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"Thy spirit within thee hath been so at war,
And thus hath so bestirred thee in thy sleep,
That beads of sweat have stood upon thy brow,
Like bubbles in a late-disturbed stream."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Lady Percy, in Henry IV, Part 1, act 2, sc. 3, l. 56-9.
Describing Hotspur's troubled state of mind as he plots a rebellion against the king. |
"A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Leonato, in Much Ado About Nothing, act 1, sc. 1, l. 8-9.
On a battle won with almost no loss of life. |
"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven, or to hell."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Macbeth, in Macbeth, act 2, sc. 1, l. 62-4.
On his way to murder Duncan. |
"The skies look grimly
And threaten present blusters."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Mariner, in The Winter's Tale, act 3, sc. 3, l. 3-4. |
"But we are spirits of another sort.
I with the morning's love have oft made sport,
And like a forester the groves may tread
Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red,
Opening on Neptune with fair blessèd beams,
Turns unto yellow gold his salt green streams."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Oberon, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, act 3, sc. 2, l. 389-93.
The fairies, being benign spirits, do not have to disappear with the dawn, but can greet the rising sun that changes the color of the sea (Neptune). |
"O curse of marriage,
That we can call these delicate creatures ours
And not their appetites!"
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Othello, in Othello, act 3, sc. 3. |
"Time's the king of men;
He's both their parent and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British poet. Pericles (II, iii). . .
The Unabridged William Shakespeare, William George Clark and William Aldis Wright, eds. (1989) Running Press. |
"O love, be moderate, allay thy ecstasy,
In measure rain thy joy, scant this excess!
I feel too much thy blessing; make it less,
For fear I surfeit."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, act 3, sc. 2, l. 111-4.
Overjoyed on seeing Bassanio choose the right casket to win her; "scant" means moderate. |
"So may I, blind fortune leading me,
Miss that which one unworthier may attain,
And die with grieving."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Prince of Morocco, in The Merchant of Venice, act 2, sc. 1, l. 36-8.
Determined to take his chance in choosing among the caskets that will show whether he is to be Portia's husband; Fortune is proverbially blind. |
"O, 'tis a parlous boy,
Bold, quick, ingenious, forward, capable.
He is all the mother's, from the top to toe."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Richard, in Richard III, act 3, sc. 1, l. 154-6.
Describing Prince Edward; "parlous" = dangerously clever. |
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William Shakespeare
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