It is, therefore, a powerful metaphor when used to refer to someone’s motives or true worth. It is also pure, and beautiful to look at. Gold is the most valuable of all the metals. And one of the most clichéd characterisations in movie culture is the hooker with a heart of gold. It is more usual that the phrase is followed by the word ‘but.’ For example, ‘I know that the boss is very demanding, and also frightening, but she has a heart of gold,’ or ‘I know how hurtful his comments are but beneath all that aggression he has a heart of gold.’ A desperate criminal, sitting in prison for some very bad acts, may be described by fellow prisoners he has selflessly helped as having a heart of gold.

It is more usually used as an excuse for something less pure. Meaning of the phrase ‘heart of gold’ĭescribing someone as having a heart of gold, meaning that they are a good, kind, generous person, isn’t always without shades in its meaning.

When he asks Pistol if he considers himself a better man than the king, Pistol says, “The king’s a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame …” (Act 4, Scene 1), suggesting that he admires the king. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt King Henry disguises himself as an ordinary soldier and wanders around under cover of the dark to chat with the soldiers and find out what their morale is like. Shakespeare’s use of ‘heart of gold’ phrase The use of the term ‘ heart of gold’ is in common usage today, having been first used in Shakespeare’s play, Henry V. Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale This list of Shakespeare plays brings together all 38 plays in alphabetical order. Plays It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 15.

Heart of steel meaning