Playwright

Explore 650 quotes by Playwrights

Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed.

Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Topic

Effects of time Sin

Speaker

Basil Hallward

Author

Oscar Wilde

Source

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Medium

Novel Magazine

Language

English

Time

1890 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Philadelphia, July 1890, ch. 10.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray, edited by Robert Mighall. Penguin Classics, 2003, ch. 12.

I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience.

William Shakespeare

Henry VIII

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Topic

Inner peace Conscience

Speaker

Cardinal Wolsey

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry VIII

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1613 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William and John Fletcher. Henry VIII. King's Men, 1613, Globe Theatre, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Henry the Eighth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblattet al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 2.

Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues
We write in water.

William Shakespeare

Henry VIII

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Topic

Character flaws Virtues

Speaker

Griffith

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry VIII

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1613 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William and John Fletcher. Henry VIII. King's Men, 1613, Globe Theatre, London, England, UK, act 4, sc. 2.

Current Citation

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

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.

The god
Visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.

Euripides

Phrixus

More information about this quote

Topic

Collective guilt

Author

Euripides

Source

Phrixus

Language

Greek

Time

400 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Euripides. Phrixus. 5th century BC, fragment 970.

Marriage, if one will face the truth, is an evil, but a necessary evil.

Menander

More information about this quote

Topic

Marriage

Author

Menander

Medium

Fragment

Language

Greek

Time

290 BC 290s BC 3rd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Menander. Unidentified fragment 651. c. 300 BC.

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

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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.

Though men can cover crimes with bold stern looks,
Poor women's faces are their own faults' books.

William Shakespeare

The Rape of Lucrece

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Topic

Poker face Secrets Men and women

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Rape of Lucrece

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem

Language

English

Time

1594 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Rape of Lucrece. London: Richard Field, 1594, I. 1252.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Rape of Lucrece." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, I. 1252.

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.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. 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.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Sonnets

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Topic

Nature of love True love Love

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Sonnet 116 Shakespeare's Sonnets

Medium

Sonnet Poem

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 116, 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 116.

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.