Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not "seems." 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath. No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected 'haviour of the visage, Together with all forms, modes, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly; these indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play, But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not "seems." 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath. No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected 'haviour of the visage, Together with all forms, modes, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly; these indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play, But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe." in the context of "William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600-02), Act I, scene 2. ("Moods" for "modes" in folio and quarto)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.