134 Tom Stoppard Quotes for You to Enjoy

Tom Stoppard

English Dramatist

Born: Jul 3, 1937

Life Me People Think Writing You

Related authors: Aphra Behn Christopher Marlowe Harold Pinter John Ciardi John Heywood Thomas Dekker Thomas Holcroft William Shakespeare

As a child, I was airlifted out of the path of the Nazis. Unfortunately, I was parachuted into the path of the Japanese, but then I was airlifted again to India. Tom Stoppard

Path Out India Child Unfortunately Again Japanese Then

I get the impression sometimes that a play arrives in a sequence of events that I have no control over. Tom Stoppard

Events Sometimes Control No Control Over Impression Get Sequence Play

I wanted to be in the theater. It is simply the way I felt. Tom Stoppard

Way Simply Felt Wanted Theater

When I was 20, in 1957, and maybe you would say I was old enough to know better, but nevertheless, I was completely nuts about Buddy Holly. And I loved pop bands that had absolutely no intellectual pretensions whatsoever. I loved the Monkees. Tom Stoppard

You Better Old Enough Say Nuts Would About Absolutely Had Buddy Buddy Holly Nevertheless Know Intellectual Bands Whatsoever Maybe Loved Old Enough Holly Pop Monkees

Very often in Chekhov, where he exhibits a little bit of human behavior that you recognize as true, you give a little laugh. It's like a reflex. Tom Stoppard

You Behavior Bit Laugh Recognize Give He True Like Chekhov Very Reflex Often Human Human Behavior Where Little Little Bit

My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful. Tom Stoppard

Work Beautiful Other Tried Had True Always Choose Chose Unite

Quite early on, and certainly since I started writing, I found that philosophical questions occupied me more than any other kind. I hadn't really thought of them as being philosophical questions, but one rapidly comes to an understanding that philosophy's only really about two questions: 'What is true?' and 'What is good?' Tom Stoppard

Good Me Writing Thought Understanding Other Philosophical Philosophy Kind Rapidly About More Only True Since Occupied Questions Than Any Quite Being Them Really Certainly Found Early Started Two

The days of the digital watch are numbered. Tom Stoppard

Digital Days Watch Numbered

When Auden said his poetry didn't save one Jew from the gas chamber, he'd said it all. Tom Stoppard

Poetry He Said His Chamber Gas Jew Save

When I was younger, I could do something useful just by being free for half a day, but now I need five days to get the world I've left out of my head and ten days or a fortnight not talking to anyone to hold what I need to hold inside my head. Tom Stoppard

Day World Free Half Not Talking Out Inside Something Ten Could Head Days Talking Left Five Get Just Being Anyone Hold Younger Fortnight Useful Now Need

There are too many things I find it difficult to say 'no' to. Tom Stoppard

Difficult Too Say Find Many Things

I went to an English school and was brought up in English. So I don't feel Czech. Tom Stoppard

School Brought Feel Up English Czech English School

I once did a radio program with a famous materialist, that is to say a scientist who believed that absolutely everything was physical and that all emotions were reductive to little electrical impulses in your neurons. And I found that I didn't believe that. But what the emotions really are, I don't have an alternative theory. Tom Stoppard

Emotions Believe Everything Once Say Physical Neurons Absolutely Absolutely Everything Alternative Materialist Scientist Were Did Impulses Famous Little Really Your Electrical Theory Who Radio Found Believed Program

If I hadn't left Czechoslovakia, I would have been dead. Tom Stoppard

Would Dead Been Left Czechoslovakia

One of the attractions of translating 'Heroes' is that it's not the kind of play that I write. If it had been, I probably wouldn't have wanted to translate it. There are no one-liners. It's much more a truthful comedy than a play of dazzling wit. Tom Stoppard

Comedy Heroes Kind One-Liners I Write More Write Had Wit Dazzling Attractions Been Truthful Than Wanted Translate Translating Much Play

When you try to grasp the way the Western world is going, you see that we are on a ratchet towards a surveillance state, which is coming to include the whole population in its surveillance. This is our reward for accepting the restraints on the way we live now. Tom Stoppard

I'm a playwright who gets involved in movies when I'm not writing a play. Tom Stoppard

Writing Playwright Involved Gets Movies Who Play

I don't do interviews under false pretenses. Tom Stoppard

Interviews Pretenses False

I would count myself as a friend of Vaclav Havel. Tom Stoppard

Myself Would Count Friend

One of the nice things about the world of filmmaking is that you make friends in the business. Sometimes directors feel a script needs something, but they're not sure what it is, so they show it to a friend; if the friend is a writer, he ends up kicking around with that script for a while. Tom Stoppard

Needs You Business World Sometimes Nice Kicking About Something Directors Writer He Feel Make Sure Around Friend Up Friends Ends While Script Show Nice Things Things Filmmaking

That I have the right to express myself freely at all times in all circumstances entails the idea that free speech is a 'basic human right' possessed by each individual, and, as such, trumps the interests of the society or group, including my neighbour. Tom Stoppard

Myself Free Free Speech Group Society Possessed Circumstances Entails Neighbour Individual Idea Freely Times Human Interests Human Right Each Express Including Each Individual Right Basic Speech

All your life, you live so close to truth, it becomes a permanent blur in the corner of your eye. And when something nudges it into outline, it is like being ambushed by a grotesque. Tom Stoppard

Life Truth You Live Corner Eye All Your Life Something Outline Like Becomes Permanent Close Being Blur Your Grotesque

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