William Shakespeare
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
To do a great right do a little wrong.
When we are born we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.
The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.
– William Shakespeare
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.
God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.
– William Shakespeare
Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.
Don’t waste your love on somebody, who doesn’t value it.
Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.
One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.
There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.
– William Shakespeare
Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.
When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.
Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love
– William Shakespeare
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our country loss; and if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honor.
– William Shakespeare
When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.
Time and the hour run through the roughest day.
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
I must be cruel only to be kind;
Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Desire of having is the sin of covetousness.
I must be cruel, only to be kind.
Be great in act, as you have been in thought.
– William Shakespeare
I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.
– William Shakespeare
No legacy is so rich as honesty.
– William Shakespeare
Love each other in moderation. That is the key to long-lasting love. Too fast is as bad as too slow.
– William Shakespeare
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.
The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.
The course of true love never did run smooth.
There may be twists and turns in your path to true love.
– William Shakespeare
Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
– William Shakespeare
“I am not bound to please thee with my answers.”
Expectation is the root of all heartache.
Be Great in Act as you have been in Thought.
Never play with the feelings of others, because you may win the game but the risk is that you will surely lose the person for a lifetime.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.
If we are true to ourselves, we cannot be false to anyone.
Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.
Source-Google|Image By- Biography.com
William Shakespeare quotes
All other doubts, by time let them be clear’d: Fortune brings in some boats, that are not steered
Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.
We know what we are, but know not what we may be
Sweet are the uses of adversity which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown
Nothing can come of nothing
How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world
1What’s done can’t be undone
William Shakespeare, ‘The Bard’ of the English language, is perhaps the most celebrated playwright and poet in the world. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, he left an indelible mark on the world of literature and the performing arts that endures to this day. William Shakespeare
One of the great joys and frustrations of The Bard is that we know almost nothing about him. However, it would be a fair supposition to say that he did not enjoy a childhood of privilege. Unlike other playwrights of the time, who mostly belonged to the rich aristocracy, Shakespeare was the third of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a glove-maker, and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. William Shakespeare
He is thought to have attended a prestigious grammar school for a number of years before his family fell on hard times. So while his upbringing could never be called poor, he almost certainly knew the meaning of hard work – there is evidence that he spent several years as an apprentice glove-maker in his father’s shop. William Shakespeare
These experiences, coupled with his brief but intense grammar school education, went on to influence much of the language and themes of his work, and set him apart as an artist who connected the intentions of great kings and queens with the desires of the everyday citizen.
William Shakespeare
At the age of 18, in the year 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior, and possibly already carrying his child. Their marriage soon resulted in the birth of two more children. Perhaps at this point Shakespeare settled into family life, working as a local schoolteacher. However, these years – between 1585 and 1592, known as the ‘Lost Years’ – are undoubtably the most obscure period of his life, and there are many outlandish theories about his travels and activities. Some think he journeyed through Europe, to Rome, or even further afield, due to the undeniable worldliness of his later work. William Shakespeare
Whatever the truth, we know that Shakespeare arrived in London in 1592, most likely as a travelling actor. It’s not known if he abandoned his family or left with their blessing, but what is certain is that by the mid-1590s, he had become a successful actor and playwright in London’s thriving theatrical scene. William Shakespeare
He became associated with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company that later came to be known as the King’s Men under the patronage of King James I. His involvement in this company was instrumental in establishing his reputation and career, which was undoubtedly prolific, spanning from the late 16th century to the early 17th century, and encompassing all manner of plays and poetry. One of Shakespeare’s most remarkable talents was his ability to craft characters with breathtaking complexity and nuance. His characters, whether tragic or comedic, have resonated with audiences for centuries, and they continue to be a source of fascination for scholars and performers alike. William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s impact on the English language is immeasurable. He introduced and popularized countless words and phrases that are now integral to the language. His mastery of the written word continues to influence literature, theatre, and even everyday speech.William Shakespeare
Despite his immense success and acclaim during his lifetime, William Shakespeare returned to Stratford-upon-Avon in the early 17th century to be with his wife and two daughters ¬– his son Hamnet having tragically died at the age of eleven. Shakespeare’s later years were far quieter than the frantic creativity of London, but he remained distantly involved in the theatre until his death on April 23, 1616, leaving behind a remarkable legacy that continues to captivate and inspire people around the world.William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare name is synonymous with many of the famous lines he wrote in his plays and prose. Yet his poems are not nearly as recognizable to many as the characters and famous monologues from his many plays.William Shakespeare
In William Shakespeare era (1564-1616), it was not profitable but very fashionable to write poetry. It also provided credibility to his talent as a writer and helped to enhance his social standing. It seems writing poetry was something he greatly enjoyed and did mainly for himself at times when he was not consumed with writing a play. Because of their more private nature, few poems, particularly long-form poems, have been published.William Shakespeare
The two longest works that scholars agree were written by William Shakespeare are entitled Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Both dedicated to the Honorable Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, who seems to have acted as a sponsor and encouraging benefactor of Shakespeare’s work for a brief time.William Shakespeare
Both of these poems contain dozens of stanzas and comment on the depravity of unwanted sexual advances, showing themes throughout of guilt, lust, and moral confusion. In Venus and Adonis, an innocent Adonis must reject the sexual advances of Venus. William Shakespeare
Conversely in The Rape of Lucrece, the honorable and virtuous wife Lucrece is raped a character overcome with lust, Tarquin. The dedication to Wriothesley is much warmer in the second poem, suggesting a deepening of their relationship and William Shakespeare appreciation of his support. William Shakespeare
A third and shorter narrative poem, A Lover’s Complaint, was printed in the first collection of William Shakespeare sonnets. Most scholars agree now that it was also written by William Shakespeare, though that was contested for some time. The poem tells the story of a young woman who is driven to misery by a persuasive suitor’s attempts to seduce her. It is not regarded by critics to be his finest work.William Shakespeare
The Phoenix and the Turtle, despairs the death of a legendary phoenix and his faithful turtle dove lover. It speaks to the frailty of love and commitment in a world where only death is certain.William Shakespeare
There are 152 short sonnets attributed to Shakespeare. Among them, the most famous ones are Sonnet 29, Sonnet 71, and Sonnet 55. As a collection, narrative sequence of his Sonnets speaks to Shakespeare’s deep insecurity and jealousy as a lover, his grief at separation, and his delight in sharing beautiful experiences with his romantic counterparts. William Shakespeare
However, few scholars believe that the sequence of the sonnets accurately depicts the order in which they were written. Because Shakespeare seemed to write primarily for his own private audience, dating these short jewels of literature has been next to impossible.William Shakespeare
Within the sonnets Shakespeare seems to have two deliberate series: one describing his all consuming lust for a married woman with a dark complexion (the Dark Lady), and one about his confused love feelings for a handsome young man (the Fair Youth). This dichotomy has been widely studied and debated and it remains unclear as to if the subjects represented real people or two opposing sides to Shakespeare’s own personality. William Shakespeare
Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire!
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon’s sphere;
And I serve the Fairy Queen,
William Shakespeare
To dew her orbs upon the green;
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours;
In those freckles live their savours;
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
To dew her orbs upon the green;
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours;
In those freckles live their savours;
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
William Shakespeare
FROM off a hill whose concave womb reworded
A plaintful story from a sistering vale,
My spirits to attend this double voice accorded,
And down I laid to list the sad-tuned tale;
Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale,
Tearing of papers, breaking rings a-twain,
Storming her world with sorrow’s wind and rain.
William Shakespeare
Upon her head a platted hive of straw,
Which fortified her visage from the sun,
Whereon the thought might think sometime it saw
The carcass of beauty spent and done:
Time had not scythed all that youth begun,
Nor youth all quit; but, spite of heaven’s fell rage,
Some beauty peep’d through lattice of sear’d age.
William Shakespeare
Oft did she heave her napkin to her eyne,
Which on it had conceited characters,
Laundering the silken figures in the brine
That season’d woe had pelleted in tears,
And often reading what contents it bears;
As often shrieking undistinguish’d woe,
In clamours of all size, both high and low.
William Shakespeare
Sometimes her levell’d eyes their carriage ride,
As they did battery to the spheres intend;
Sometime diverted their poor balls are tied
To the orbed earth; sometimes they do extend
Their view right on; anon their gazes lend
To every place at once, and, nowhere fix’d,
The mind and sight distractedly commix’d.
William Shakespeare
Her hair, nor loose nor tied in formal plat,
Proclaim’d in her a careless hand of pride
For some, untuck’d, descended her sheaved hat,
Hanging her pale and pined cheek beside;
Some in her threaden fillet still did bide,
And true to bondage would not break from thence,
Though slackly braided in loose negligence.
William Shakespeare
A thousand favours from a maund she drew
Of amber, crystal, and of beaded jet,
Which one by one she in a river threw,
Upon whose weeping margent she was set;
Like usury, applying wet to wet,
Or monarch’s hands that let not bounty fall
Where want cries some, but where excess begs all.
William Shakespeare
Of folded schedules had she many a one,
Which she perused, sigh’d, tore, and gave the flood;
Crack’d many a ring of posied gold and bone
Bidding them find their sepulchres in mud;
Found yet moe letters sadly penn’d in blood,
With sleided silk feat and affectedly
Enswathed, and seal’d to curious secrecy.
William Shakespeare
These often bathed she in her fluxive eyes,
And often kiss’d, and often ‘gan to tear:
Cried ‘O false blood, thou register of lies,
What unapproved witness dost thou bear!
Ink would have seem’d more black and damned here!’
This said, in top of rage the lines she rents,
Big discontent so breaking their contents.
William Shakespeare
A reverend man that grazed his cattle nigh–
Sometime a blusterer, that the ruffle knew
Of court, of city, and had let go by
The swiftest hours, observed as they flew–
Towards this afflicted fancy fastly drew,
And, privileged by age, desires to know
In brief the grounds and motives of her woe.
William Shakespeare
So slides he down upon his grained bat,
And comely-distant sits he by her side;
When he again desires her, being sat,
Her grievance with his hearing to divide:
If that from him there may be aught applied
Which may her suffering ecstasy assuage,
‘Tis promised in the charity of age.
William Shakespeare
‘Father,’ she says, ‘though in me you behold
The injury of many a blasting hour,
Let it not tell your judgment I am old;
Not age, but sorrow, over me hath power:
I might as yet have been a spreading flower,
Fresh to myself, If I had self-applied
Love to myself and to no love beside.
William Shakespeare
Woe is me! too early I attended
A youthful suit–it was to gain my grace–
Of one by nature’s outwards so commended,
That maidens’ eyes stuck over all his face:
Love lack’d a dwelling, and made him her place;
And when in his fair parts she did abide,
She was new lodged and newly deified.
William Shakespeare
‘His browny locks did hang in crooked curls;
And every light occasion of the wind
Upon his lips their silken parcels hurls.
What’s sweet to do, to do will aptly find:
Each eye that saw him did enchant the mind,
For on his visage was in little drawn
What largeness thinks in Paradise was sawn.
William Shakespeare
‘Small show of man was yet upon his chin;
His phoenix down began but to appear
Like unshorn velvet on that termless skin
Whose bare out-bragg’d the web it seem’d to wear:
Yet show’d his visage by that cost more dear;
And nice affections wavering stood in doubt
If best were as it was, or best without.
William Shakespeare
‘His qualities were beauteous as his form,
For maiden-tongued he was, and thereof free;
Yet, if men moved him, was he such a storm
As oft ‘twixt May and April is to see,
When winds breathe sweet, untidy though they be.
His rudeness so with his authorized youth
Did livery falseness in a pride of truth.
William Shakespeare
‘Well could he ride, and often men would say
‘That horse his mettle from his rider takes:
Proud of subjection, noble by the sway,
What rounds, what bounds, what course, what stop
he makes!’
And controversy hence a question takes,
Whether the horse by him became his deed,
Or he his manage by the well-doing steed.
William Shakespeare
‘Quickly on this side the verdict went:
His real habitude gave life and grace
To appertainings and to ornament,
Accomplish’d in himself, not in his case:
All aids, themselves made fairer by their place,
Came for additions; yet their purposed trim
Pieced not his grace, but were all graced by him.
William Shakespeare
‘So on the tip of his subduing tongue
All kinds of arguments and question deep,
All replication prompt, and reason strong,
For his advantage still did wake and sleep:
To make the weeper laugh, the laugher weep,
He had the dialect and different skill,
Catching all passions in his craft of will:
William Shakespeare
‘That he did in the general bosom reign
Of young, of old; and sexes both enchanted,
To dwell with him in thoughts, or to remain
In personal duty, following where he haunted:
Consents bewitch’d, ere he desire, have granted;
And dialogued for him what he would say,
Ask’d their own wills, and made their wills obey.
William Shakespeare
‘Many there were that did his picture get,
To serve their eyes, and in it put their mind;
Like fools that in th’ imagination set
The goodly objects which abroad they find
Of lands and mansions, theirs in thought assign’d;
And labouring in moe pleasures to bestow them
Than the true gouty landlord which doth owe them
William Shakespeare
‘So many have, that never touch’d his hand,
Sweetly supposed them mistress of his heart.
My woeful self, that did in freedom stand,
And was my own fee-simple, not in part,
What with his art in youth, and youth in art,
Threw my affections in his charmed power,
Reserved the stalk and gave him all my flower.
William Shakespeare
‘Yet did I not, as some my equals did,
Demand of him, nor being desired yielded;
Finding myself in honour so forbid,
With safest distance I mine honour shielded:
Experience for me many bulwarks builded
Of proofs new-bleeding, which remain’d the foil
Of this false jewel, and his amorous spoil.
William Shakespeare
‘But, ah, who ever shunn’d by precedent
The destined ill she must herself assay?
Or forced examples, ‘gainst her own content,
To put the by-past perils in her way?
Counsel may stop awhile what will not stay;
For when we rage, advice is often seen
By blunting us to make our wits more keen.
William Shakespeare
‘Nor gives it satisfaction to our blood,
That we must curb it upon others’ proof;
To be forbod the sweets that seem so good,
For fear of harms that preach in our behoof.
O appetite, from judgment stand aloof!
The one a palate hath that needs will taste,
Though Reason weep, and cry, ‘It is thy last.’
William Shakespeare
‘For further I could say ‘This man’s untrue,’
And knew the patterns of his foul beguiling;
Heard where his plants in others’ orchards grew,
Saw how deceits were gilded in his smiling;
Knew vows were ever brokers to defiling
William Shakespeare
Thought characters and words merely but art,
And bastards of his foul adulterate heart.
‘And long upon these terms I held my city,
Till thus he gan besiege me: ‘Gentle maid,
Have of my suffering youth some feeling pity,
And be not of my holy vows afraid:
That’s to ye sworn to none was ever said;
For feasts of love I have been call’d unto,
Till now did ne’er invite, nor never woo.
William Shakespeare
”All my offences that abroad you see
Are errors of the blood, none of the mind;
Love made them not: with acture they may be,
Where neither party is nor true nor kind:
They sought their shame that so their shame did find;
And so much less of shame in me remains,
By how much of me their reproach contains.
William Shakespeare
”Among the many that mine eyes have seen,
Not one whose flame my heart so much as warm’d,
Or my affection put to the smallest teen,
Or any of my leisures ever charm’d:
Harm have I done to them, but ne’er was harm’d;
Kept hearts in liveries, but mine own was free,
And reign’d, commanding in his monarchy.
William Shakespeare
”Look here, what tributes wounded fancies sent me,
Of paled pearls and rubies red as blood;
Figuring that they their passions likewise lent me
Of grief and blushes, aptly understood
In bloodless white and the encrimson’d mood;
Effects of terror and dear modesty,
Encamp’d in hearts, but fighting outwardly.
William Shakespeare
”And, lo, behold these talents of their hair,
With twisted metal amorously impleach’d,
I have received from many a several fair,
Their kind acceptance weepingly beseech’d,
With the annexions of fair gems enrich’d,
And deep-brain’d sonnets that did amplify
Each stone’s dear nature, worth, and quality.
William Shakespeare
”The diamond,–why, ’twas beautiful and hard,
Whereto his invised properties did tend;
The deep-green emerald, in whose fresh regard
Weak sights their sickly radiance do amend;
The heaven-hued sapphire and the opal blend
With objects manifold: each several stone,
With wit well blazon’d, smiled or made some moan.
William Shakespeare
”Lo, all these trophies of affections hot,
Of pensived and subdued desires the tender,
Nature hath charged me that I hoard them not,
But yield them up where I myself must render,
That is, to you, my origin and ender;
For these, of force, must your oblations be,
Since I their altar, you enpatron me.
William Shakespeare
”O, then, advance of yours that phraseless hand,
Whose white weighs down the airy scale of praise;
Take all these similes to your own command,
Hallow’d with sighs that burning lungs did raise;
What me your minister, for you obeys,
Works under you; and to your audit comes
Their distract parcels in combined sums.
William Shakespeare
”Lo, this device was sent me from a nun,
Or sister sanctified, of holiest note;
Which late her noble suit in court did shun,
Whose rarest havings made the blossoms dote;
For she was sought by spirits of richest coat,
But kept cold distance, and did thence remove,
To spend her living in eternal love.
William Shakespeare
O my sweet, what labour is’t to leave
The thing we have not, mastering what not strives,
Playing the place which did no form receive,
Playing patient sports in unconstrained gyves?
She that her fame so to herself contrives,
The scars of battle ‘scapeth by the flight,
And makes her absence valiant, not her might.
William Shakespeare
”O, pardon me, in that my boast is true:
The accident which brought me to her eye
Upon the moment did her force subdue,
And now she would the caged cloister fly:
Religious love put out Religion’s eye:
Not to be tempted, would she be immured,
And now, to tempt, all liberty procured.
William Shakespeare
”How mighty then you are, O, hear me tell!
The broken bosoms that to me belong
Have emptied all their fountains in my well,
And mine I pour your ocean all among:
I strong o’er them, and you o’er me being strong,
Must for your victory us all congest,
As compound love to physic your cold breast
William Shakespeare
”My parts had power to charm a sacred nun,
Who, disciplined, ay, dieted in grace,
Believed her eyes when they to assail begun,
All vows and consecrations giving place:
O most potential love! vow, bond, nor space,
In thee hath neither sting, knot, nor confine,
For thou art all, and all things else are thine.
William Shakespeare
”When thou impressest, what are precepts worth
Of stale example? When thou wilt inflame,
How coldly those impediments stand forth
Of wealth, of filial fear, law, kindred, fame!
Love’s arms are peace, ‘gainst rule, ‘gainst sense,
‘gainst shame,
And sweetens, in the suffering pangs it bears,
The aloes of all forces, shocks, and fears.
William Shakespeare
”Now all these hearts that do on mine depend,
Feeling it break, with bleeding groans they pine;
And supplicant their sighs to you extend,
To leave the battery that you make ‘gainst mine,
Lending soft audience to my sweet design,
And credent soul to that strong-bonded oath
That shall prefer and undertake my troth.’
William Shakespeare
‘This said, his watery eyes he did dismount,
Whose sights till then were levell’d on my face;
Each cheek a river running from a fount
With brinish current downward flow’d apace:
O, how the channel to the stream gave grace!
Who glazed with crystal gate the glowing roses
That flame through water which their hue encloses.
William Shakespeare
‘O father, what a hell of witchcraft lies
In the small orb of one particular tear!
But with the inundation of the eyes
What rocky heart to water will not wear?
What breast so cold that is not warmed here?
O cleft effect! cold modesty, hot wrath,
Both fire from hence and chill extincture hath.
William Shakespeare
‘For, lo, his passion, but an art of craft,
Even there resolved my reason into tears;
There my white stole of chastity I daff’d,
Shook off my sober guards and civil fears;
Appear to him, as he to me appears,
All melting; though our drops this difference bore,
His poison’d me, and mine did him restore.
William Shakespeare
‘In him a plenitude of subtle matter,
Applied to cautels, all strange forms receives,
Of burning blushes, or of weeping water,
Or swooning paleness; and he takes and leaves,
In either’s aptness, as it best deceives,
To blush at speeches rank to weep at woes,
Or to turn white and swoon at tragic shows.
William Shakespeare
‘That not a heart which in his level came
Could ‘scape the hail of his all-hurting aim,
Showing fair nature is both kind and tame;
And, veil’d in them, did win whom he would maim:
Against the thing he sought he would exclaim;
When he most burn’d in heart-wish’d luxury,
He preach’d pure maid, and praised cold chastity.
William Shakespeare
‘Thus merely with the garment of a Grace
The naked and concealed fiend he cover’d;
That th’ unexperient gave the tempter place,
Which like a cherubin above them hover’d.
Who, young and simple, would not be so lover’d?
Ay me! I fell; and yet do question make
What I should do again for such a sake.
William Shakespeare
‘O, that infected moisture of his eye,
O, that false fire which in his cheek so glow’d,
O, that forced thunder from his heart did fly,
O, that sad breath his spongy lungs bestow’d,
O, all that borrow’d motion seeming owed,
Would yet again betray the fore-betray’d,
And new pervert a reconciled maid!’
William Shakespeare
Crabbed Age and Youth
Cannot live together:
Youth is full of pleasance,
Age is full of care;
Youth like summer morn,
Age like winter weather;
Youth like summer brave,
Age like winter bare:
Youth is full of sports,
Age’s breath is short,
William Shakespeare
Youth is nimble, Age is lame:
Youth is hot and bold,
Age is weak and cold,
Youth is wild, and Age is tame:-
Age, I do abhor thee;
Youth, I do adore thee;
O! my Love, my Love is young!
Age, I do defy thee-
O sweet shepherd, hie thee,
For methinks thou stay’st too long.
William Shakespeare
Enobarbus: I will tell you.
The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne,
Burned on the water: the poop was beaten gold;
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were lovesick with them; the oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
William Shakespeare
As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,
It beggar’d all description: she did lie
In her pavilion, cloth-of-gold of tissue,
O’erpicturing that Venus where we see
The fancy outwork nature: on each side her
Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,
With divers-colour’d fans, whose wind did seem
To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool,
And what they undid did.
William Shakespeare
Agrippa: O, rare for Antony.
Enobarbus: Her gentlewomen, like the Nereides,
So many mermaids, tended her i’ th’ eyes,
And made their bends adornings. At the helm
A seeming mermaid steers: the silken tackle
Swell with the touches of those flower-soft hands
William Shakespeare
That yarely frame the office. From the barge
A strange invisible perfume hits the sense
Of the adjacent wharfs. The city cast
Her people out upon her; and Antony,
Enthroned i’ th’ marketplace, did sit alone,
Whistling to th’ air; which, but for vacancy,
Had gone to gaze on Cleopatra too,
And made a gap in nature.
William Shakespeare
Enobarbus: Upon her landing, Antony sent to her,
Invited her to supper. She replied
It should be better he became her guest;
Which she entreated. Our courteous Antony,
Whom ne’er the word of “No” woman heard speak,
Being barbered ten times o’er, goes to the feast,
And for his ordinary, pays his heart
For what his eyes eat only.
William Shakespeare
Agrippa: Royal wench!
She made great Caesar lay his sword to bed;
He plowed her, and she cropped.
Enobarbus: I saw her once
Hop forty paces through the public street;
And having lost her breath, she spoke, and panted,
That she did make defect perfection,
And, breathless, pow’r breathe forth.
William Shakespeare
Maecenas: Now Antony must leave her utterly.
Enobarbus: Never; He will not:
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety. Other women cloy
The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies; for vilest things
Become themselves in her, that the holy priests
Bless her when she is riggish.
William Shakespeare
HARK! hark! the lark at heaven’s gate sings,
And Phoebus ‘gins arise,
His steeds to water at those springs
On chaliced flowers that lies;
And winking Mary-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes:
With everything that pretty bin,
My lady sweet, arise!
Arise, arise!
William Shakespeare
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most freindship if feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly. William Shakespeare
Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,
That does not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As a friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
ROSES, their sharp spines being gone,
Not royal in their smells alone,
But in their hue;
Maiden pinks, of odour faint,
Daisies smell-less, yet most quaint,
And sweet thyme true
Primrose, firstborn child of Ver;
Merry springtime’s harbinger,
With her bells dim;
Oxlips in their cradles growing,
Marigolds on death-beds blowing,
Larks’-heels trim
All dear Nature’s children sweet
Lie ‘fore bride and bridegroom’s feet,
Blessing their sense!
Not an angel of the air,
Bird melodious or bird fair,
Be absent hence!
The crow, the slanderous cuckoo, nor
The boding raven, nor chough hoar,
Nor chattering pye,
May on our bride-house perch or sing,
Or with them any discord bring,
But from it fly!
COME away, come away, death,
And in sad cypres let me be laid;
Fly away, fly away, breath;
I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew,
O prepare it!
My part of death, no one so true
Did share it.
Not a flower, not a flower sweet,
On my black coffin let there be strown;
Not a friend, not a friend greet
My poor corse, where my bones shall be thrown:
A thousand thousand sighs to save,
Lay me, O, where
Sad true lover never find my grave
To weep there!
William Shakespeare
URNS and odours bring away!
Vapours, sighs, darken the day!
Our dole more deadly looks than dying;
Balms and gums and heavy cheers,
Sacred vials fill’d with tears,
And clamours through the wild air flying!
Come, all sad and solemn shows,
That are quick-eyed Pleasure’s foes!
We convent naught else but woes.
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun;
Nor the furious winter’s rages,
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust.
Fear no more the frown of the great,
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke:
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.
Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dread thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan;
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.
No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!
COME unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands:
Court’sied when you have, and kiss’d,–
The wild waves whist,–
Foot it featly here and there;
And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear.
Hark, hark!
Bow, wow,
The watch-dogs bark:
Bow, wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry, Cock-a-diddle-dow!
YOU spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong;
Come not near our fairy queen.
Philomel, with melody,
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby!
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good night, with lullaby.
Weaving spiders, come not here;
Hence, you long-legg’d spinners, hence!
Beetles black, approach not near;
Worm nor snail, do no offence.
Philomel, with melody,
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby!
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good night, with lullaby.
OVER hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moone’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
My crown is called content, a crown that seldom kings enjoy.
There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
To be, or not to be, that is the question.
The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.
When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.
God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
No legacy is so rich as honesty.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
The course of true love never did run smooth.
There is no darkness but ignorance.
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. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.
We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.
Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.
Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.
Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
They do not love that do not show their love.
An overflow of good converts to bad.
Like as the waves make towards the pebbl’d shore, so do our minutes, hasten to their end.
Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.
Life every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor far more precious dear than life.
We are time’s subjects, and time bids be gone.
To do a great right do a little wrong.
Now, God be praised, that to believing souls gives light in darkness, comfort in despair.
What is past is prologue.
Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.
Come, gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness.
Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent.
Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.
Men’s vows are women’s traitors!
Love is too young to know what conscience is.
Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.
Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.
Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time.
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch, which hurts and is desired.
Love sought is good, but given unsought, is better.
Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.
In a false quarrel there is no true valor.
When we are born we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.
I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.
Farewell, fair cruelty.
Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.
Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
My pride fell with my fortunes.
Talking isn’t doing it is a kind of good deed to say well and yet words are not deeds.
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