--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is . . . a madness most discreet" description: "\"Love is . . . a madness most discreet\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg" --- # Love is . . . a madness most discreet ![“Love is . . . a madness most discreet” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg) > “Love is . . . a madness most discreet” [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. Love is a discreet madness. **In simple terms:** Love is a hidden kind of madness. Key Takeaway Accept love’s irrationality. Themes love madness discreet emotion Mood romantic poetic Type emotion artistic When to use this quote - relationships - poetry - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology of love poetic expression Questions to Reflect On - Why is love described as madness? - How does discretion affect love’s expression? A Different Perspective Madness can be destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) ## Related quotes > [“What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-is-it-else-a-madness-most-discreet-a-choking-gall-and-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“A madness most discreet, A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-madness-most-discreet-a-choking-gall-and-a-preserving-sweet/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love should be madness if it's not then it not love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noxolo-zulu/love-should-be-madness-if-it-s-not-then-it-not-love/) [Noxolo Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noxolo-zulu/) > [So much love, too much love, it is our madness, it is rotting us out, exploding us like dandelion polls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/so-much-love-too-much-love-it-is-our-madness-it-is-rotting-us-out/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“between love and madness lies obsession!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-oy/between-love-and-madness-lies-obsession/) Andrew Oyé > [“If the love is not madness, then the sex is not insane”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/if-the-love-is-not-madness-then-the-sex-is-not-insane/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vexed, a sea nourished with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-raised-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purged-a-fire/) [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/) > [Love is merely a madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-merely-a-madness/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love is madness, you can't put it in doses, it either surges over or under](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ville-valo/love-is-madness-you-can-t-put-it-in-doses-it-either-surges-over-or/) [Ville Valo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ville-valo/) > [I love fashion; I adore it. 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You can only stand outside it as a woman might stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pinto/love-is-never-enough-madness-is-enough-it-is-complete-sufficient-unto/) [Jerry Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pinto/) ## 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 Discreet quotes > [I was a very sickly child. My parents were immigrants. They were not decorous. They were not discreet. They always thought I was gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-was-a-very-sickly-child-my-parents-were-immigrants-they-were-not/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [Chaperons, even in their days of glory, were almost never able to enforce morality; what they did was to force immorality to be discreet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/chaperons-even-in-their-days-of-glory-were-almost-never-able-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/a-person-who-is-discreet-in-speaking-will-be-useful-during-the-good/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [I’ll be real discreet,” Tank said. As discreet as a six-foot-six, no-neck guy weighing three hundred and fifty pounds, all dressed in black SWAT…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-ll-be-real-discreet-tank-said-as-discreet-as-a-six-foot-six-no-neck/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [There is a justice, but we do not always see it. Discreet, smiling, it is there, at one side, a little behind injustice, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/there-is-a-justice-but-we-do-not-always-see-it-discreet-smiling-it-is/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [I try to learn from both, from features and documentaries. In both cases you have to find a way to make the camera as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-gondry/i-try-to-learn-from-both-from-features-and-documentaries-in-both/) [Michel Gondry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-gondry/) > [You know what I never get with the limo? The tinted windows. Is that so people don't see you? Yeah, what a better way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/you-know-what-i-never-get-with-the-limo-the-tinted-windows-is-that-so/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [I have always been discreet in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-golo-kante/i-have-always-been-discreet-in-my-life/) [N'Golo Kante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-golo-kante/) > [I am rather discreet and shy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-clayderman/i-am-rather-discreet-and-shy/) [Richard Clayderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-clayderman/) > [“photographer had been discreet;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photographer-had-been-discreet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hope that increasing numbers of Christians adopt the practice of wearing a cross in a simple and discreet way as a symbol of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-o-brien/i-hope-that-increasing-numbers-of-christians-adopt-the-practice-of/) [Keith O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-o-brien/) > [The lips on my upper right bicep are my girlfriend's lips. She has the most amazing lips, and I wanted to carry them around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-owen/the-lips-on-my-upper-right-bicep-are-my-girlfriend-s-lips-she-has-the/) [Jake Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-owen/) > [I occasionally meet people and they say, 'Oh, I was born to Discreet Music'... They always have very weird eyes, those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-occasionally-meet-people-and-they-say-oh-i-was-born-to-discreet/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I don't speak about my pain. My pain is something that doesn't need to be purged. I want to prevent people from suffering. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-don-t-speak-about-my-pain-my-pain-is-something-that-doesn-t-need-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ While the discreet advise, the foole doth his busines. \[While the discreet advise, the fool doth his busines.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/while-the-discreet-advise-the-foole-doth-his-busines-while-the/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) Browse all 107 Discreet quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is . . . a madness most discreet", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-madness-most-discreet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discreet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-madness-most-discreet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/william-shakespeare-4_discreet_love-is-a-madness-most-discreet-3023567_3023567.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love is . . . a madness most discreet” — 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": "Love is . . . a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-madness-most-discreet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-madness-most-discreet/#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 } } ] } ```