Poet

Explore 1478 quotes by Poets

Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

Insanity Powerful people

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 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.

Come Senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall.

Bob Dylan

The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)

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Topic

Resistance to change Political progress Progress

Speaker

Bob Dylan

Source

The Times They Are a-Changin' (song) The Times They Are a-Changin' (album)

Medium

Song

Genre

Protest music Folk music

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dylan, Bob. "The Times They Are a-Changin'." The Times They Are a-Changin'. Columbia Records, 1965.

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

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Topic

Absurdity of life The absurd Life as performance Ephemeral nature of life Life

Speaker

Macbeth

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Macbeth

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

Current Citation

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

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

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Topic

Timing Randomness Fortune Tides The human condition

Speaker

Brutus

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Julius Caesar

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play) Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

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 4, sc. 3.

Current Citation

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

How many times can a man turn his head,
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

Bob Dylan

Blowin' in the Wind

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Topic

Injustice

Speaker

Bob Dylan

Source

Blowin' in the Wind The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Medium

Song

Genre

Folk music

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1962 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dylan, Bob. "Blowin' in the Wind." The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Columbia Records, 1963.

The whirligig of time brings in his revenges.

William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night

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Topic

Passage of time Time Comeuppance

Speaker

Clown

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Twelfth Night

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 5, 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 5, sc. 1.

Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.

William Shakespeare

Venus and Adonis

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Topic

Nature of love Love

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Venus and Adonis

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1593 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Venus and Adonis. London: Richard Field, 1593, I. 799.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Venus and Adonis." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015.

I swear to the Lord
I still can't see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me.

Langston Hughes

The Black Man Speaks

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Topic

Jim Crow Black experience

Author

Langston Hughes

Source

The Black Man Speaks

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1943 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hughes, Langston. "The Black Man Speaks." Jim Crow’s Last Stand. Negro Publications Society of America, 1943, I. 1.

How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?

William Shakespeare

Othello

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Topic

Healing Impatience Patience

Speaker

Iago

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 2, sc. 3.

Current Citation

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

Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks,
Shall win my love.

William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew

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Topic

Pursuing women Kindness Women's attractiveness

Speaker

Hortensio

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Taming of the Shrew

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1594 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. London: Cuthbert Burbie, 1594, act 4, sc. 2.

Current Citation

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

I bend but do not break.

Jean de la Fontaine

Read The Fables of La Fontaine at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Resilience

Author

Jean de la Fontaine

Source

The Oak and the Reed Fables (de la Fontaine)

Medium

Fable and fairytale

Language

French

Time

1668 1660s 17th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

La Fontaine, Jean. "Le chene et le roseau [The Oak and the Reed]." Fables. Paris, 1668, bk. 1, no. 22.

Current Citation

La Fontaine, Jean. "The Oak and the Reed." The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, translated by Norman R. Shapiro. University of Illinois Press, 2007, bk. 1, no. 22.

We know what we are but know not what we may be.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

Self-knowledge Human potential

Speaker

Ophelia

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. 5.

Current Citation

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

Of all sexual aberrations perhaps the most curious is chastity.

Remy de Gourmont

More information about this quote

Topic

Chastity

Author

Remy de Gourmont

Source

The Natural Philosophy of Love

Language

French

Time

1903 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

De Gourmont, Remy. Physique de l'Amor: Essai Sur l'Instinct Sexuel [Physics of Love - Essay on Sexual Instinct]. Mercure de France, 1903, ch. 18.

The pebble
is a perfect creature

equal to itself
mindful of its limits

filled exactly
with a pebbly meaning

Zbigniew Herbert

Pebble

More information about this quote

Topic

Nature

Author

Zbigniew Herbert

Source

Pebble

Medium

Poem

Language

Polish

Time

1966 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Herbert, Zbigniew. "Kamyk [Pebble]." Studium przedmiotu [Subject Study]. Czytelnik, 1961.

Pessimism (or rather what is called such) is, in brief, playing the sure game. You cannot lose at it; you may gain. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed.

Thomas Hardy

More information about this quote

Topic

Pessimism Low expectations

Author

Thomas Hardy

Medium

Personal journal

Language

English

Time

1902 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Hardy, Thomas. Notebook entry. 1 Jan. 1902.

Current Citation

Hardy, Thomas. Quoted in The Poetry of Thomas Hardy: A Handbook and Commentary, written by J. O. Bailey. UNC Press Books, 2018.

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

Dulce et Decorum Est

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Topic

Horrors of war War

Author

Wilfred Owen

Source

Dulce et Decorum Est

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1920 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." Poems by Wilfred Owen. Chatto & Windus, 1920.

Current Citation

Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." The War Poems Of Wilfred Owen. Random House UK, 2018.

Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.

William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing

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Topic

Love as trap Dangers of love Love

Speaker

Hero

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 3, sc. 1.

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 3, sc. 1.

The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.

Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass

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Topic

America

Author

Walt Whitman

Source

Leaves of Grass

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1855 1850s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn, New York: Self-published, 1855, preface.

Current Citation

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass: The Complete 1855 and 1891-2 Editions. Library of America, 2011, preface to 1855 edition.

Thence we came forth to see the stars again.

Dante Alighieri

Inferno

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Topic

Stars The night sky

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

Inferno The Divine Comedy

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem Epic poem Religious literature

Language

Italian

Time

1321 1320s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno [Hell]." La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri [The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri]. Foligno: Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, 1472.

Current Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno." The Divine Comedy, edited by David H. Higgins, translated by C. H. Sisson. Oxford University Press, 2008.

My salad days,
When I was green in judgment.

William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra

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Topic

Prime of life Youth

Speaker

Cleopatra

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Antony and Cleopatra

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1607 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. King's Men, c. 1607, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 5.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Antony and Cleopatra." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 5.