--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O wretched state! O bosom black as death!…" description: "\"O wretched state! O bosom black as death! O limed soul that, struggling to be free, art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay! Bow, stubborn knees! an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/william-shakespeare-4_angel_o-wretched-state-o-bosom-black-as-death_1743903.jpg" --- # O wretched state! O bosom black as death! O limed soul… ![“O wretched state! O bosom black as death! O limed soul that, struggling to be free, art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay! Bow, stubborn knees! and, heart with strings of steel, be soft as sinews of the new-born babe!” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/william-shakespeare-4_angel_o-wretched-state-o-bosom-black-as-death_1743903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/william-shakespeare-4_angel_o-wretched-state-o-bosom-black-as-death_1743903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/william-shakespeare-4_angel_o-wretched-state-o-bosom-black-as-death_1743903.jpg) > “O wretched state! O bosom black as death! O limed soul that, struggling to be free, art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay! Bow, stubborn knees! and, heart with strings of steel, be soft as sinews of the new-born babe!” [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. Despair and struggle can be expressed through vivid, emotional language. **In simple terms:** Strong feelings need powerful words. Key Takeaway Channel anguish into creative expression. Themes despair struggle expression Mood dramatic intense Type literary emotional When to use this quote - theatre - writing workshops - mental health coping Key Concepts dramatic monologue poetic imagery Questions to Reflect On - How does this intensity affect the listener? - When is restraint more effective? A Different Perspective Overly dramatic language may alienate some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Repentance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repentance/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [O wretched state! o bosom black as death!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-wretched-state-o-bosom-black-as-death/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Man's wretched state, That floures so fresh at morne, and fades at evening late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/man-s-wretched-state-that-floures-so-fresh-at-morne-and-fades-at/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/to-be-pleased-with-one-s-limits-is-a-wretched-state/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is the sincerest thing I have written, caught by the drama of a soul struggling in the contrary toils of love and religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-housman/it-is-the-sincerest-thing-i-have-written-caught-by-the-drama-of-a/) [Laurence Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-housman/) > [One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/one-of-the-most-calming-and-powerful-actions-you-can-do-to-intervene-2/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [“Writing is the silence of the soul struggling to be heard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gbickle/writing-is-the-silence-of-the-soul-struggling-to-be-heard/) GBickle > [When I see the blind and wretched state of men, when I survey the whole universe in its deadness, and man left to himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/when-i-see-the-blind-and-wretched-state-of-men-when-i-survey-the/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“The conception of each star was at the point of no return; of a desperate soul struggling to master the winds!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/the-conception-of-each-star-was-at-the-point-of-no-return-of-a/) [C. 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She has wings under her armour struggling to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verliza-gajeles/she-s-a-strong-woman-she-has-wings-under-her-armour-struggling-to-be/) [Verliza Gajeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verliza-gajeles/) > [I believe I was a codependent out of the womb and have been struggling to free myself from its vice-like grip for many, many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-de-cadenet/i-believe-i-was-a-codependent-out-of-the-womb-and-have-been/) [Amanda de Cadenet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-de-cadenet/) > [“Bound only by the paper-thin wrapper of mortality, a soul here lies, struggling to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ingerson/bound-only-by-the-paper-thin-wrapper-of-mortality-a-soul-here-lies/) Eric Ingerson > [Struggling against yourself to free yourself interfering in others affairs is exhausting in the beginning, but easy at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-al-arifi/struggling-against-yourself-to-free-yourself-interfering-in-others/) [Dr Al-Arifi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-al-arifi/) ## 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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