| There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
This means that there are oportunities in life, which is what he meant by the tide and flood. For example I want to go to medical school and I may have that opportunity.
If this opportunity were ignored or "omitted" then I would miss out on "the voyage of my life"; a great challenge and chance to show what I'm made of and what I'm meant to become.
"On such a full sea we are now afloat" means that I would have seized that opportunity and now must follow the "current" or journey wherever it leads me or else "lose my ventures", which means that all the work I would have done would be for nothing. |