William Shakespeare Quotes
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698 Quotes Revealing Timeless Wisdom on Love, Trust, and Human Nature

Discover the timeless wisdom of William Shakespeare through his most famous quotes. From the complexities of love to the depths of human nature, these insightful words will captivate and inspire. Explore Shakespeare's profound observations on trust, beauty, love, and the inevitability of death.

William Shakespeare is widely considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and one of the most influential playwrights of all time. Born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, he married Anne Hathaway at a young age and went on to have three children. In London, he established a successful career as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company. Shakespeare's works include 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three narrative poems, and various other verses. His plays have been translated into numerous languages and continue to be studied and performed worldwide.

Shakespeare's early works were comedies and histories, showcasing his mastery in these genres. Later in his career, he focused more on tragedies such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, which are regarded as some of the finest works in English literature. In his later years, he wrote tragicomedies and collaborated with other playwrights. While little is known about his personal life, there has been ongoing speculation about his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether some of his works were actually written by others. His legacy lives on through the enduring popularity of his plays and the continued exploration of his profound impact on literature.

✵ 1564 – 23. April 1616
William Shakespeare photo
William Shakespeare: 699 quotes1104 likes

William Shakespeare Quotes

“Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?”

William Shakespeare book Romeo and Juliet

Source: Romeo and Juliet

“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”

William Shakespeare book Romeo and Juliet

Romeo, Act II, scene ii.
Variant: What light through yonder window breaks?
Source: Romeo and Juliet (1595)

“Sweets to the sweet.”

William Shakespeare Hamlet

Source: Hamlet

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose,
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

William Shakespeare book Romeo and Juliet

Juliet, Act II, scene ii.
Variant: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Source: Romeo and Juliet (1595)

“Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.”

William Shakespeare Hamlet

Source: Hamlet

“So wise so young, they say, do never live long.”

William Shakespeare Richard III

Source: Richard III

“These violent delights have violent ends.”

William Shakespeare book Romeo and Juliet

Source: Romeo and Juliet

“All's well that ends well.”

William Shakespeare All's Well That Ends Well

Source: All's Well That Ends Well

“Be great in act, as you have been in thought.”

William Shakespeare King John

Source: King John

“If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?". - (Act III, scene I).”

William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice

Shylock, Act III, scene i.
Source: The Merchant of Venice (1596–7)
Context: I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

“Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

William Shakespeare Macbeth

Source: Macbeth, Act V, scene v.
Context: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
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.

“For she had eyes and chose me.”

William Shakespeare Othello

Source: Othello

“Me, poor man, my library
Was dukedom large enough.”

William Shakespeare The Tempest

Source: The Tempest

“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”

William Shakespeare Julius Caesar

Source: Julius Caesar

“Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.”

William Shakespeare

Source: The Complete Sonnets and Poems

“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.”

William Shakespeare

Source: King Henry VI, Part 3

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

William Shakespeare Twelfth Night

Orsino, Act I, scene i.
Variant: Music, moody food
Of us that trade in love.
Source: Twelfth Night (1601)

“Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes.”

William Shakespeare Richard III

Source: Richard III

“My only love sprung from my only hate.”

William Shakespeare book Romeo and Juliet

Source: Romeo and Juliet

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

William Shakespeare Hamlet

Source: Hamlet

“I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.”

William Shakespeare Richard II

Source: Richard II