|
|
| |
"That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold;
What hath quenched them hath given me fire."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Lady Macbeth, in Macbeth, act 2, sc. 2, l. 1-2.
Referring to the wine she has given Duncan's attendants. |
"You must bear with me.
Pray you now, forget and forgive; I am old and foolish."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Lear, in King Lear, act 4, sc. 7, l. 82-3.
Asking forgiveness of his daughter Cordelia. |
"Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?"
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Macbeth, in Macbeth, act 2, sc. 1, l. 36-9.
The vision is "fatal" as prompting him to murder; "heat-oppressed means fevered. |
"Maria. Nay, but say true, does it work upon him?
Sir Toby Belch. Like aqua vitae with a midwife."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Maria and Sir Toby Belch, in Twelfth Night, act 2, sc. 4, l. 195-6.
"Aqua vitae," the water of life, means brandy or other spirits. |
"Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire
What thou dost foist upon us that is old,"
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British poet. No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change (l. 5-6). . .
The Unabridged William Shakespeare, William George Clark and William Aldis Wright, eds. (1989) Running Press. |
"Think'st thou I'd make a life of jealousy,
To follow still the changes of the moon
With fresh suspicions? No! To be once in doubt
Is once to be resolv'd. Exchange me for a goat
When I shall turn the business of my soul
To such exsufflicate and blown surmises,
Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous
To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,
Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well;
Where virtue is, these are more virtuous.
Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw
The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt,
For she had eyes, and chose me. No, Iago,
I'll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove;
And on the proof, there is no more but this—
Away at once with love or jealousy!"
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British poet. Othello (III, iii). . .
The Unabridged William Shakespeare, William George Clark and William Aldis Wright, eds. (1989) Running Press. |
"O Lady Fortune,
Stand you auspicious!"
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Perdita, in The Winter's Tale, act 4, sc. 4, l. 51-2.
Hoping nothing will prevent her marriage to the prince Florizel. |
"I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, act 1, sc. 2, l. 23-5.
Playing on "will" as desire and as testament. |
"From the four corners of the earth they come
To kiss this shrine, this mortal-breathing saint."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Prince of Morocco, in The Merchant of Venice, act 2, sc. 7, l. 39-40.
In adoration of Portia. |
"Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Richard, in Richard III, act 1, sc. 1, l. 5.
At the end of the civil wars that plagued the reign of Henry VI. |
| |
|
|
|
|
William Shakespeare
Free
Poetry E-Book: