159+ Most Powerful Shakespeare Quotes Every Person Must Read Before They Die
William Shakespeare, whom many consider England’s greatest playwright and poet, revolutionized literature during the 16th and 17th centuries. He wrote 39 plays and 154 sonnets which shaped literarture for generations to come while coining more than 1,700 words that are still in popular use today including “bedroom” and “eyeball.”
Through wonderfully memorable lines and characters, loosely based on real people, he was able to capture universal human experiences. This is one focal point of his timeless genius. Shakespeare’s work extends beyond the theater as modern storytelling, cinema ,and even the English language as we know it has been shaped by him. Unknown to most, common phrases like “break the ice” or describing someone with a “heart of gold” stem from Shakespeare’s works.
The reason his quotes have stood the test of time is that they address basic human problems with love, ambition, mortality and other issues throughout history capturing its essence regardless of when one live. If one needs motivational insight or beautifully strung sentences wrapped in poetry then makes Shakespeare’s quotes perfect for the task.
With these carefully compiled collections themed around emotions gives easy access to finding profound ideas designed to inspire the soul. Explore why deep rooted teachings penned over four centuries ago continue to impact countless individuals around the globe.
On Life & Human Nature
- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” – As You Like It
- “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” – Hamlet.
- “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” – Hamlet.
- “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” – Julius Caesar.
- “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.” – Macbeth
- “What is past is prologue.” – The Tempes.t
- “The better part of valor is discretion.” – Henry IV, Part 1
- “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – Haml.et
- “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” – The Tempest.
- “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “The course of true love never did run smooth.” – A Midsummer Night’s Drea.m
- “Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Haml.et
- “All that glisters is not gold.” – The Merchant of Venice
- “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” – Ham.let
- “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – Twelfth Night
- “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” – Julius Caesar
- “What’s done can’t be undone.” – Macbeth.
- “A man may fish with the worm that hatheatent of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.” – Hamlet.
- “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” – All’s Well That Ends Wel.l
- “Sweet are the uses of adversity, which like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head.” – As You Like It.
On Love & Romance
From Romeo and Juliet:
- “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”
- “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”
- “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!”
- “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
From A Midsummer Night’s Dream: 5. “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
- “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
- “But love is blind, and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit.”
From As You Like It: 8. “Down on your knees, and thank heaven, fasting, for a good man’s love; for I must tell you friendly in your ear, sell when you can: you are not for all markets.”
- “Whoever lov’d that lov’d not at first sight?”
From Twelfth Night: 10. “If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.”
- “She never told her love, but let concealment, like a worm i’ the bud, feed on her damask cheek.”
From Much Ado About Nothing: 12. “Love is merely a madness, and, I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do.”
- “Speak low, if you speak love.”
From Hamlet: 14. “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love.”
From Othello: 15. “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them.”
From Antony and Cleopatra: 16. “The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch, which hurts and is desired.”
From The Tempest: 17. “Hear my soul speak: The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service.”
From Troilus and Cressida: 18. “Reason and love keep little company together nowadays.”
From All’s Well That Ends Well: 19. “Love that comes too late, like a remorseful pardon slowly carried, to the great sender turns a sour offense.”
From the Sonnets: 20. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Sonnet 18)
- “Love is a spirit all compact of fire.” (Venus and Adonis)
- “When love speaks, the voice of all the gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.”
- “The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service.”
- “I would not wish any companion in the world but you.”
- “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
On Wisdom & Philosophy
- “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – As You Like It
- “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – Hamlet.
- “Listen to many, speak to a few.” – Hamlet
- “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” – Twelfth Night
- “The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.” – Henry .V
- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” – As You Like It
- “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.” – Macbeth
- “What is past is prologue.” – The Tempest..
- “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” – Haml.et
- “The whirligig of time brings in his revenges.” – Twelfth Ni.ght
- “This above all: to thine own self be true.” – Hamlet
- “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” – Julius Ca.esar
- “Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Hamlet.
- “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – Twelfth Night
- “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” – The Merry Wives of Windsor
- “Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.” – Macbet.h
- “How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” – Othello
- “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” – Measure for Measure.
- “Action is eloquence.” – Coriolanu.s
On Ambition, Power & Leadership
- “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other.” – Macbeth.
- “Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.” – Julius Caesa.r
- “Who does ambition shun, and loves to live i’ th’ sun, seeking the food he eats and pleased with what he gets.” – As You Like It
- “Lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, whereto the climber upward turns his face. But when he once attains the utmost round, he then turns his back on the ladder.” – Julius Caesar
- “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” – Henry IV, Part 2
- “Man, proud man, dressed in a little brief authority, most ignorant of what he’s most assured, his glassy essence, like an angry ape, plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven as make the angels weep.” – Measure for Measure
- “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – Often attributed to Shakespeare but actually from Lord Acton; however, Shakespeare expressed a similar sentiment: “Authority, though it err like others, hath yet a kind of medicine in itself.” – Measure for Measure.
- “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” – Julius Caesa.r
- “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – Twelfth Night
- “The better part of valor is discretion.” – Henry IV, Part 1
- “He that is proud eats up himself. Pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle.” – Troilus and Cressid.a
- “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” – Julius Caesar.
- “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” – Measure for Measure..
- “Action is eloquence.” – Coriolan.us
- “Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” – Henry VIII
On Humor & Wit
1. “A jest’s prosperity lies in the ear of him that hears it, never in the tongue of him that makes it.” – Love’s Labour’s Lost
2. “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” – Twelfth Night
3. “I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.” – As You Like It
4. “A merry heart goes all the day, your sad tires in a mile-a.” – The Winter’s Tale
5. “Wit whither wilt?” – Much Ado About Nothing
6. “There are many a man hath more hair than wit.” – The Comedy of Errors
7. “I will speak daggers to her, but use none.” – Hamlet
8. “Your wit’s too hot, it speeds too fast, ’twill tire.” – Love’s Labour’s Lost
9. “He uses his folly like a stalking-horse, and under the presentation of that he shoots his wit.” – As You Like It
10. “Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Hamlet
11. “I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men.” – Henry IV, Part 2
12. “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – As You Like It
13. “I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace.” – Much Ado About Nothing
14. “Jesters do oft prove prophets.” – King Lear
15. “Frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.” – The Taming of the Shrew
On Friendship & Loyalty
1. “A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities, but Brutus makes mine greater than they are.” – Julius Caesar. This reveals how true friendship means accepting each other’s flaws with compassion rather than judgment.
2. “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel.” – Hamlet Polonius advises holding onto proven friends with unbreakable bonds, recognizing the rarity of genuine friendship.
3. “I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul remembering my good friends.” – Richard II, Shakespeare shows how the memory of true friends becomes one of life’s greatest treasures and sources of joy.
4. “Friendship is constant in all other things, save in the office and affairs of love.” – Much Ado About Nothing. A witty observation that friendship remains steady through most trials, except when romantic love complicates matters.
5. “The friends thou choosest to be fellows of thy rest, let them be well approved by thy judgment.” – Hamlet. This emphasizes the importance of choosing companions wisely, as they profoundly influence our character and peace.
6. Mye honor is my life; both grow in one. Take honor from me, and my life is done.” – Richard II Though about honor, this speaks to loyalty’s connection to one’s very identity and integrity.
7. “Be slow to fall into friendship, but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.” – Timon of Athens,, Shakespeare advocates for cautious selection of friends but unwavering loyalty once that bond is formed.
8. “I will speak daggers to her, but use none.” – Hamle.t This shows loyalty even in conflict – being honest about grievances while refusing to cause actual harm.
9. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” – HenrV.V.V Perhaps his most famous line about loyalty forged through shared struggle and mutual sacrifice.
10. “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – All’s Well That Ends Well.. This encapsulates Shakespeare’s philosophy of universal kindness balanced with selective trust and unwavering integrity.
On Betrayal & Jealousy
On Betrayal:
- “Et tu, Brute?” – Julius Caesar’s stunned words upon seeing Brutus among his assassins, capturing the ultimate shock of betrayal by a trusted friend.
- “I will speak daggers to her, but use none.” – Hamlet. Hamlet’s resolve to confront his mother with harsh words about her betrayal of his father’s memory.
- “The trust I have is in mine innocence, and therefore am I bold and resolute.” – The Winter’s Tale Hermione’s dignified response when falsely accused, highlighting how betrayal often targets the innocent.
- “Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind; the thief doth fear each bush an officer.” – Henry VI, Part ..3 A reflection on how those who betray others live in constant fear of being betrayed themselves.
On Jealousy:
- “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” – Othe,llo Iago’s manipulative warning to Othello, ironically describing jealousy as a destructive force that consumes its victim.
- “Trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ.” – Oth.ello How jealousy transforms insignificant details into seemingly irrefutable evidence.
- “But jealous souls will not be answered so. They are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.” – Othello,, Emilia’s insight that jealousy is self-perpetuating and feeds on itself rather than reality.
- “In time we hate that which we often fear.” – Antony and Cleopatra, exploring how jealousy and fear can transform love into hatred.
- “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Helena’s observation about how jealousy distorts perception and blinds us to reality.
- “The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service; there resides, to make me slave to it.” – The Tempest, Ferdinand’s words that capture how love can make us vulnerable to both devotion and jealousy.
On Dreams, Imagination & The Arts
- “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” The Tempest – Prospero reflects on the illusory nature of existence itself.
- “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 – Bottom awakens from his magical transformation, unable to articulate his extraordinary experience.
- “The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Theseus describes how imagination unites madness, passion, and artistic creation.
- “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” As You Like It – Jacques presents life as a theatrical performance, blending reality with dramatic art.
- “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Puck observes human folly with theatrical delight.
- “If music be the food of love, play on.” Twelfth Night – Duke Orsino opens the play by celebrating art’s power to nourish the soul.
- “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Hamlet – Hamlet suggests that imagination and mystery exceed rational understanding.
- “The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” Hamlet – Hamlet reveals the theater’s power to expose hidden truths and provoke moral reflection.
- “What dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil.” Hamlet – Hamlet contemplates the unknown visions that await in death.
- “The course of true love never did run smooth.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Lysander acknowledges that both love and art require struggle to achieve beauty.
On Death & Mortality
1. “Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.” – Julius Caesar
2. “Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.” – Julius Caesar
3. “To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.” – Hamlet
4. “The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns.” – Hamlet (referring to death)
5. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” – Hamlet
6. “Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney-sweepers, come to dust.” – Cymbeline
7. “Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.” – Macbeth
8. “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.” – Macbeth
9. “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow.” – Macbeth
10. “Death lies on her like an untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” – Romeo and Juliet
11. “When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night.” – Romeo and Juliet
12. “A man can die but once.” – Henry IV, Part 2
13. “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” – Julius Caesar
14. “Full fathom five thy father lies, of his bones are coral made.” – The Tempest
15. “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun, nor the furious winter’s rages; thou thy worldly task hast done, home art gone, and ta’en thy wages.” – Cymbeline
Conclusion
Shakespeare’s writing still has an impact on his readers because his works reflect real human experiences that transcend time. There are many reasons to appreciate the Bard, be it for wise counseling during tough situations, solace in love’s intricate nature, or fueling your passions.
His famous quotation “All the world is a stage” displays that although centuries have gone by ruthlessly, emotionally, people go through wanting great things out of life. All these quotes are testament that humanity has always been and will always be miraculous. He did not limit himself to only writing for his audience; he fashioned himself as an unchained author of history.
You may use Bard’s words as a source of strength and mental support when you truly need them.
