--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What have we here? a man or a fish? dead…" description: "\"What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fishlike smell; a kind of not of the newest poo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/william-shakespeare-4_alive_what-have-we-here-a-man-or-a-fish-dead-o_517856.jpg" --- # What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish… ![“What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fishlike smell; a kind of not of the newest poor-John. A strange fish!” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/william-shakespeare-4_alive_what-have-we-here-a-man-or-a-fish-dead-o_517856.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/william-shakespeare-4_alive_what-have-we-here-a-man-or-a-fish-dead-o_517856.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/william-shakespeare-4_alive_what-have-we-here-a-man-or-a-fish-dead-o_517856.jpg) > “What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fishlike smell; a kind of not of the newest poor-John. A strange fish!” [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 questions identity, comparing a man to a fish, using absurd imagery to explore uncertainty and the unknown. **In simple terms:** Questioning identity with bizarre metaphors. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, seek clarity. Themes identity uncertainty absurdity Mood playful enigmatic Type literary theatrical When to use this quote - theatre - philosophical discussion - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism theatre Questions to Reflect On - What does the fish symbolize? - How does absurdity reveal truth? A Different Perspective Absurd metaphors may obscure rather than illuminate meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Fishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishing/) [Lakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lakes/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [“-I thought u said u could swim like a fish -A dead one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-holm/i-thought-u-said-u-could-swim-like-a-fish-a-dead-one/) [Jennifer L. Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-holm/) > [“His fish smells fishier than the others- he is sure of it. Perhaps he has been poisoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/his-fish-smells-fishier-than-the-others-he-is-sure-of-it-perhaps-he/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“I’ve often wondered why more science textbooks don’t tell teenagers that the only thing sharks like to eat more than fish, are dead prostitutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-ve-often-wondered-why-more-science-textbooks-don-t-tell-teenagers/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Once upon a time, a fisherman went out to sea. 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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 Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. 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We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. 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