--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If this were played upon a stage now, I…" description: "\"If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg" --- # If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it… ![“If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg) > “If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.” [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. The speaker doubts the realism of a scenario, labeling it as unlikely and fictional. **In simple terms:** It sounds like an unlikely story. Key Takeaway Question the plausibility of claims. Themes skepticism reality narrative Mood critical analytical Type literary historical When to use this quote - political speeches - theatrical productions - media analysis Key Concepts dramatic irony historical context Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports this claim? - How does framing affect perception? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Improbable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improbable/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like a lot of my work on stage, I've gotten to play a wider range of characters than I have on film.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/i-feel-like-a-lot-of-my-work-on-stage-i-ve-gotten-to-play-a-wider/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [I've really had a great career. It's been part fortune and part my own choices that steered my own career into playing the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/essie-davis/i-ve-really-had-a-great-career-it-s-been-part-fortune-and-part-my-own/) [Essie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/essie-davis/) > [The part an actor played on stage was once written on a separate roll of paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talcott-parsons/the-part-an-actor-played-on-stage-was-once-written-on-a-separate-roll/) [Talcott Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talcott-parsons/) > [Steven and I stood on the stage at the Boston Garden after the Stones had just played there and the stage was still up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-perry/steven-and-i-stood-on-the-stage-at-the-boston-garden-after-the-stones/) [Joe Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-perry/) > [“All the great cellists I revered played on this stage, including Casals, du Pré, Rostropovich, and, most of all, Mr. J. I was blown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-l-goldman/all-the-great-cellists-i-revered-played-on-this-stage-including/) [Ari L. Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-l-goldman/) > [He that commends me to mine own content Commends me to the thing I cannot get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-commends-me-to-mine-own-content-commends-me-to-the-thing-i/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-full-of-artless-jealousy-is-guilt-it-spills-itself-in-fearing-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/something-is-rotten-in-the-state-of-denmark/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I have not slept one wink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-not-slept-one-wink/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/double-double-toil-and-trouble-fire-burn-and-cauldron-bubble/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I do begin to have bloody thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-do-begin-to-have-bloody-thoughts/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is a familiar beast to man, and signifies love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-is-a-familiar-beast-to-man-and-signifies-love/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We have seen better days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/we-have-seen-better-days/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. 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 Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-could-condemn-it-as-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-could-condemn-it-as-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/william-shakespeare-4_fiction_if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-c_2488025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.” — 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": "If this were played upon a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-could-condemn-it-as-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-this-were-played-upon-a-stage-now-i-could-condemn-it-as-an/#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 } } ] } ```