"I began to think about William Shakespeare, the great literary figure. I would reckon he thought of himself as a dramatist. The thought that he was writing literature couldn't have entered his head. His words were written for the stage. Meant to be spoken not read. When he was writing Hamlet, I'm sure he was thinking about a lot of different things: "Who're the right actors for these roles?" "How should this be staged?" "Do I really want to set this in Denmark?" His creative vision and ambitions were no doubt at the forefront of his mind, but there were also more mundane matters to consider and deal with. "Is the financing in place?" "Are there enough good seats for my patrons?" "Where am I going to get a human skull?" I would bet that the farthest thing from Shakespeare's mind was the question "Is this literature?"
React to this quote
More by Bob Dylan
See allResonant Thoughts
"Is there any God, any justice, is there either good or evil? None, none, none, none! There is nothing but a pitiless destiny which broods over the human race, iniquitous and blind, distributing joy an…"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"I think that people don't understand. As the Firesign Theater used to say, 'Everything you know is wrong.' …"
— Terence McKenna"When I'm feeling proud of myself, I should remember to ask myself why I think I am of any value at all. I h…"
— John S. Hall"That axiom of Metaphysicians which is termed the principle of contradiction and which affirms that it is im…"
— George Boole"He had often reflected on the plight of even the most illustrious of those renegades who finish up engaged …"
— Georges Bernanos"I shall thus give a general answer to the question, so frequently asked me—"How I, then a young girl, came …"
— Mary Shelley"Okay bear with me this'll be a little tough. You should know this isn't the first time I thought about leav…"
— Jerry Springer
