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William Shakespeare Quotes

Writer

William Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers in history, whose works have shaped literature, language, and storytelling for centuries. His words explore love, ambition, power, tragedy, and the complexity of human nature. The following quotes capture Shakespeare’s timeless insight and the enduring relevance of his poetic genius.
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O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
From Julius Caesar
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Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all.
From King Lear
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Can no prayers pierce thee?

SHYLOCK: No, none that thou hast wit enough to make.
From The Merchant of Venice
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There's little of the melancholy element in her, my lord: she is never sad but when she sleeps; and not ever sad then; for I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamt of unhappiness, and waked herself with laughing.
From Much Ado About Nothing
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For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all
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To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
From Macbeth
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How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.
From The Merchant of Venice
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La vida es mi tortura y la muerte será mi descanso.
From Romeo and Juliet
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Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.
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The course of true love never did run smooth.
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Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now;
Now, while the world is bent my deeds to cross,
Join with the spite of fortune, make me bow,
And do not drop in for an after-loss:
Ah! do not, when my heart hath ‘scaped this sorrow,
Come in the rearward of a conquered woe;
Give not a windy night a rainy morrow,
To linger out a purposed overthrow.
If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last,
When other petty griefs have done their spite,
But in the onset come: so shall I taste
At first the very worst of fortune’s might;
And other strains of woe, which now seem woe,
Compared with loss of thee, will not seem so.
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If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied.
From Sonnets
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So may the outward shows be least themselves:
The world is still deceived with ornament.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil? In religion,
What damned error, but some sober brow
Will bless it and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.
From The Merchant of Venice
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One pain is lessened by another’s anguish. ... Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die.
From Romeo and Juliet
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A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
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Who knows himself a braggart, let him fear this, for it will come to pass that every braggart shall be found an ass.
From The Complete Works
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With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.
From The Merchant of Venice
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That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
From Shakespeare's Sonnets
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Cordelia! stay a little. Ha! What is't thou say'st? Her voice was ever soft.
From King Lear
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These are the ushers of Martius: before him
He carries noise, and behind him he leaves tears.
Death, that dark spirit, in's nervy arm doth lie,
Which being advanc'd, declines, and then men die.
From Coriolanus
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Sir, I am a true laborer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man’s happiness, glad of other men’s good, content with my harm; and the greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs suck.
From As You Like It
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Life... is a paradise to what we fear of death.
From Measure for Measure
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Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek mostly to know themselves.
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Yes, faith; it is my cousin's duty to make curtsy and say 'Father, as it please you.' But yet for all that, cousin, let him be a handsome fellow, or else make another curtsy and say 'Father, as it please me.
From Much Ado About Nothing
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O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
From Julius Caesar
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all.
From King Lear
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Can no prayers pierce thee?

SHYLOCK: No, none that thou hast wit enough to make.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There's little of the melancholy element in her, my lord: she is never sad but when she sleeps; and not ever sad then; for I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamt of unhappiness, and waked herself with laughing.
From Much Ado About Nothing
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
From Macbeth
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
La vida es mi tortura y la muerte será mi descanso.
From Romeo and Juliet
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The course of true love never did run smooth.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now;
Now, while the world is bent my deeds to cross,
Join with the spite of fortune, make me bow,
And do not drop in for an after-loss:
Ah! do not, when my heart hath ‘scaped this sorrow,
Come in the rearward of a conquered woe;
Give not a windy night a rainy morrow,
To linger out a purposed overthrow.
If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last,
When other petty griefs have done their spite,
But in the onset come: so shall I taste
At first the very worst of fortune’s might;
And other strains of woe, which now seem woe,
Compared with loss of thee, will not seem so.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied.
From Sonnets
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
So may the outward shows be least themselves:
The world is still deceived with ornament.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil? In religion,
What damned error, but some sober brow
Will bless it and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
One pain is lessened by another’s anguish. ... Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die.
From Romeo and Juliet
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Who knows himself a braggart, let him fear this, for it will come to pass that every braggart shall be found an ass.
From The Complete Works
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
From Shakespeare's Sonnets
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Cordelia! stay a little. Ha! What is't thou say'st? Her voice was ever soft.
From King Lear
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
These are the ushers of Martius: before him
He carries noise, and behind him he leaves tears.
Death, that dark spirit, in's nervy arm doth lie,
Which being advanc'd, declines, and then men die.
From Coriolanus
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Sir, I am a true laborer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man’s happiness, glad of other men’s good, content with my harm; and the greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs suck.
From As You Like It
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life... is a paradise to what we fear of death.
From Measure for Measure
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek mostly to know themselves.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Yes, faith; it is my cousin's duty to make curtsy and say 'Father, as it please you.' But yet for all that, cousin, let him be a handsome fellow, or else make another curtsy and say 'Father, as it please me.
From Much Ado About Nothing
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
From Julius Caesar
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all.
From King Lear
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Can no prayers pierce thee?

SHYLOCK: No, none that thou hast wit enough to make.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There's little of the melancholy element in her, my lord: she is never sad but when she sleeps; and not ever sad then; for I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamt of unhappiness, and waked herself with laughing.
From Much Ado About Nothing
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
From Macbeth
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
La vida es mi tortura y la muerte será mi descanso.
From Romeo and Juliet
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The course of true love never did run smooth.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now;
Now, while the world is bent my deeds to cross,
Join with the spite of fortune, make me bow,
And do not drop in for an after-loss:
Ah! do not, when my heart hath ‘scaped this sorrow,
Come in the rearward of a conquered woe;
Give not a windy night a rainy morrow,
To linger out a purposed overthrow.
If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last,
When other petty griefs have done their spite,
But in the onset come: so shall I taste
At first the very worst of fortune’s might;
And other strains of woe, which now seem woe,
Compared with loss of thee, will not seem so.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied.
From Sonnets
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
So may the outward shows be least themselves:
The world is still deceived with ornament.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil? In religion,
What damned error, but some sober brow
Will bless it and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
One pain is lessened by another’s anguish. ... Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die.
From Romeo and Juliet
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Who knows himself a braggart, let him fear this, for it will come to pass that every braggart shall be found an ass.
From The Complete Works
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.
From The Merchant of Venice
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
From Shakespeare's Sonnets
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Cordelia! stay a little. Ha! What is't thou say'st? Her voice was ever soft.
From King Lear
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
These are the ushers of Martius: before him
He carries noise, and behind him he leaves tears.
Death, that dark spirit, in's nervy arm doth lie,
Which being advanc'd, declines, and then men die.
From Coriolanus
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Sir, I am a true laborer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man’s happiness, glad of other men’s good, content with my harm; and the greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs suck.
From As You Like It
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life... is a paradise to what we fear of death.
From Measure for Measure
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek mostly to know themselves.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Yes, faith; it is my cousin's duty to make curtsy and say 'Father, as it please you.' But yet for all that, cousin, let him be a handsome fellow, or else make another curtsy and say 'Father, as it please me.
From Much Ado About Nothing
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
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