Tell me where is fancy bred. Or in the heart or in the head? (The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 2)
William Shakespeare quote Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him (Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2)
William Shakespeare quote Simply the thing I am Shall make me live (All's Well That Ends Well Act 4, Scene 3)
William Shakespeare quote If I must die, I will encounter darkness as a bride, And hug it in mine arms (Measure for Measure, Act 3 Scene 1)
William Shakespeare quote To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
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.
Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 5
William Shakespeare quote Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.
Hamlet. Act II. Sc. 2
William Shakespeare quote For he being dead, with him is beauty slain, And, beauty dead, black chaos comes again. Venus and Adonis line 1019
William Shakespeare quote When forty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field... Sonnet 2
William Shakespeare quote Biography
The most famous English playwright of all time, 1564 - 1616. He wrote a large number of plays in different genres, such as comedies, tragedies, histories and of course romances.
Some of his work is still regularly studied in classrooms to this day so his influence is enduring; for instance Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth are still commonly studied. His longest play was Hamlet which many consider to be the greatest play of all time.
His influence on the English language was immense with a surprisingly high number of words tracing their origin to his work, as indeed do many phrases.
His mind was clearly very productive and his command for story telling and commenting on humans and humanity meant his stories have reached through the ages even if the language now is difficult to understand. For many he is the greatest writer that has ever lived.
Read our book reviews for William Shakespeare
