Banishment Quotes

“To die, is to be banish'd from myself;
And Silvia is myself: banish'd from her,
Is self from self: a deadly banishment!
What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?
What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?
Unless it be to think that she is by,
And feed upon the shadow of perfection.
Except I be by Silvia in the night,
There is no music in the nightingale;
Unless I look on Silvia in the day,
There is no day for me to look upon;
She is my essence, and I leave to be,
If I be not by her fair influence
Foster'd, illumin'd, cherish'd, kept alive.”
― William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona

“Fare thee well, king: sith thus thou wilt appear,
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.”
― William Shakespeare, King Lear

“What greater sorrow than being forced to leave behind my native earth?”
― Euripides, Electra

“Is it not true that in ancient times the worst punishment of all was not death, but banishment?”
― Jean Said Makdisi

“How is it that we have become so certain that the sight of years, the summation of decades, should inflict such violence on the viewer - including family - that we have built entire fortresses to keep such bodies out of sight?”
― Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness

“Liking other people is an illusion we have to cherish if we are to live in society. It is one I have long ago banished from my life. You wish to be liked. I wish simply to be.”
― John Fowles, The Magus

“One's sovereignty over the land is expressed most powerfully in the act of banishment. Perhaps the first eviction recorded in human history was Adam and Eve's.”
― Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

“Writing requires a degree of both detachment and immersion. People banished from a community find themselves perfectly positioned to become writers. No one can silence an exile. An exile encapsulates no need to placate anybody except for himself or herself.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls

“Then this I turn me from my country’s light,
To dwell in solemn shades of endless night.”
― William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English