Nothing that is so, is so. – William Shakespeare Twelfth Night, Act 4, Scene 1. Feste is confused by Sebastian denying the fact that he knows him. He says this ironically, convinced that Sebastian is actually Cesario. While he is talking about a specific situation, the whole play could be summed up in this quote.
Wrest once the law to your authority: To do a great right, do a little wrong. – William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1.
Beware the ides of March. – William Shakespeare Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2. Soothsayer’s warning to Caesar.
Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o’ nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. – William Shakespeare Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2. Caesar gives his opinion on Cassius..
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 Sonnet 18
A young man married is a man that’s marred. – William Shakespeare All’s Well that Ends Well, Act 2, Scene 3.
There’s beggary in the love that can be reckoned. – William Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1, Scene 1. Antony to Cleopatra, saying if love can be measured then it is poor love.
Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies A lass unparalleled. – William Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra, Act 5, Scene 2.
I pray you, do not fall in love with me, For I am falser than vows made in wine. – William Shakespeare As You Like It, Act 3, Scene 5.
The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. – William Shakespeare As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 1.
FALSTAFF: And is not my hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench? PRINCE: As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of the castle. – William Shakespeare Henry IV, Part 1, Act 1, Scene 2.
I owe him little duty and less love. – William Shakespeare Henry VI, Part 1, Act 4, Scene 4. Somerset.
Unbidden guests Are often welcomest when they are gone. – William Shakespeare Henry VI, Part 1, Act 2, Scene 2. Talbot.
She’s beautiful, and therefore to be wooed; She is a woman, therefore to be won. – William Shakespeare Henry VI, Part 1, Act 5, Scene 3. Suffolk.
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot That it do singe yourself. – William Shakespeare Henry VIII, Act 1, Scene 1, Norfolk.
Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee; Corruption wins not more than honesty. – William Shakespeare Henry VIII, Act 3, Scene 2, Cardinal Wolsey.
I feel within me A peace above all earthly dignities, A still and quiet conscience. – William Shakespeare Henry VIII, Act 3, Scene 2. Wolsey responds to Cromwell’s question of how he is after his downfall. He has abandoned ambition and achieved redemption, finding true happiness and peace at last.
Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues We write in water. – William Shakespeare Henry VIII, Act 4, Scene 2, Griffith.
What’s mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. – William Shakespeare Measure for Measure, Act 5, Scene 1, Duke Vincentio.
In Bride If I must die, I will encounter darkness as a bride, And hug it in mine arms. – William Shakespeare Measure for Measure, Act 3, Scene 1.
Was ever woman in this humour woo’d? Was ever woman in this humour won? – William Shakespeare Richard III, Act 1, Scene 2. Spoken by Richard.
Let’s go hand in hand, not one before another. – William Shakespeare The Comedy of Errors, Act 5, Scene 1.
I think he bought his doublet in Italy, his round hose in France, his bonnet in Germany, and his behaviour everywhere. – William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 2. Portia is not impressed by her suitor Falconbridge, the young English baron, who dresses poorly and in mismatched clothes from three countries.
Kiss me Kate, we will be married o’ Sunday. – William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew, Act 2, Scene 1, Petruchio.
That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man, If with his tongue he cannot win a woman. – William Shakespeare The Two Gentleman of Verona, Act 3, Scene 1.
In Beauty Beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all To envious and calumniating time. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. – William Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida, Act 3, Scene 3.
In Coward He’s a most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise-breaker, the owner of no one good quality. – William Shakespeare All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 3, Scene 6.