Sentence No. 157 · 31 August 2026
We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.
William Shakespeare, The Tempest
William Shakespeare — The Tempest (1611) · Read it at Project Gutenberg
What holds this sentence together
The comma after 'made on' is the hinge: it closes the first metaphor, 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on', before pivoting to the parallel statement about 'our little life.' Spotting that pivot tells you the second half must follow the first, not precede it.
How it appears in Sentle
On Sentle this sentence arrives in 7 pieces, shuffled, with the lines that lead up to it for context. A magician reflects on mortal life and the dissolving illusions of a masque. Putting it back in the author’s order is the puzzle — and the order is rarely arbitrary, which is what the note above is about.
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