"The only line that's wrong in Shakespeare is 'holding a mirror up to nature.' You hold a magnifying glass up to nature. As an actor you just enlarge it enough so that your audience can identify with the situation. If it were a mirror, we would have no art"

Montgomery Clift's quote talks to the significance of art in analyzing and understanding the world around us. He recommends that a mirror is not the best tool to utilize when trying to comprehend nature, as it does not provide enough detail or context. Rather, he suggests that a magnifying glass is the much better tool, as it permits us to see the information and subtleties of the natural world. As an actor, Clift recommends that it is the artist's task to take this magnified view of nature and make it available to the audience. By doing so, the audience can identify with the situation and gain a much better understanding of the world. Clift's quote stresses the significance of art in helping us to understand the world around us, and how it can be used to bring us closer to nature.