Poet

Explore 1478 quotes by Poets

Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.

Martial

Epigrams

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Topic

Character flaws Suspicion Forthrightness

Author

Martial

Source

Epigrams

Medium

Epigram

Language

Latin

Time

103 100s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Martial. Epigrammata [Epigrams]. c. 102 AD, bk. 3, no. 42.

Current Citation

Martial. Epigrams, translated by Gideon Nisbet. Oxford University Press, 2015, bk. 3, no. 42.

Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole!

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

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Topic

Sleep Universal beliefs

Author

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Source

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem

Language

English

Time

1798 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere." Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems. London: J. & A. Arch, 1798, pt. 5.

Current Citation

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Major Works, edited by H. J. Jackson. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 5.

We loved with a love that was more than love.

Edgar Allan Poe

New-York Daily Tribune

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Topic

Being in love Love

Author

Edgar Allan Poe

Source

Annabel Lee New-York Daily Tribune

Medium

Poem Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1849 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." New-York Daily Tribune, 9 Oct. 1849, l. 9.

Current Citation

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Edgar Allen Poe: Poetry and Tales, edited by Patrick Quinn. Library of America, 1984, l. 9.

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.

He harms himself who does harm to another, and the evil plan is most harmful to the planner.

Hesiod

Works and Days

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Topic

Hurting others Interconnectedness of all people

Author

Hesiod

Source

Works and Days

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hesiod. Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι [Works and Days]. c. 700 BC, l. 265.

Current Citation

Hesiod. "Works and Days." Theogony and Works and Days, translated by M. L. West. Oxford University Press, 2009, l. 265.

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.

The people are a many-headed beast.

Horace

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Topic

Fickleness of the mob The masses

Author

Horace

Source

Epistles 1

Medium

Letter

Language

Latin

Time

20 BC 20s 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Horace. Epistularum liber primus [First Book of Letters]. 20 BC, bk. 1, epistle 2.

Current Citation

Horace. "Epistles." Satires and Epistles, translated by John Davie. Oxford University Press, 2011, bk. 1, epistle 2.

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.

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.

And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love.

William Blake

Songs of Innocence

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Topic

Purpose of life

Author

William Blake

Source

Songs of Innocence

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1789 1780s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Blake, William. "The Little Black Boy." Songs of Innocence. London, 1789.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "The Little Black Boy." William Blake: Selected Poems, edited by Nicholas Shrimpton. Oxford University Press, 2019.

If you should put even a little on a little, and should do this often, soon this too would become big.

Hesiod

Works and Days

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Topic

Little things make a big difference Snowball effect

Author

Hesiod

Source

Works and Days

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hesiod. Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι [Works and Days]. c. 700 BC, l. 361-362.

Current Citation

Hesiod. "Works and Days." Theogony and Works and Days, translated by M. L. West. Oxford University Press, 2009, l. 361-362.

Let each man pass his days in that wherein his skill is greatest.

Sextus Propertius

Elegies (Sextus Propertius)

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Topic

Talent Vocation Work

Author

Sextus Propertius

Source

Elegies (Sextus Propertius)

Medium

Poem

Language

Latin

Time

24 BC 20s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Sextus Propertius. Elegies. c. 24 BC, bk. 2.

Current Citation

Sextus Propertius. Elegies, edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Harvard University Press, 1990, bk. 2.

The ring on the finger becomes thin beneath by wearing, the fall of dripping water hollows the stone.

Lucretius

On the Nature of Things

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Topic

Effects of time Persistence

Author

Lucretius

Source

On the Nature of Things

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

55 BC 50s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Carus, Titus Lucretius. De Rerum Natura [On the Nature of Things]. c. 55 BC, bk. 1, l. 312.

Current Citation

Carus, Titus Lucretius. The Nature of Things, translated by Alicia Stallings. Penguin Classics, 2007, bk. 1, l. 312.

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.

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.

William Blake

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Topic

Forgiveness Friends and enemies Enemies Friends

Author

William Blake

Source

Jerusalem: Emanation of the Giant Albion.

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1815 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Blake, William. Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion. London, c. 1820, ch. 4, plate 91, l. 1.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake. University of California Press, 2008, ch. 4, plate 91, l. 1.

A tree cannot grow in the sky, nor clouds be in the deep sea, nor fish live in the fields, nor can blood be in sticks nor sap in rocks.

Lucretius

On the Nature of Things

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Topic

Nature

Author

Lucretius

Source

On the Nature of Things

Medium

Poem

Genre

Didactic poem Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

55 BC 50s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Carus, Titus Lucretius. De Rerum Natura [On the Nature of Things]. c. 55 BC, bk. 3, l. 784.

Current Citation

Carus, Titus Lucretius. The Nature of Things, translated by Alicia Stallings. Penguin Classics, 2007, bk. 3, l. 784.

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

T.S. Eliot

The Waste Land

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Topic

April Spring Seasons

Author

T.S. Eliot

Source

The Waste Land

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1922 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Eliot, T. S. "The Waste Land." The Criterion, Oct. 1922, pt. 1.

Current Citation

Eliot, T. S. "The Waste Land." The Waste Land and Other Poems. Vintage, 2021, pt. 1.

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.