Play

Explore 521 quotes from the following medium: Play

Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.

Oscar Wilde

Lady Windermere's Fan

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Topic

Life experience Mistakes

Speaker

Dumby

Author

Oscar Wilde

Source

Lady Windermere's Fan

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1892 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar. Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman. 1892, St James's Theatre, London, England, UK, act 3.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "Lady Windermere's Fan." Oscar Wilde: The Major Works, edited by Isobel Murray. Oxford University Press, 2008, act 3.

Moderation is a fatal thing...Nothing succeeds like excess.

Oscar Wilde

A Woman of No Importance

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Topic

Moderation vs. excess Moderation Excess

Speaker

Lord Illingworth

Author

Oscar Wilde

Source

A Woman of No Importance

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1893 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar. A Woman of No Importance. 1893, Haymarket Theatre, London, England, UK, act 3.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "A Woman of No Importance." The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. Oxford University Press, 2008, act 3.

Women can't forgive failure.

Anton Chekhov

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Topic

Men and women Women

Speaker

Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev

Author

Anton Chekhov

Source

The Seagull

Medium

Play

Language

Russian

Time

1896 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Chekhov, Anton. Чайка [The Seagull]. 17 Oct. 1896, Alexandrinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia, act. 2.

Current Citation

Chekhov, Anton. "The Seagull." Plays, translated by Peter Carson. Penguin, 2002, act 2.

The moon's an arrant thief,
And her pale fire she snatches from the sun.

William Shakespeare

Timon of Athens

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Topic

The moon The sun

Speaker

Timon

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Timon of Athens

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Timon of Athens." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 4, sc. 3.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Timon of Athens." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 3.

Lovers' quarrels are the renewal of love.

Terence

The Girl from Andros

More information about this quote

Topic

Reconciliation Relationship challenges Love

Speaker

Chremes

Author

Terence

Source

The Girl from Andros

Medium

Play

Language

Latin

Time

166 BC 160s BC 2nd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Terence. Andria [The Woman from Andros]. 166 BC, Rome, Italy.

Current Citation

Terence. Andria, edited by Sander M. Goldberg. Cambridge University Press, 2023.

You are not worth the dust which the rude wind
Blows in your face.

William Shakespeare

King Lear

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Topic

Worthlessness

Speaker

Duke of Albany

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

King Lear

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Insult

Language

English

Time

1606 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. King's Men, 26 Dec. 1606, Palace of Whitehall, Westminster, England, UK, act 4, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Lear." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 2.

I consider false words to be the foulest sickness.

Aeschylus

Prometheus Bound

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Topic

Lies

Speaker

Prometheus

Author

Aeschylus

Source

Prometheus Bound

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aeschylus. Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης [Promethus Bound]. c. 430 BC.

Current Citation

Aeschylus. Promethus Bound. Dover Publications, 1996.

There are vicissitudes in all things.

Terence

The Eunuch

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Topic

Randomness

Speaker

Parmeno

Author

Terence

Source

The Eunuch

Medium

Play

Language

Latin

Time

161 BC 160s BC 2nd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Terence. Eunuchus [The Eunuch]. 161 BC, Megalesian Games, Rome, Italy, act 2, sc. 2.

I prefer to be unskilled rather than practised in the lore of foretelling ill.

Aeschylus

The Suppliants

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Topic

Ignorance is bliss

Speaker

King

Author

Aeschylus

Source

The Suppliants

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

465 BC 465s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Aeschylus. Ἱκέτιδες, Hiketides [The Suppliants]. c. 455 BC.

The world's mine oyster, which I with sword will open.

William Shakespeare

The Merry Wives of Windsor

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Topic

Opportunities

Speaker

Pistol

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1602 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Merry Wives of Windsor. London: Arthur Johnson, 1602, act 2, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 2.

You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding and a vulgar manner.

Demosthenes

The Knights

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Topic

Venality of politicians Politicians

Speaker

Demosthenes

Author

Aristophanes

Source

The Knights

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

424 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristophanes. Ἱππεῖς Hippeîs [The Knights]. 424 BC, Lenaia Festival, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Aristophanes. "The Knights." The Birds and Other Plays, translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. Penguin Classics, 2003.

We must not make a scarecrow of the law,
Setting it up to fear the birds of prey,
And let it keep one shape till custom make it
Their perch and not their terror.

William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure

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Topic

Law Justice

Speaker

Angelo

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Measure for Measure

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 2, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 1.

Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin
As self-neglecting.

William Shakespeare

Henry V

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Topic

Self-worth Self-hatred Self-care

Speaker

Dauphin

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry V

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1599 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry V. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1599, The Curtain, Shoreditch, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Henry the Fifth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 4.

I understand a fury in your words,
But not the words.

William Shakespeare

Othello

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Topic

Anger

Speaker

Desdemona

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Othello

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1604 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Othello. King's Men, 1 Nov. 1604, Palace of Whitehall, Westminster, London, England, UK, act 4, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 2.

Truth will come to light.

William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice

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Topic

Truth will come out Truth Justice

Speaker

Launcelot

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Merchant of Venice

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1598 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. c. 1598, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Merchant of Venice." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 2.

To blow and swallow at the same moment is not easy.

Plautus

More information about this quote

Topic

Human body

Speaker

Tranio

Author

Plautus

Source

The Haunted House

Medium

Play

Language

Latin

Time

184 BC 180s BC 2nd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plautus, Titus Maccius. Mostellaria [The Ghost]. c. 193 BC, act 3, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Plautus, Titus Maccius. "The Haunted House." Four Comedies: The Braggart Soldier; The Brothers Menaechmus; The Haunted House; The Pot of Gold, translated by Erich Segal. Oxford University Press, 2008, act 3, sc. 2.

Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 3

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Topic

Guilty conscience Paranoia Conscience

Speaker

Richard Plantagenet

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry VI, Part 3

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1595 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry the Sixth, Part 3. London: Thomas Millington, 1595, act 5, sc. 6.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Third Part of Henry the Sixth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 5, sc. 6.

Men must endure
Their going hence even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all.

William Shakespeare

King Lear

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Topic

Perseverance Death Mortality Timing The human condition

Speaker

Edgar

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

King Lear

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1606 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. King's Men, 26 Dec. 1606, Palace of Whitehall, Westminster, England, UK, act 5, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Lear." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 5, sc. 2.

A traveller from the cradle to the grave
Through the dim night of this immortal day.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Prometheus Unbound

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Topic

The human condition

Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Source

Prometheus Unbound

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Prometheus Unbound: A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts with Other Poems. London: Charles and James Ollier, 1820, act 4, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Prometheus Unbound." Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Major Works, edited by Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill. Oxford University Press, 2009, act 4, sc. 1.

To gild refinèd gold, to paint the lily…is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

William Shakespeare

King John

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Topic

Gilding the lily Lilies Flowers Gold

Speaker

Salisbury

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

King John

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Life and Death of King John." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 4, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "King John." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 2.