somebody who tries to write things that entertain people. And if I can do it in a way that makes them prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-m-just-somebody-who-tries-to-write-things-that-entertain-people-and/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) [Explore all 224 Stan Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) Browse all 25,574 Doe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn't want to see it on the stage?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stan Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does-that-mean-you-wouldn-t-want/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does-that-mean-you-wouldn-t-want/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/stan-lee-1586_doe_you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does_2456401.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn't want to see it on the stage?” — Stan Lee", "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": "Stan Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can read a Shakespeare play,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does-that-mean-you-wouldn-t-want/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/you-can-read-a-shakespeare-play-but-does-that-mean-you-wouldn-t-want/#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 } } ] } ```