Quotes by Tennessee Williams

“Life is all memory except for the one present moment that goes by so quick you can hardly catch it going.”

“I don't ask for your pity but just your understanding - no not even that -no. Just for your recognition of me in you and the enemy time in us all.”

“It's interesting, isn't it? . . . the chandelier . . . it reminds me of mushroom soup.”

“If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels.”

“I believe the way to write a good play is to convince yourself it is easy to do--then go ahead and do it with ease. Don't maul, don't suffer, don't groan till the first draft is finished. A play is...”

“Time doesn't take away from friendship, nor does separation.”

“Laws of silence don’t work…. When something is festering in your memory or your imagination, laws of silence don’t work, it’s just like shutting a door and locking it on a house on fire in hope of ...”

“-The little comfort of love?-Is that comfort so little?-Caged birds accept each other but flight is what they long for.”

“I’ve been accused of having a death wish but I think it’s life that I wish for, terribly, shamelessly, on any terms whatsoever.”

“To you, whoever you are, when I am gone — remember to be kind tonight to some lonely person. For me.”

“I know! WHY! – Am I so catty? – Cause I’m consumed with envy an’ eaten up with longing? –”

“She lives in a world of her own – a world of – little glass ornaments…”

“I go to the movies because – I like adventure. Adventure is something I don’t have much of at work, so I go to the movies.”

“Yes, movies! Look at them — All of those glamorous people — having adventures — hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up! You know what happens? People go to the movies instead of moving! Hollyw...”

“I don't ask for your pity, but just for your understanding – not even that – no. Just for some recognition of me in you, and the enemy, time, in us all.”

“What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?—I wish I knew... Just staying on it, I guess, as long as she can...”

“Nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own egos.”

“You said, 'They’re harmless dreamers and they’re loved by the people.' 'What,' I asked you, 'is harmless about a dreamer, and what,' I asked you, 'is harmless about the love of the people? Revoluti...”

“Unattached and aimless, these old men are always infatuated with little certainties and regularities such as those that ordered the life of Mr. Krupper as seen from outside. Habit is living. Anythi...”

“If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels.”