Playwright

Explore 650 quotes by Playwrights

The happiest life consists in ignorance.

Sophocles

Ajax

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Topic

Ignorance is bliss Ignorance Happiness

Speaker

Ajax

Author

Sophocles

Source

Ajax

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

442 BC 440s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Sophocles. Αἴας [Ajax]. c. 441 BCE, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Ajax." Electra and Other Plays, translated by David Raeburn. Penguin Classics, 2008.

Against self-slaughter
There is a prohibition so divine
That cravens my weak hand.

William Shakespeare

Cymbeline

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Topic

Suicide Taboos

Speaker

Imogen

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Cymbeline

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1611 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Cymbeline. 1611, Blackfriars Theatre, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 4.

Current Citation

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

It is difficult not to be unjust to what one loves.

Oscar Wilde

Intentions

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Topic

Hurting others Love

Speaker

Gilbert

Author

Oscar Wilde

Source

The Critic as Artist Intentions

Medium

Essay

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1891 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "The Critic as Artist." Intentions. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1891, pt. 1.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "The Critic as Artist Part I." Oscar Wilde: The Major Works, edited by Isobel Murray. Oxford University Press, 2008.

They breathe truth that breathe their words in pain.

William Shakespeare

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Topic

Telling the truth

Speaker

John of Gaunt

Author

William Shakespeare

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1595 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Richard II. 9 Dec. 1595, The house of Edward Hoby, Westminster, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 1.

Current Citation

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

Let me have war, say I. It exceeds peace as far as day does night. It's sprightly waking, audible, and full of vent. Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy; mulled, deaf, sleepy, insensible.

William Shakespeare

Coriolanus

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Topic

War and peace War Peace

Speaker

First Serving Man

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Coriolanus

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Coriolanus." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 4, sc. 5.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Coriolanus." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 5.

Bronze is a mirror of the face, wine of the mind.

Aeschylus

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Topic

In vino veritas Wine Alcohol

Author

Aeschylus

Medium

Fragment

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

Greek

Time

5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Aeschylus. Fragment 221. c. 450 BC.

Current Citation

Aeschylus. Fragments, translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. Harvard University Press, 2009, fragment 221.

My crown is in my heart, not on my head;
Not decked with diamonds and Indian stones,
Nor to be seen. My crown is called content;
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 3

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Topic

Happiness

Speaker

King Henry VI

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 3, sc. 1.

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 3, sc. 1.

All that glisters is not gold—
Often have you heard that told.

William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice

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Topic

Looks are deceiving Appearance vs. reality Gold

Speaker

Morocco

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Merchant of Venice

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile

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. 7.

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. 7.

There is always something ridiculous about the passions of people whom one has ceased to love.

Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Topic

Fading love Lost love Love

Speaker

Sibyl Vane

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. 5.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray, edited by Robert Mighall. Penguin Classics, 2003, ch. 7.

These impossible women! How they do get around us! The poet was right: can't live with them, or without them!

Aristophanes

Lysistrata

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Topic

Women Gender relations Men and women

Author

Aristophanes

Source

Lysistrata

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

411 BC 410s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristophanes. Λυσιστράτη [Lysistrata]. c. 411 BC, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Aristophanes. "Lysistrata." Lysistrata and Other Plays. Penguin Classics, 2008.

He is wise who tries everything before arms.

Terence

The Eunuch

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Topic

Avoiding war War

Speaker

Thraso

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 4, sc. 7.

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.

William Shakespeare

The Tempest

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Topic

Suffering Unhappiness

Speaker

Trinculo

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Tempest

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

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

Current Citation

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

My tongue swore, but my mind's unsworn.

Euripides

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Topic

Promises

Speaker

Hippolytus

Author

Euripides

Source

Hippolytus

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

428 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Euripides. Ἱππόλυτος [Hippolytus]. 428 BC, City Dionysia festival, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Euripides. "Hippolytus." Euripides I: Alcestis, Medea, The Children of Heracles, Hippolytus, edited and translated by Richard Lattimore, et. al. University of Chicago Press, 2013.

I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call the sky.

Oscar Wilde

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

More information about this quote

Topic

The sky

Author

Oscar Wilde

Source

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1898 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar [Published as C.3.3.]. The Ballad of Reading Gaol. London: Leonard Smithers, 1898, pt. 1, st. 3.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Oscar Wilde: The Major Works, edited by Isobel Murray. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Our ship of state, which recent storms have threatened to destroy, has come safely to harbor at last.

Sophocles

Antigone

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Topic

Political upheaval

Speaker

Creon

Author

Sophocles

Source

Antigone

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Greek

Time

442 BC 440s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

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.

Then let thy love be younger than thyself,
Or thy affection cannot hold the bent.
For women are as roses, whose fair flower,
Being once displayed, doth fall that very hour.

William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

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Topic

Beauty fades

Speaker

Duke Orsino

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play) Romantic comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1602 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or What You Will. 1602, Middle Temple Hall, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

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

He is the half part of a blessèd man,
Left to be finishèd by such as she,
And she a fair divided excellence,
Whose fullness of perfection lies in him.

William Shakespeare

The Life and Death of King John

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Topic

Relationships Men and women

Speaker

First Citizen

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Life and Death of King John

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

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 2, sc. 1.

Current Citation

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

Moods don't last.
It is their chief charm.

Oscar Wilde

A Woman of No Importance

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Topic

Moods

Speaker

Mrs. Allonby and 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 1.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "A Woman of No Importance." The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. Oxford University Press, 2008, act 1.

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

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Topic

Love

Speaker

Olivia

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play) Romantic comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1602 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or What You Will. 1602, Middle Temple Hall, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

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

Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance.

William Shakespeare

The Winter's Tale

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Topic

Honesty Fortuitous occurrences

Speaker

Autolycus

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Winter's Tale

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1611 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Winter's Tale. The King's Men, 1611, Globe Theatre, London, England, UK, act 4, sc. 4.

Current Citation

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