About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon”.
Born: April 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
Died: 23 April 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
100 Top Quotes by William Shakespeare in English
- “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” – Hamlet
- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” – As You Like It
- “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – Hamlet
- “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” – Hamlet
- “The course of true love never did run smooth.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “All that glitters is not gold.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Hamlet
- “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” – Hamlet
- “To be wise and love, exceeds man’s might.” – Troilus and Cressida
- “If music be the food of love, play on.” – Twelfth Night
- “I am one who loved not wisely but too well.” – Othello
- “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” – Julius Caesar
- “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” – Julius Caesar
- “What’s done cannot be undone.” – Macbeth
- “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “The miserable have no other medicine / But only hope.” – Measure for Measure
- “There is no darkness but ignorance.” – Twelfth Night
- “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.” – Twelfth Night
- “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” – The Tempest
- “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” – Henry VI, Part 2
- “Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” – Macbeth
- “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – Hamlet
- “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, / That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “All’s well that ends well.” – All’s Well That Ends Well
- “Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” – Twelfth Night
- “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” – The Tempest
- “The quality of mercy is not strain’d, / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven / Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: / It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “O, it is excellent / To have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous / To use it like a giant.” – Measure for Measure
- “The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, / Which still we thank as love.” – Antony and Cleopatra
- “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” – All’s Well That Ends Well
- “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is / To have a thankless child!” – King Lear
- “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” – The Merry Wives of Windsor
- “Our doubts are traitors / And make us lose the good we oft might win / By fearing to attempt.” – Measure for Measure
- “I bear a charmed life.” – Macbeth
- “What’s gone and what’s past help / Should be past grief.” – The Winter’s Tale
- “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “I can no other answer make but thanks, / And thanks, and ever thanks.” – Twelfth Night
- “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” – Measure for Measure
- “Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds.” – Sonnet 116
- “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” – Troilus and Cressida
- “The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.” – Hamlet
- “The earth has music for those who listen.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “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?” – The Merchant of Venice
- “The winter of our discontent.” – Richard III
- “All the troubles of the world are caused by our desires.” – The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.” – 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.” – Julius Caesar
- “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” – Hamlet
- “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – All’s Well That Ends Well
- “In a false quarrel there is no true valor.” – Much Ado About Nothing
- “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” – All’s Well That Ends Well
- “I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it.” – As You Like It
- “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” – Henry VIII
- “I will speak daggers to her, but use none.” – Hamlet
- “How far that little candle throws his beams! / So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “There is a tide in the affairs of men / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” – Julius Caesar
- “Parting, that’s such sweet sorrow, / That I shall say good night till it be morrow
- “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “The course of true love never did run smooth.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” – Hamlet
- “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – Hamlet
- “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – Hamlet
- “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” – The Tempest
- “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” – The Tempest
- “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” – The Tempest
- “The quality of mercy is not strained; / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven / Upon the place beneath.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “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.” – As You Like It
- “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” – Henry VI, Part 2
- “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!” – Hamlet
- “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – Twelfth Night
- “Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Hamlet
- “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.” – As You Like It
- “Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once.” – Julius Caesar
- “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” – Julius Caesar
- “The better part of valor is discretion.” – Henry IV, Part 1
- “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” – Hamlet
- “I have loved none but you.” – Much Ado About Nothing
- “All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.” – The Winter’s Tale
- “As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words.” – Two Gentlemen of Verona
- “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, / But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.” – Romeo and Juliet
- “And, when love speaks, the voice of all the gods / Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.” – Love’s Labour’s Lost
- “I can no more: live thou to joy thy life.” – Pericles, Prince of Tyre
- “All that glitters is not gold.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed.” – The Princess Bride (adapted from a line in As You Like It)
- “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” – Sonnet 130
- “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, / I all alone beweep my outcast state.” – Sonnet 29
- “Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments.” – Sonnet 116
- “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” – All’s Well That Ends Well
- “The miserable have no other medicine / But only hope.” – Measure for Measure
- “How far that little candle throws his beams! / So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “Our doubts are traitors, / And make us lose the good we oft might win / By fearing to attempt.” – Measure for Measure
- “To thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man.” – Hamlet
- “The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.” – Hamlet
FAQs:
Who was William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor who lived during the 16th and 17th centuries. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and is known for his plays such as “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
When was William Shakespeare born?
William Shakespeare was born on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
How many plays did Shakespeare write?
Shakespeare is believed to have written 38 plays, including collaborations.
What are some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays?
Some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays include “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Othello,” “King Lear,” and “The Tempest.”
Did Shakespeare write any sonnets?
Yes, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, which are a type of poem consisting of 14 lines.
What was Shakespeare’s theater company?
Shakespeare was a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which was a theater company that performed at the Globe Theatre in London.
Did Shakespeare act in his own plays?
Yes, Shakespeare was also an actor and is known to have acted in several of his own plays.
Did Shakespeare ever get married?
Yes, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582, when he was 18 years old. They had three children together.
When did Shakespeare die?
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52.
What is Shakespeare’s legacy?
Shakespeare’s works have had a profound impact on literature, language, and culture. His plays and sonnets continue to be performed and studied all over the world, and his words and phrases have become a part of the English language. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of all time.
