William Shakespeare is considered one of the most influential playwrights of all time, and his works have been cherished by generations. Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets are a testament to his genius and have left an indelible mark on literature.
In this post, we have hand-picked the best William Shakespeare quotes from different genres such as life quotes, funny quotes, love quotes, success quotes, happiness quotes, inspirational quotes, deep short quotes, and quotes on time, humanity, friendship, and so on.
You may also want to check out our collection of quotes by author.
Famous Shakespeare quotes
1. “Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise.” — William Shakespeare
2. “What is past is prologue.” — William Shakespeare
3. “I wish my horse had the speed of your tongue.” — William Shakespeare
4. “If we are true to ourselves, we cannot be false to anyone.” — William Shakespeare
5. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” — William Shakespeare
6. “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” — William Shakespeare
7. “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” — William Shakespeare
8. “Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.” — William Shakespeare
9. “Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.” — William Shakespeare
10. “‘Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after.” — William Shakespeare
11. “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” — William Shakespeare
12. “Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it doth singe yourself.” — William Shakespeare
13. “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” — William Shakespeare
14. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.” — William Shakespeare
15. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” — William Shakespeare
16. “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” (Hamlet)
Shakespeare Quotes About Life
17. “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” (The Tempest)
18. “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.” (Macbeth)
19. “Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.” (King John)
20. “How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” (Othello)
21. “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” (Julius Caesar)
22. “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” (All’s Well That Ends Well)
23. “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” (All’s Well That Ends Well)
24. “What’s done can’t be undone.” (Macbeth)
25. “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” (As You Like It)
26. “What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!” (Hamlet)
27. “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” (As You Like It)
28. “True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings.” (Richard III)
29. “To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.” (Henry VIII)
30. “Life … is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (Macbeth)
31. “Life every man holds dear; but the dear man Holds honor far more precious dear than life.” (Troilus and Cressida)
32. “All the world’s a stage; And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.” (As You Like It)
33. “Life is a pure flame, and we live by an invisible sun within us.” (The Winter’s Tale)
34. “This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honor, is 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)
35. “Life is a shuttle.” (The Winter’s Tale)
36. “What’s past is prologue?” (The Tempest)
37. “Life is a journey from birth to death.” (Henry VI Part 2)
38. “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” (Hamlet)
39. “Life is a jest, and all things show it, I thought so once, but now I know it.” (Twelfth Night)
40. “The course of true love never did run smooth.” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
41. “All the troubles of the world seem small when they are compared with the misery of the soul.” (Othello)
42. “When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.” (King Lear)
43. “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” (Julius Caesar)
William Shakespeare Quotes About Love
Related: 395+ Best Love Quotes
44. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” — William Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
45. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.” — William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)
46. “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.” — William Shakespeare (Sonnet 116)
47. “So long as I can breathe or I can see, so long lives your love which gives life to me.” — William Shakespeare (Sonnet 13)
48. “Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.” — William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
49. “Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” — William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)
50. “I would not wish any companion in the world but you.” — William Shakespeare (The Tempest)
51. “Love goes by haps; Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.” — William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing)
52. “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.” — William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)
53. “To be wise and love, exceeds man’s might.” — William Shakespeare (Troilus and Cressida)
54. “My love is as a fever, longing still for that which longer nurseth the disease.” — William Shakespeare (Sonnet 147)
55. “Love is too young to know what conscience is.” — William Shakespeare (Sonnet 151)
56. “The sight of lovers feedeth those in love.” — William Shakespeare (As You Like It)
57. “When love speaks, the voice of all the gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.” — William Shakespeare (Love’s Labour’s Lost)
58. “This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.” — William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)
59. “Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey.” — William Shakespeare (All’s Well That Ends Well)
60. “I can express no kinder sign of love, than this kind kiss.” — William Shakespeare (Henry VI Part 1)
61. “To be wise and love exceeds man’s might.” — William Shakespeare (Troilus and Cressida)
62. “Love goes toward love.” — William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)
63. “Love is a spirit all compact of fire.” — William Shakespeare (Venus and Adonis)
64. “I do love nothing in the world so well as you.” — William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing)
65. “I love you more than words can wield the matter, dearer than eyesight, space and liberty.” — William Shakespeare (King Lear)
66. “I do love thee so, that I will shortly send thy soul to heaven.” — William Shakespeare (The Tempest)
67. “Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” — William Shakespeare (Venus and Adonis)
68. “When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.” — William Shakespeare
69. “I am one who loved not wisely but too well.” — William Shakespeare (Othello)
70. “Love is not always blind; it can see but it doesn’t mind.” — William Shakespeare (Two Gentlemen of Verona)
71. “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” — William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing)
72. “Come what may, I will love you until my dying day.” — William Shakespeare (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
William Shakespeare Quotes About Success
73. “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” — William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)
74. “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” — William Shakespeare (Measure for Measure)
75. “Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing.” — William Shakespeare (Troilus and Cressida)
76. “Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.” — William Shakespeare
77. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” — William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)
78. “In delay there lies no plenty.” — William Shakespeare (Henry VI, Part 1)
79. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” — William Shakespeare
80. “Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent.” — William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing)
81. “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” — William Shakespeare (Troilus and Cressida)
82. “Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners.” — William Shakespeare (Othello)
83. “Success in most cases is nothing more than taking advantage of an opportunity.” — William Shakespeare (Measure for Measure)
84. “Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.” — William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)
85. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” — William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet)
86. “Things without all remedy should be without regard: what’s done is done.” — William Shakespeare (Macbeth)
87. “I am a man more sinned against than sinning.” — William Shakespeare (King Lear)
88. “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” — William Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice)
89. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” — William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Shakespeare Quotes About Happiness
90. “All’s well that ends well.” — (All’s Well That Ends Well)
91. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” — (Twelfth Night)
92. “For she had eyes and chose me.” (Othello)
93. “The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.” — (William Saroyan)
94. “The world is full of happy endings.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
95. “True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in the worth and choice.” — (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
96. “If music be the food of love, play on.” — (Twelfth Night)
97. “Happiness courts the light, so we must steer clear of darkness.” — (The Tempest)
98. “Thou hast the sweetest face I ever looked on. And I have seen many.” (As You Like It)
99. “My happiness is not happy. It is a fragile thing, and it is in danger.” — (The Winter’s Tale)
100. “Happiness is a word that lies in our own disposition, but sorrow is something we must fight against.” — (Much Ado About Nothing)
101. “Happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending.” — (Much Ado About Nothing)
102. “Happiness is a how, not a what.” — (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
103. “I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.” — (As You Like It)
104. “I am not bound to please thee with my answers.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
105. “Happiness is a warm puppy.” — (The Taming of the Shrew)
106. “The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.” — (Hamlet)
107. “Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” — (Romeo and Juliet)
Inspirational Shakespeare Quotes
108. “The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.” — (Measure for Measure)
109. “I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.” — (Twelfth Night)
110. “Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.” — (Cymbeline)
111. “Nothing can come of nothing.” — (King Lear)
112. “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” — (Hamlet)
113. “The earth has music for those who listen.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
114. “This above all: To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” — (Hamlet)
115. “When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain.” — (Richard II)
116. “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” — (Hamlet)
Wisdom Quotes By William Shakespeare
117. “All things are ready, if our minds be so.” — (Henry V)
118. “The eyes are the window to your soul.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
119. “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” — (All’s Well That Ends Well)
120. “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” — (Macbeth)
121. “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” — (Henry VI, Part 2)
122. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” — (Romeo and Juliet)
123. “Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.” — (Henry VI, Part 2)
124. “The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.” — (Henry V)
125. “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” — (Twelfth Night)
126. “This world is not for aye, nor ’tis not strange / That even our loves should with our fortunes change.” — (Hamlet)
Shakespeare Quotes About Time
127. “I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.” — (Richard II)
128. “Time is the old justice that examines all offenders.” — (As You Like It)
129. “Make use of time, let not advantage slip.” — (Venus and Adonis)
130. “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” — (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
131. “Time and the hour run through the roughest day.” — (Macbeth)
132. “The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch, which hurts and is desired.” — (Antony and Cleopatra)
133. “Time travels in divers paces with divers persons.” — (As You Like It)
134. “Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth, and delves the parallels in beauty’s brow.” — (Sonnet 60)
135. “Time’s glory is to calm contending kings, to unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light.” — (The Rape of Lucrece)
136. “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides.” — (King Lear)
137. “I am a feather for each wind that blows.” — (The Comedy of Errors)
138. “Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.” — (Macbeth)
139. “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me.” — (Macbeth)
140. “Time is a very bankrupt, and owes more than he’s worth to season.” — (The Phoenix and the Turtle)
141. “The whirligig of time brings in his revenges.” — (Twelfth Night)
142. “There’s a time for everything.” — (A Winter’s Tale)
143. “Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.” — (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
William Shakespeare Quotes About Friendship
144. “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts who you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” — (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
145. “The better part of valor is discretion.” — (Henry IV, Part 1)
146. “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel.” — (Hamlet)
147. “The fashion of the world is to avoid cost, and you encounter it.” — (Much Ado About Nothing)
148. “The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
149. “My crown is called content, a crown that seldom kings enjoy.” — (Henry VI, Part 3)
150. “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” — (Hamlet)
151. “O, it is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.” — (Measure for Measure)
152. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” — (Henry V)
Shakespeare Quotes About Humanity
153. “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!” — (Hamlet)
154. “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport.” — (King Lear)
155. “What’s gone and what’s past help should be past grief.” — (The Winter’s Tale)
156. “The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
157. “As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words.” — (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
158. “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” — (The Tempest)
Funny Shakespeare Quotes
159. “I do desire we may be better strangers.” — (As You Like It)
160. “I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed.” — (As You Like It)
161. “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” — (Macbeth)
162. “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” — (Romeo and Juliet)
163. “Though I am not naturally honest, I am sometimes so by chance.” — (The Winter’s Tale)
164. “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?” — (The Merchant of Venice)
165. “I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it.” — (As You Like It)
166. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” — (Hamlet)
167. “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” — (King Lear)
168. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” — (Sonnet 130)
169. “But, for my own part, it was Greek to me.” — (Julius Caesar)
Short Shakespeare Quotes
Related: 139 Best 6 Word Quotes
170. “To be, or not to be.” — (Hamlet)
171. “All the world’s a stage.” — (As You Like It)
172. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” — (Romeo and Juliet)
173. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” — (Julius Caesar)
174. “Double, double, toil and trouble.” — (Macbeth)
175. “Love is not love which alters.” — (Sonnet 116)
176. “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” — (Hamlet)
177. “But love is blind, and lovers cannot see.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
178. “All is well that ends well.” — (All’s Well That Ends Well)
179. “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” — (Richard III)
180. “There is nothing either good or bad.” — (Hamlet)
181. “What’s done is done.” — (Macbeth)
182. “We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” — (The Tempest)
183. “Out, damned spot!” — (Macbeth)
184. “The quality of mercy is not strained.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
185. “To thine own self be true.” — (Hamlet)
186. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose.” — (Romeo and Juliet)
187. “There are more things in heaven and earth.” — (Hamlet)
188. “Now is the winter of our discontent.” — (Richard III)
189. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” — (Hamlet)
Deep Short Quotes By Shakespeare
190. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars.” — (Julius Caesar)
191. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.” — (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
192. “I would challenge you to a battle of wits.” — (Hamlet)
193. “This above all: to thine ownself be true.” — (Hamlet)
194. “O, swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon.” — (Romeo and Juliet)
195. “What light through yonder window breaks?” — (Romeo and Juliet)
196. “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is.” — (King Lear)
197. “Cowards die many times before their deaths.” — (Julius Caesar)
198. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness.” — (Twelfth Night)
199. “The world’s mine oyster.” — (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
200. “The miserable have no other medicine.” — (Titus Andronicus)
201. “My heart is ever at your service.” — (The Tempest)
202. “Brevity is the soul of wit.” — (Hamlet)
203. “All that glitters is not gold.” — (The Merchant of Venice)
204. “Nothing will come of nothing.” — (King Lear)
205. “Time is a great healer.” — (The Winter’s Tale)
Best Short William Shakespeare Quotes
206. “Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” — William Shakespeare
207. “Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.” — William Shakespeare
208. “Boldness be my friend.” — William Shakespeare
209. “Such as we are made of, such we be.” — William Shakespeare
210. “Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.” — William Shakespeare
211. “I bear a charmed life.” — William Shakespeare
212. “One may smile, and smile, be a villain.” — William Shakespeare
213. “Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” — William Shakespeare
214. “Thought is free.” — William Shakespeare
215. “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” — William Shakespeare
216. “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” — William Shakespeare
217. “Men should be what they seem.” — William Shakespeare
218. “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” — William Shakespeare
219. “Speak low, if you speak love.” — William Shakespeare
220. “My pride fell with my fortunes.” — William Shakespeare
221. “I dote on his very absence.” — William Shakespeare
222. “Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.” — William Shakespeare
223. “The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” — William Shakespeare
224. “Love is merely a madness.” — William Shakespeare
225. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” — William Shakespeare
See Also:
59 Famous Romeo and Juliet Quotes
Who is William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare is one of history’s greatest authors. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.
Despite being raised in a family that lacked formal education, Shakespeare became a remarkable writer, playwright, and poet.
He captured the imagination of his audiences with his early works, such as “Titus Andronicus” and “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” which were known for their engaging plots and captivating characters.
As Shakespeare got older, he got even better. His plays and sonnets are famous for exploring complex themes like love, jealousy, ambition, and betrayal, and for his beautiful language.
William Shakespeare’s most iconic works include “Hamlet,” “Othello,” “Macbeth” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
While there is still much that remains unknown about his life, one thing is certain: Shakespeare’s talent and genius were unparalleled.
His influence can be seen in modern literature, film, and even everyday language, as his words and phrases are still commonly used today.
In fact, William Shakespeare quotes are among the most searched for on the internet, a testament to his enduring popularity and influence.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed our collection of the best William Shakespeare quotes from different genres such as life quotes, funny quotes, love quotes, success quotes, happiness quotes, inspirational quotes, deep short quotes, and quotes on time, humanity, friendship, and so on.
