---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O time, thou must untangle this, not I…"
description: "\"O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie.\" — William Shakespeare"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg"
---

#  O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a…

![“O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg)

> “O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie.”

[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.

A lament about being unable to untangle a difficult problem, attributing the challenge to time rather than personal ability.

**In simple terms:** Time makes problems hard to solve; the speaker feels powerless.

Key Takeaway

Seek help or give yourself time.

Themes

frustration time complexity

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal dilemmas
- academic challenges
- relationship issues

Key Concepts

literature human limitation

Questions to Reflect On

- What knot are you trying to untangle?
- Can patience replace effort?

A Different Perspective

Time alone may not resolve the knot; external help may be needed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [A good mooring needs no knot, still no one can untie it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/a-good-mooring-needs-no-knot-still-no-one-can-untie-it/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [A knot you are of damned bloodsuckers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-knot-you-are-of-damned-bloodsuckers/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Knit your hearts with an unslipping knot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/knit-your-hearts-with-an-unslipping-knot/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> ['Red Knot' is a film that I shot in Antarctica almost three years ago on a boat. It was a film that was improvised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-thirlby/red-knot-is-a-film-that-i-shot-in-antarctica-almost-three-years-ago/)

[Olivia Thirlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-thirlby/)

> [In the pun, two strings of thought are tangled into one acoustic knot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/in-the-pun-two-strings-of-thought-are-tangled-into-one-acoustic-knot/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [the relationship between people knot so easily, there needs to be a person skilled at working free the threads. Sometimes, though, the only way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-relationship-between-people-knot-so-easily-there-needs-to-be-a/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [I started making monkey bridges, like kids do, and climbing and rappelling with ropes. Very naturally, I needed some knots. At the very beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-started-making-monkey-bridges-like-kids-do-and-climbing-and/)

[Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/)

> [“Much as it took Lucas to revolutionize the search for Mersennes primes and Lord Kelvin to introduce new ways to look for space-filling-shapes, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-parker/much-as-it-took-lucas-to-revolutionize-the-search-for-mersennes/)

[Matt Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-parker/)

> [It was like looking at a knot, knowing it was a knot, but not knowing how to untie it. I had no map for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/it-was-like-looking-at-a-knot-knowing-it-was-a-knot-but-not-knowing/)

[Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/)

> [If you can describe clearly without a diagram the proper way of making this or that knot, then you are a master of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/if-you-can-describe-clearly-without-a-diagram-the-proper-way-of/)

[Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/)

> [Drama, instead of telling us the whole of a man's life, must place him in such a situation, tie such a knot, that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/drama-instead-of-telling-us-the-whole-of-a-man-s-life-must-place-him/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [When I was little, my friends would gush over wedding gowns and honeymoons. But I saw too many people flush decades together down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/when-i-was-little-my-friends-would-gush-over-wedding-gowns-and/)

[Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/)

> [A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/a-man-must-be-able-to-cut-a-knot-for-everything-cannot-be-untied-he/)

[Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/)

> [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/)

[Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/)

> [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/)

[Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/)

## 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 Knot quotes

> [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/)

[Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/)

> [“When we are grappling with misery and our heart is in a knot, we may well do better to snap back to a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-we-are-grappling-with-misery-and-our-heart-is-in-a-knot-we-may/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/)

[Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/)

> [A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/a-man-must-be-able-to-cut-a-knot-for-everything-cannot-be-untied-he/)

[Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/)

> [“How quietly experience slips away unnoticed, camouflaged by it relative unimportance. Then at some point you step back and take a look and what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-johnson/how-quietly-experience-slips-away-unnoticed-camouflaged-by-it/)

[Todd Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-johnson/)

> [“a twenty-knot streak looked like; if there weren’t”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-groom/a-twenty-knot-streak-looked-like-if-there-weren-t/)

[Winston Groom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-groom/)

> [When I was little, my friends would gush over wedding gowns and honeymoons. But I saw too many people flush decades together down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/when-i-was-little-my-friends-would-gush-over-wedding-gowns-and/)

[Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/)

> [“Satan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot he reads and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-huraira/satan-puts-three-knots-at-the-back-of-the-head-of-any-of-you-if-he-is/)

Abu Huraira

> [Drama, instead of telling us the whole of a man's life, must place him in such a situation, tie such a knot, that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/drama-instead-of-telling-us-the-whole-of-a-man-s-life-must-place-him/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“Mike was right: the pattern of life isn't a straight line; it crosses and recrosses, drawing in and tying together other lives, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-freedman/mike-was-right-the-pattern-of-life-isn-t-a-straight-line-it-crosses/)

[Benedict Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-freedman/)

> [If you can describe clearly without a diagram the proper way of making this or that knot, then you are a master of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/if-you-can-describe-clearly-without-a-diagram-the-proper-way-of/)

[Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/)

> [In my whole life, I've worn black tie three times. I can't tie the knot myself. Once, at the premiere of the opera, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/in-my-whole-life-i-ve-worn-black-tie-three-times-i-can-t-tie-the-knot/)

[Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/)

> [“What a knot of history one mistake can become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/what-a-knot-of-history-one-mistake-can-become/)

[Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/)

> [It was like looking at a knot, knowing it was a knot, but not knowing how to untie it. I had no map for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/it-was-like-looking-at-a-knot-knowing-it-was-a-knot-but-not-knowing/)

[Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/)

> [When you come to the end of your rope.. Tie a knot and hold on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-roosevelt/when-you-come-to-the-end-of-your-rope-tie-a-knot-and-hold-on/)

Franklin Roosevelt

Browse all 76 Knot quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Shakespeare"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it-is-too-hard-a-knot-for-me-t/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Knot"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it-is-too-hard-a-knot-for-me-t/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-shakespeare-4_knot_o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it_2293839.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie.” — 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": "O time, thou must untangle this,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it-is-too-hard-a-knot-for-me-t/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-time-thou-must-untangle-this-not-i-it-is-too-hard-a-knot-for-me-t/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
