Quote by William Shakespeare

Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York, And all the clouds that loured upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths, Our bruised arms hung up for monuments, Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking glass I, that am rudely stamped, and want love's majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them, Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to spy my shadow in the sun.

Summary

In this quote from William Shakespeare's play Richard III, the speaker reflects on the transition from a turbulent and discontented time to a period of peace and prosperity. They contrast the grim reality of war, with its bruised arms and dreadful marches, to the joyousness and frivolity of the current peaceful era. The speaker, however, laments their own physical deformities and lack of charm, feeling out of place in this time of happiness. They express a sense of dissatisfaction and a lack of interest in trivial pastimes, preferring instead to spend their time contemplating their own marginalized existence.