--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?" description: "\"“Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?”\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg" --- # Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler? ![“Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg) > ““Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?”” [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 questions whether a drunken servant is present, hinting at chaos or humor. **In simple terms:** He wonders if the drunken butler is there. Key Takeaway Recognize absurdity in tense moments. Themes humor identity chaos service drunkenness Mood playful ironic Type literary theatrical When to use this quote - theatre performance - literary analysis - role‑playing games - improvisational comedy Key Concepts Elizabethakespearean drama character irony social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - What does the butler’s drunkenness symbolize? - How does humor relieve tension? A Different Perspective Relies on context; may confuse without knowledge of the play. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butler/) [Drunken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunken/) [Drunken Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunken-butler-5198251/) [Stephano Drunken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stephano-drunken-5198250/) ## Related quotes > [Olivia: What's a drunken man like, fool? Feste: Like a drowned man, a fool, and a madman: one draught above heat makes him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/olivia-what-s-a-drunken-man-like-fool-feste-like-a-drowned-man-a-fool/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Why what a fool was I to this drunken monster for a God. - Caliban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/why-what-a-fool-was-i-to-this-drunken-monster-for-a-god-caliban/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“He stood out like Gerard Butler in a gay bar, or any bar for that matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-ragan/he-stood-out-like-gerard-butler-in-a-gay-bar-or-any-bar-for-that/) [T.R. Ragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-ragan/) > [Scarlett O'Hara is going to be a thankless and difficult role. The part I'd like to play is Rhett Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-shearer/scarlett-o-hara-is-going-to-be-a-thankless-and-difficult-role-the/) [Norma Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-shearer/) > [As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-whom-is-a-word-that-was-invented-to-make/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [What makes Butler truly unique is the people that we have been so blessed to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stevens/what-makes-butler-truly-unique-is-the-people-that-we-have-been-so/) [Brad Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stevens/) > [“What it means to be a ‘better person’, then, must be concrete and practical — that is to say, concerned with people’s political situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-it-means-to-be-a-better-person-then-must-be-concrete-and/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Is this the part where you tell me he’ll come around?” “Hell, no.” At least Phil Butler was an honest man. Five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-jakes/is-this-the-part-where-you-tell-me-he-ll-come-around-hell-no-at-least/) [S.E. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-jakes/) > [I used to do impersonations: Harry Butler in the wild, or I'd do Gough Whitlam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-used-to-do-impersonations-harry-butler-in-the-wild-or-i-d-do-gough/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [“There were only two men on the planet better educated in the various martial arts than Butler, and he was related to one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/there-were-only-two-men-on-the-planet-better-educated-in-the-various/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I am much closer to the Butler side of the family, which is on mother's side, from where I get my middle name. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-butler-harner/i-am-much-closer-to-the-butler-side-of-the-family-which-is-on-mother/) [Jason Butler Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-butler-harner/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) > [“No one had ever left me so simultaneously relaxed and knotted up all at once (except maybe Rhett Butler, which doesn't count since he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-white/no-one-had-ever-left-me-so-simultaneously-relaxed-and-knotted-up-all/) [Cecily White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-white/) ## 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. 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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 Butler quotes > [“No one had ever left me so simultaneously relaxed and knotted up all at once (except maybe Rhett Butler, which doesn't count since he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-white/no-one-had-ever-left-me-so-simultaneously-relaxed-and-knotted-up-all/) [Cecily White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-white/) > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I am much closer to the Butler side of the family, which is on mother's side, from where I get my middle name. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-butler-harner/i-am-much-closer-to-the-butler-side-of-the-family-which-is-on-mother/) [Jason Butler Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-butler-harner/) > [“There were only two men on the planet better educated in the various martial arts than Butler, and he was related to one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/there-were-only-two-men-on-the-planet-better-educated-in-the-various/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I used to do impersonations: Harry Butler in the wild, or I'd do Gough Whitlam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-used-to-do-impersonations-harry-butler-in-the-wild-or-i-d-do-gough/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [“Is this the part where you tell me he’ll come around?” “Hell, no.” At least Phil Butler was an honest man. Five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-jakes/is-this-the-part-where-you-tell-me-he-ll-come-around-hell-no-at-least/) [S.E. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-jakes/) > [“What it means to be a ‘better person’, then, must be concrete and practical — that is to say, concerned with people’s political situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-it-means-to-be-a-better-person-then-must-be-concrete-and/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [What makes Butler truly unique is the people that we have been so blessed to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stevens/what-makes-butler-truly-unique-is-the-people-that-we-have-been-so/) [Brad Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stevens/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-whom-is-a-word-that-was-invented-to-make/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [Scarlett O'Hara is going to be a thankless and difficult role. The part I'd like to play is Rhett Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-shearer/scarlett-o-hara-is-going-to-be-a-thankless-and-difficult-role-the/) [Norma Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-shearer/) > [“He stood out like Gerard Butler in a gay bar, or any bar for that matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-ragan/he-stood-out-like-gerard-butler-in-a-gay-bar-or-any-bar-for-that/) [T.R. Ragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-ragan/) > [Butler was seeing the world as it was, complete with L.E.P retrival team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/butler-was-seeing-the-world-as-it-was-complete-with-l-e-p-retrival/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I wouldn't want to be reincarnated as a butler. I couldn't for the life of me do the job in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carter/i-wouldn-t-want-to-be-reincarnated-as-a-butler-i-couldn-t-for-the/) [Jim Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carter/) [Browse all 112 Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butler/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Butler" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/william-shakespeare-4_butler_is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler-2_2260225.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?” — 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": "“Is not this Stephano, my drunken...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-not-this-stephano-my-drunken-butler/#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 } } ] } ```