--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O, how I faint when I of you do write…" description: "\"O, how I faint when I of you do write, Knowing a better spirit doth use your name, And in the praise thereof spends all his might To make me tongue-tie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/william-shakespeare-4_fame_o-how-i-faint-when-i-of-you-do-write-kno_3217785.jpg" --- # O, how I faint when I of you do write, Knowing a better… ![“O, how I faint when I of you do write, Knowing a better spirit doth use your name, And in the praise thereof spends all his might To make me tongue-tied speaking of your fame.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/william-shakespeare-4_fame_o-how-i-faint-when-i-of-you-do-write-kno_3217785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/william-shakespeare-4_fame_o-how-i-faint-when-i-of-you-do-write-kno_3217785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d9/william-shakespeare-4_fame_o-how-i-faint-when-i-of-you-do-write-kno_3217785.jpg) > “O, how I faint when I of you do write, Knowing a better spirit doth use your name, And in the praise thereof spends all his might To make me tongue-tied speaking of your fame.” [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 feels speechless and overwhelmed by love, fearing that even the name of the beloved carries too much power. **In simple terms:** Love makes me tongue‑tied. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability in love. Themes love language vulnerability Mood passionate anxious Type poetic dramatic When to use this quote - confessing love - writing poetry - public speaking Key Concepts romantic poetry Elizabethan drama Questions to Reflect On - How does love change the way you speak? - What words feel too powerful to utter? A Different Perspective Love can be paralyzing, not just inspiring. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Tongue tied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue-tied/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Be wise as thou art cruel, do not press My tongue-tied patience with too much disdain: Lest sorrow lend me words and words express,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-wise-as-thou-art-cruel-do-not-press-my-tongue-tied-patience-with/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One should use praise to recognize what one is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/one-should-use-praise-to-recognize-what-one-is-not/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery... a topic that often leaves even the most sophisticated thinkers tongue-tied and confused. And, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/human-consciousness-is-just-about-the-last-surviving-mystery-a-topic/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [For ritual allows those who cannot will themselves out of the secular to perform the spiritual, as dancing allows the tongue-tied man a ceremony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus/for-ritual-allows-those-who-cannot-will-themselves-out-of-the-secular/) [Andre Dubus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus/) > [I get really starstruck and tongue tied when I'm around other writers and the conversation tends not to go well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-get-really-starstruck-and-tongue-tied-when-i-m-around-other-writers/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Bush is almost always clear when he's speaking cruelly. For example, when the subject is the punitive infliction of great pain, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-crispin-miller/bush-is-almost-always-clear-when-he-s-speaking-cruelly-for-example/) [Mark Crispin Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-crispin-miller/) > [A good memory and a tongue tied in the middle is a combination which gives immortality to conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-good-memory-and-a-tongue-tied-in-the-middle-is-a-combination-which/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [That other saying, I'm a part of all that I have met, I think that would have to begin with my wonderful parents back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-harwell/that-other-saying-i-m-a-part-of-all-that-i-have-met-i-think-that/) [Ernie Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-harwell/) > [Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity In least speak most, to my capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-therefore-and-tongue-tied-simplicity-in-least-speak-most-to-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/i-prefer-tongue-tied-knowledge-to-ignorant-loquacity/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I have tried many times to express my feelings, but at each attempt, I find myself tongue-tied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-cary/i-have-tried-many-times-to-express-my-feelings-but-at-each-attempt-i/) [Kate Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-cary/) > [I act as the tongue of you, ... tied in your mouth . . . . in mine it begins to be loosened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-act-as-the-tongue-of-you-tied-in-your-mouth-in-mine-it-begins-to-be/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Bite your tongue. Don't let anyone bite it off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/bite-your-tongue-don-t-let-anyone-bite-it-off/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [“People of the middle sort like us, thinking people that is, are always tongue-tied and awkward. What is the reason of it? Whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crime-and-punishment-fyodor-dostoevsky/people-of-the-middle-sort-like-us-thinking-people-that-is-are-always/) [Crime and Punishment; Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crime-and-punishment-fyodor-dostoevsky/) ## 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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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 Fame quotes > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. 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I don't think many of them here today are that interested in fashion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/don-t-crave-fame-do-what-you-do-and-just-apply-i-don-t-think-many-of/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [If I had never gotten famous or rich, I think I'd be equally neurotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/if-i-had-never-gotten-famous-or-rich-i-think-i-d-be-equally-neurotic/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [Unfortunately, celebrity is a powerful thing. 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