--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter…" description: "\"Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy To kings that fear their su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg" --- # Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds… ![“Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy To kings that fear their subjects treachery?” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg) > “Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy To kings that fear their subjects treachery?” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compares modest natural shade to grand, oppressive power. **In simple terms:** Simple comforts beat grand displays of control. Key Takeaway Value modest comforts over flashy authority. Themes nature power comfort Mood contemplative critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - garden design - leadership style - social hierarchy - environmental planning Key Concepts political symbolism environmental metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What simple comforts do you cherish? - How does power affect everyday life? A Different Perspective Grand displays may mask underlying insecurity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade/) [Shepherds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shepherds/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Treachery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treachery/) ## Related quotes > [This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-goodly-frame-the-earth-seems-to-me-a-sterile-promontory/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [This most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o-erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-most-excellent-canopy-the-air-look-you-this-brave-o-erhanging/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature's soft nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sleep-o-gentle-sleep-nature-s-soft-nurse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down And steep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sleep-o-gentle-sleep-nature-s-soft-nurse-how-have-i-frighted-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-goodly-frame-the-earth-seems-to-me-a-sterile-promontory-this/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Et tu Brute! 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That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Canopy quotes > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mitchell/the-greatest-benefit-derived-from-the-study-of-science-is-that-it/) [Maria Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mitchell/) > [Heaven's ebon vault Studded with stars unutterably bright, Through which the moon's unclouded grandeur rolls, Seems like a canopy which love has spread To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/heaven-s-ebon-vault-studded-with-stars-unutterably-bright-through/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down And steep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sleep-o-gentle-sleep-nature-s-soft-nurse-how-have-i-frighted-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The spring rains woke the dormant tillers, and bright green shoots sprang from the moist earth and rose like sleepers stretching after a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/the-spring-rains-woke-the-dormant-tillers-and-bright-green-shoots/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted. It happened on the Jellicoe Road. The prettiest road I’d ever seen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/my-father-took-one-hundred-and-thirty-two-minutes-to-die-i-counted-it-2/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/each-of-us-needs-to-withdraw-from-the-cares-which-will-not-withdraw/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Now when you cut a forest, an ancient forest in particular, you are not just removing a lot of big trees and a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/now-when-you-cut-a-forest-an-ancient-forest-in-particular-you-are-not/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [But 'neath yon crimson tree Lover to listening maid might breathe his flame, Nor mark, within its roseate canopy, Her blush of maiden shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/but-neath-yon-crimson-tree-lover-to-listening-maid-might-breathe-his/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Other factors affecting the '109 as a combat plane include the small cramped cockpit. This is quite a tiring working environment, although the view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/other-factors-affecting-the-109-as-a-combat-plane-include-the-small/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't have much time for stories," Vin said. "Seems that fewer and fewer people do, these days." 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Your roots are deep, your canopy's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/a-heart-s-a-heart-in-a-child-or-a-man-you-are-tougher-than-you-feel/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) Browse all 44 Canopy quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy To kings that fear their subjects treachery?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-shade-to-shepherds-looking-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Canopy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-shade-to-shepherds-looking-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55b/william-shakespeare-4_canopy_gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-sh_1608367.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich…” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gives not the hawthorn bush a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-shade-to-shepherds-looking-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/gives-not-the-hawthorn-bush-a-sweeter-shade-to-shepherds-looking-on/#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 } } ] } ```