--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to…" description: "\"To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg" --- # To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature. ![“To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg) > “To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.” [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 line urges a faithful representation of nature, as if holding a mirror up to it. **In simple terms:** Capture nature truthfully. Key Takeaway Strive for authentic observation. Themes art nature representation truth philosophy Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - painting - photography - writing - scientific illustration - environmental activism Key Concepts aesthetic realism environmental ethics creative fidelity Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance realism with artistic expression? - What limits our ability to mirror nature exactly? A Different Perspective The quote may idealize perfect fidelity, ignoring interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold/) [Hold Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-mirror-661561/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Mirror Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror-nature-462738/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [My job has always been to hold a mirror up to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/my-job-has-always-been-to-hold-a-mirror-up-to-nature/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [Hold the mirror up to nature. Human behavior is worthy of examination and celebration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/hold-the-mirror-up-to-nature-human-behavior-is-worthy-of-examination/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [The only line that's wrong in Shakespeare is 'holding a mirror up to nature.' You hold a magnifying glass up to nature. As an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-clift/the-only-line-that-s-wrong-in-shakespeare-is-holding-a-mirror-up-to/) [Montgomery Clift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-clift/) > [With this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature. for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/with-this-special-observance-that-you-o-erstep-not-the-modesty-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-finished-i-paint-from/) [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) > [Artists hold out the mirror to the bruises on the face of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-skvorecky/artists-hold-out-the-mirror-to-the-bruises-on-the-face-of-the-world/) [Josef Skvorecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-skvorecky/) > [Hypocrisy annoys me, people need to look into mirrors. Let me hold a mirror in front of your face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/hypocrisy-annoys-me-people-need-to-look-into-mirrors-let-me-hold-a/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Friends hold a mirror up to each other; through that mirror they can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/friends-hold-a-mirror-up-to-each-other-through-that-mirror-they-can/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I grew up a poor kid to a single mom, so as an African-American actor I have a responsibility to hold the mirror up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-todd/i-grew-up-a-poor-kid-to-a-single-mom-so-as-an-african-american-actor/) [Tony Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-todd/) > [“through the miracle of consciousness, the human psyche provides the mirror in which Nature sees herself reflected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stevens/through-the-miracle-of-consciousness-the-human-psyche-provides-the/) [Anthony Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stevens/) > [There's a quote from Hamlet that is my guide... He tells the players not to exaggerate but to hold a mirror up to nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wyeth/there-s-a-quote-from-hamlet-that-is-my-guide-he-tells-the-players-not/) [Andrew Wyeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wyeth/) > [Our need to reimagine our world through the vibratory larynx, that's what matters. Re-awaken the world to itself. Through ideas, pictures, sounds. Hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/our-need-to-reimagine-our-world-through-the-vibratory-larynx-that-s/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Water is the mirror of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/water-is-the-mirror-of-nature/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [“Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-not-too-tame-neither-but-let-your-own-discretion-be-your-tutor-2/) [william shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I know Shakespeare said art is holding up a mirror to nature- but you're actually bending and refracting it through your interior dialogue ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-know-shakespeare-said-art-is-holding-up-a-mirror-to-nature-but-you/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) ## 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 Hold quotes > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [See you in a few. Hold down the fort, Mr. Wong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/see-you-in-a-few-hold-down-the-fort-mr-wong/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [As we go through this transition where a lot more people will be reading on devices, nobody is paying enough attention to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/as-we-go-through-this-transition-where-a-lot-more-people-will-be/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I hold that religion and faith are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buckley/i-hold-that-religion-and-faith-are-two-different-things/) [Pat Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buckley/) > [I don't have any regrets or hold any grudge against anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cooper-kupp/i-don-t-have-any-regrets-or-hold-any-grudge-against-anyone/) [Cooper Kupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cooper-kupp/) > [I do not chase after anyone if you wanna walk out my life then I will hold the fu\*\*\*\*g door open for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/i-do-not-chase-after-anyone-if-you-wanna-walk-out-my-life-then-i-will/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [Be aware and hold the government accountable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-chauhan/be-aware-and-hold-the-government-accountable/) [Mohit Chauhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-chauhan/) > [“Only the sky above us do we hold in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/only-the-sky-above-us-do-we-hold-in-common/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/) [Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/) > [Hold tenderly that which you cherish, for it is precious and a tight grip may crush it. Do not let the fear of dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-alberti/hold-tenderly-that-which-you-cherish-for-it-is-precious-and-a-tight/) [Bob Alberti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-alberti/) > [Sometimes, I get afraid it has defined me, that sense of grief, loss and illness. But actually, it is about allowing myself to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-afraid-it-has-defined-me-that-sense-of-grief-loss-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You want to embrace, but I can't figure out how to hold on to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/you-want-to-embrace-but-i-can-t-figure-out-how-to-hold-on-to-it/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) [Browse all 2,062 Hold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-nature/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-nature/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/william-shakespeare-4_mirrors_to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-natur_1038415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.” — 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": "To hold, as 't were, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-nature/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-nature/#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 } } ] } ```