William Shakespeare is arguably the most celebrated writer in the English language to have ever lived. Read some of the best William Shakespeare quotes, sayings, and lines from his famous plays and verses.
These beautiful quotations by Shakespeare on life, love, friendship, death, and more are absolutely timeless.
He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “the Bard”).
In addition to his plays, Shakespeare wrote numerous sonnets, which are 14-line poems, known for their intricate wordplay and emotional depth.
Shakespeare was a master of both tragedy and comedy in his works.
Shakespeare’s words were so special that he made up new words and phrases that became part of the English language. Imagine inventing words like “eyeball”, “all’s well that ends well.”, and “bedroom”!
Some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language
People from all around loved his plays and poems, and even today, his stories are still performed on stage, and his words are read by people who want to experience his incredible imagination.
Top 10 Shakespeare Quotes
- “All that glisters is not gold.” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare quotes - “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” — William Shakespeare
famous shakespeare quotes - “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” — William Shakespeare
best shakespeare quotes - “Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.” — William Shakespeare
- “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” — William Shakespeare
william shakespeare quotes - “The fault…is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” — William Shakespeare
- “Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise.” — William Shakespeare
- “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” — William Shakespeare
quotes from Shakespeare - “If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare quotes about life - “‘Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after.” — William Shakespeare
Famous Shakespeare Quotes
- “What is past is prologue.” — William Shakespeare
- “What’s done can’t be undone.” — William Shakespeare (Macbeth)
- “Nothing can come of nothing.” — William Shakespeare (King Lear)
- “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” — Shakespeare
- “Be great in act, as you have been in thought.” — Shakespeare
- “When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain.” — Shakespeare (Richard II)
Most Quoted Shakespeare Lines - “I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.” — Shakespeare
- “Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners.” — Shakespeare (Othello)
- “How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” — Shakespeare
- “Sweet are the uses of adversity which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head.” — Shakespeare
William Shakespeare Quotes
- “Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.” — Shakespeare
- “This above all; to thine own self be true.” — Shakespeare
- “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” — Shakespeare (Merchant Of Venice)
- “I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.” — Shakespeare
- “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” — Shakespeare
- “Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.” — Shakespeare
- “The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief.” — Shakespeare
- “Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” — Shakespeare
- “Talking isn’t doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well; and yet words are not deeds.” — Shakespeare
- “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” — Shakespeare
- “The better part of valor is discretion.” ― Shakespeare, Henry IV
- “Now is the winter of our discontent.” ― Shakespeare, Richard III
- “Strong reasons make strong actions.” ― William Shakespeare
- “Let life be short, else shame will be too long.” ― Shakespeare, William, Henry V
Inspirational Shakespeare Quotes About Life
- “I bear a charmed life.” — Shakespeare
- “Such as we are made of, such we be.” — Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)
- “All things are ready if our mind be so.” — Shakespeare (Henry V)
Shakespeare quote - “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” — Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Shakespeare famous quotes - “In time we hate that which we often fear.” — Shakespeare (Antony and Cleopatra)
- “Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” — Shakespeare (Hamlet)
- “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” — Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice)
- “Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.” — Shakespeare (Othello)
- “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” — Shakespeare
- “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.” — Shakespeare (Macbeth)
- “Life is as tedious as twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.” — Shakespeare
- “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this and this gives life to thee.” — Shakespeare
- “And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” — Shakespeare
- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.” — Shakespeare
- “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.” — Shakespeare
Romantic Shakespeare Love Quotes
- “If music be the food of love, play on.” — William Shakespeare
- “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare quotes about love - “I am one who loved not wisely but too well.” — Shakespeare
- “They do not love that do not show their love.” — Shakespeare
- “Love is too young to know what conscience is.” — Shakespeare (Sonnet 151)
- “One beautiful heart is better than thousand beautiful faces.” — Shakespeare
- “The sight of lovers feedeth those in love.” — Shakespeare, As You Like It
- “The course of true love never did run smooth.” — Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare quotes on love - “I would not wish any companion in the world but you.” — William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare love quotes - “Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.” — William Shakespeare
- “Don’t waste your love on somebody, who doesn’t value it.” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare love quote - “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” — William Shakespeare
- “Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love.” — Shakespeare
- “And yet, to say the truth, reason, and love keep little company together nowadays.” — Shakespeare
- I do love nothing in the world so well as you- is not that strange?” ― Shakespeare
- “A young woman in love always looks like patience on a monument smiling at grief.” — Shakespeare
- “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” — Shakespeare
- “For to be wise and love exceeds man’s might.” ― Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
- “I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say ‘I love you,”― Shakespeare, Henry V
- “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” — Shakespeare
- “Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake.” — William Shakespeare
- “Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. Then your love would also change.” — Shakespeare
- “Her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love.”— Shakespeare, Antony & Cleopatra
- “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” — Shakespeare
- “His unkindness may defeat my life, But never taint my love.”— Shakespeare, Othello
- “Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.” — Shakespeare
- “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.” — Shakespeare
- “Love is begun by time, And time qualifies the spark and fire of it.”— Shakespeare, Hamlet
Shakespeare Quotes On Friendship
- “Boldness be my friend.” — William Shakespeare
- “If money go before, all ways do lie open.” — William Shakespeare
- “Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” — William Shakespeare
- “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” — William Shakespeare
- “Words are easy, like the wind; faithful friends are hard to find.” — William Shakespeare
- “I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.” — William Shakespeare
- “Time’s glory is to calm contending kings, To unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light.” — William Shakespeare
- “Love me or hate me, both are in my favor. For if you love me I will always be in your heart; if you hate me I will always be in your mind.” — William Shakespeare
- “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?” — William Shakespeare
- “Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest, Lend less than thou owest, Ride more than thou goest, Learn more than thou trowest, Set less than thou throwest.” — William Shakespeare
Quotes By William Shakespeare
- “Brevity is the soul of wit.” — William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Shakespeare life quotes - “One may smile, and smile, be a villain.” — William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
- “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” — William Shakespeare
inspirational Shakespeare quotes - “Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.” — William Shakespeare
- “And oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse.” — William Shakespeare
- “How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” — William Shakespeare (Othello)
William Shakespeare quote - “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare quotes with images - “My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will break.” — William Shakespeare
- “Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up o-er wrought heart and bids it break.” — William Shakespeare (Macbeth)
quotes by Shakespeare - “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” — William Shakespeare
- “Beauty itself doth of itself persuade The eyes of men without orator.” ― Shakespeare
Iconic Quotes From Shakespeare
These amazing quotes showcase Shakespeare’s ability to capture deep emotions, universal truths, and timeless wisdom through his words.
- “Thought is free.” — William Shakespeare
- “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” — William Shakespeare
- “Conscience doth make cowards of us all.” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare quotes pictures - “Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” — William Shakespeare
- “Many a true word hath been spoken in jest.” — William Shakespeare
- “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” — William Shakespeare
- “Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me.” — William Shakespeare
- “The Devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.” — William Shakespeare
- “For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; lillies that fester smell far worse than weeds.” — William Shakespeare
- “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” — William Shakespeare
Best Shakespearean Sayings
- “Men should be what they seem.” — William Shakespeare
- “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” — William Shakespeare
- “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” — William Shakespeare
- “In black ink my love may still shine bright.” — William Shakespeare
- “The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” — William Shakespeare
- “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.” — William Shakespeare
- “Love sought is good, but given unsought, is better.” — William Shakespeare
- “Go to your bosom: Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know.” — Shakespeare
- “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.”— Shakespeare
- “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.” — William Shakespeare
- “See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O, that I were a glove upon that hand that I might touch that cheek!” — William Shakespeare
Funny Shakespeare Quotes
- “My pride fell with my fortunes.” — William Shakespeare
- “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” — William Shakespeare
- “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” — William Shakespeare
- “I will praise any man that will praise me.” — William Shakespeare
- “There’s many a man has more hair than wit.” — William Shakespeare
- “I wish my horse had the speed of your tongue.” — William Shakespeare
- “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” — William Shakespeare
- “He that loves to be flattered is worthy o’ the flatterer.” — William Shakespeare
- “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” — William Shakespeare
- “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me.” — William Shakespeare
- “Is it not strange that desire should so many years outlive performance?” — William Shakespeare
- “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” — William Shakespeare
Best William Shakespeare Quotes - “Maids want nothing but husbands, and when they have them, they want everything.” — William Shakespeare
- “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” — William Shakespeare (Julius Ceaser)
Julius Caesar Shakespeare Quotes - “How art thou out of breath when thou hast breath to say to me that thou art out of breath?” — William Shakespeare
Shakespeare Quotes
- “I dote on his very absence.” — Shakespeare
- “Speak low, if you speak love.” — Shakespeare
- “I am not bound to please thee with my answer.” — Shakespeare
- “Your face is a book, where men may read strange matters.” — Shakespeare
- “Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak.” — Shakespeare
- “For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?” — Shakespeare
- “When I saw you, I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.” — Shakespeare
- “Love is blind and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit.” — Shakespeare
- “‘I can see that he’s not in your good books,’ said the messenger. ‘No, and if he were I would burn my library.’” — Shakespeare
- “Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds Or bends with the remover to remove. O,no! It is an ever fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken.” — Shakespeare
- “To die, to sleep – to sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come…”— Shakespeare
- “Never play with the feelings of others, because you may win the game but the risk is that you will surely lose the person for life time.” — William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar Shakespeare Quotes
These quotes capture some of the most memorable lines from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” a tragedy that delves into themes of betrayal, ambition, and the complexities of human nature.
- “Beware the ides of March.” — Soothsayer
- “Et tu, Brute?” — Julius Caesar (Act 3, Scene 1)
- “Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods.” — Brutus (Act 2 Scene 1)
- “The noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times.” — Mark Antony
Julius Caesar Quotes Shakespeare - “Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war.” — Mark Antony (Act 3 Scene 1)
- “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” — Brutus (Act 3 Scene 2)
- “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” — Mark Antony ( Act 3 Scene 2)
- “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” — Julius Caesar
- “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.” — William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
- “Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” — Cassius (Act 1 Scene 2)
Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet Quotes
These quotes capture the essence of the tragic love story between Romeo and Juliet, and they remain some of the most memorable lines in literature.
- “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” — Juliet, Act 2 Scene 1
Shakespeare Quotes Romeo and Juliet - “A plague o’ both your houses!” — Mercutio, Act 3 Scene 1
- “Under love’s heavy burden do I sink.” — Romeo, Act 1, Scene 4
Shakespeare Quotes Love - “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” — Chorus, Prologue
- “Love is a smoke and is made with the fume of sighs.” — Romeo & Juliet
- “Lovers can do their amorous rites by their own beauties.” — Romeo & Juliet
- “These violent delights have violent ends.” — Friar Laurence, Act 2 Scene 5
- “What’s in a name? A rose by any name would smell as sweet.” — Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare Rose Quote - “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” — Prince Escalus
- “That which we call a rose ny any other word would smell as sweet.” — Juliet, Act 2 Scene 1
Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Shakespeare’s life and works continue to inspire readers around the world. He passed away on April 23, 1616.
For over four centuries, the 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems penned by William Shakespeare have held onto their importance in literature and culture.
These quotes offer a glimpse into Shakespeare’s insightful and poetic expressions that continue to resonate with people around the world.
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