Playwright

Explore 650 quotes by Playwrights

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

Being true to oneself Authenticity Personal integrity

Speaker

Lord Polonius

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Hamlet

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 1, sc. 3.

Current Citation

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

There are many wonderful things, and nothing is more wonderful than man.

Sophocles

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Topic

Nature of man Man and animals

Author

Sophocles

Source

Antigone

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

441 BC 440s 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Sophocles. Ἀντιγόνη [Antigone]. c. 441 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd,
Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd.

William Congreve

More information about this quote

Topic

Broken heart Men and women Women

Speaker

Queen Zara

Author

William Congreve

Source

The Mourning Bride

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play

Language

English

Time

1697 1690s 17th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Congreve, William. The Mourning Bride. 1697, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 2.

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. To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep—
To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

Suicide The afterlife

Speaker

Hamlet

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Hamlet

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

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

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Sonnets

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Topic

Summer The ephemeral Seasons

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Sonnet 18 Shakespeare's Sonnets

Medium

Sonnet Poem

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile Question

Language

English

Time

1609 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Shake-speares Sonnets. London: Thomas Thorpe, 1609, sonnet 18, I. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Sonnets." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, sonnet 18.

For the one thing even God cannot do is change the past.

Agathon

Quoted in The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

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Topic

God's power God Changing the past The past

Speaker

Agathon

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics], written by Aristotle. c. 350 BC, bk. 6.

Current Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Nicomachean Ethics, written by Aristotle, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, 2019, bk. 6, ch. 2.

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.

William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing

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Topic

Flaws of men Nature of men Men and women Infidelity Relationships

Speaker

Balthasar

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Much Ado About Nothing

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1600 1600s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. London: Andrew Wise and William Aspley, 1600, act 2, sc. 3.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Much Ado About Nothing." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 3.

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.

William Shakespeare

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Topic

Generosity in love Love

Speaker

Juliet Capulet

Author

William Shakespeare

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Profession of love Paradox

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. London: John Danter, 1597, act 2, sc. 2

Current Citation

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

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals-And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

Man Human nature The human condition

Speaker

Hamlet

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Hamlet

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

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

Current Citation

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

Come what come may,
Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

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Topic

Things get better

Speaker

Macbeth

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Macbeth

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 1, sc. 3.

Current Citation

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

But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Sonnets

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Topic

Beautiful women

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Sonnet 18 Shakespeare's Sonnets

Medium

Sonnet Poem

Statement Type

Profession of love

Language

English

Time

1609 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Shake-speares Sonnets. London: Thomas Thorpe, 1609, sonnet 18, I. 9.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Sonnets." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, sonnet 18.

Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.

William Shakespeare

Timon of Athens

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Topic

Perverse incentives Sin Mercy

Speaker

First Senator

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Timon of Athens

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Paradox

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 3, sc. 5.

Current Citation

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

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red...
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Sonnets

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Topic

Being in love Love

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Sonnet 130 Shakespeare's Sonnets

Medium

Sonnet Poem

Statement Type

Profession of love

Language

English

Time

1609 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Shake-speares Sonnets. London: Thomas Thorpe, 1609, sonnet 130, I. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Sonnets." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, sonnet 130.

See what a ready tongue suspicion hath!

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 2

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Topic

Suspicion Accusations

Speaker

Northumberland

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry IV, Part 2

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part 2. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1597, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Second Part of Henry the Fourth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 1.

Eat no onions nor garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath.

William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Topic

Bad breath Food

Speaker

Bottom

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1599 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1599, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 4, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act. 4, sc. 2.

Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

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Topic

Courage Cowardice Death

Speaker

Caesar

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Julius Caesar

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play) Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1599 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, 1599, Globe Theatre, London, England, UK, act 2 sc. 2.

Current Citation

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

No guest is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days.

Plautus

More information about this quote

Topic

Wearing out one's welcome Hospitality Guests and visitors

Speaker

Pleusicles

Author

Plautus

Source

Miles Gloriosus

Medium

Play

Language

Latin

Time

200 BC 200s BC 3rd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plautus. Miles Gloriosus. c. 206 BC, Rome, Italy, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Plautus. Miles Gloriosus, edited by Mason Hammond, Arthur W. Mack, and Walter Moskalew. Harvard University Press, 1997, act 3, sc. 1.

There lives not three good men unhanged in England, and one of them is fat and grows old.

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 1

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Topic

England

Speaker

Falstaff

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry IV, Part 1

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part 1. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1597, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

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

He’s loved of the distracted multitude,
Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

The masses Public opinion

Speaker

King Claudius

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Hamlet

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

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

Current Citation

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

I am not in the roll of common men.

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 1

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Topic

Arrogance Self-assurance

Speaker

Glendower

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry IV, Part 1

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Statement Type

Boast

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part 1. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1597, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The First Part of Henry the Fourth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015act 3, sc. 1.