What is your all time favorite quote(or quotes, if you're like me and could almost never decide on just one) from any work by William Shakespeare?
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What is your all time favorite quote(or quotes, if you're like me and could almost never decide on just one) from any work by William Shakespeare?
That's difficult.
I wiould say my favourite quote is:
"What need one." From King Lear.
Too hard!!!!!!! Um..... probably
"Are you like the painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart?" (Hamlet)
Not really sure why I like that one so much, but it just has some kind of satisfactory finality at the end of it.
I like that,Lioness!
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
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt in your philosophy."
Hamlet, of course. Act 1, Scene 5.
"Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see."
From Macbeth act 1, scene 4.
"O that he were here to write me down an ***!
But masters, remember that I am an ***."
Act IV Scene ii
"There 's daggers in men's smiles".
Macbeth
(Act II, Scene III).
Oooh I thought of another one from Hamlet:
"Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears"
I tend to look on that one in a more cynical way: that Laertes is merely using the death of his sister to further his own ends; he cannot even bring himself to cry for her.
The hypocrisy of the brother who claims to care about you, but couldn't actually care less, is resonating quite strongly with me at the moment :mad:
Tough one. I think it's a tie between:
"We are oft to blame in this, 'tis too much prov'd,
That with devotion's visage and pious
Action, we do sugar o'er the devil himself."
-Hamlet. Act 3, Scene 1. Polonius.
And ...
"But then I sigh, and with a piece of scripture,
Tell them God bids us do good for evil.
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stol'n from holy writ
And seem a saint when most I play the dev'l."
-Richard III. Act 1, Scene 3. Gloucester/Richard III.
That one is extremely interesting...Quote:
Originally Posted by SnipSnap
"How far that little candle throws its beams,
So shines a good deed in a naughty world..."
Portia, in 'The Merchant of Venice'
"Frailty Thy name is Woman"
It is said that Queen Elizabeth watched the play. But I wonder was she angry when she heard "frailty thy name is woman"?Quote:
Originally Posted by Venusjd
Frankly speaking, if i were a woman, I would jump to the stage and argue with the actor...:flare:
Cry havoc! Let slip the dogs of war. - Julius Caesar.
favourite quote for comical reasons:
"What, you egg!" - Macbeth IV.ii
Favourite quote for poetical reasons:
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say
'This is no flattery: these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.'
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life exempt from public haunt
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in every thing.
I would not change it.
-As You Like It - II.i
"I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same
food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases,
heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter
and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If
you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?
And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the
rest, we will resemble you in that." - Shylock, Merchant of Venice
I loved how Al Pacino performed this in the 2004 movie, he was awesome.
Thou whoreson zed! Thou unnecessary letter!
Two short ones from Macbeth I always enjoy:
Oh, how full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife.
and:
It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood.
Both spoken by Macbeth. Both ominous.
"As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport."
-King Lear
:lol: Classic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Darnay
Henry V, Act IV, Scene 3Quote:
... These wounds I had on Crispin's Day...
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day
What is Saint Crispin's day? As in, who is st Crispin and why is his day significant?
Sorry if I'm being woefully ignorant :blush:
My favourite quote is:
A little more than kin, and less than kind.
Hamlet, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2.
Saint Crispin's day actually celebrated two people, Crispin and Crispian (hense the two spellings in the speech). They are the patron saints of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. The holiday used to be celebrated on October 25th, the day on which The Battle of Agincourt (the battle Henry V is speaking about) was fought in 1415.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lioness_Heart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Crispin
Incidently, The Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944) and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854) also occured on October 25th.
Ah... thank-you! Is it just a coiincidence that Agincourt is on that day, or is there some significance? I probably mean more in a Shakespearian way, as in, do you think there was a particular reason for its mention in the speech (other than that the battle was on the day)? Perhaps Henry V is trying to draw the troops together, making everyone feel equal and valued by calling on two of the saints of working-class industry?Quote:
Originally Posted by djy78usa
Just a thought... sorry, Drama, if I'm deviating from the topic, I'll find another postworthy quote soon...
You took the words right out of my mouth before I even thought of speaking them.Quote:
Originally Posted by AdoreroDio
Wow! These quotes are all so wonderful. My question is: is there such a thing as a bad Shakespeare quote? I mean, every line he wrote was stunning, so you can't exactly find anything bad (unless you cut a line off part way: To be or not to....)
Hamlet:
Why then 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or
bad, but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.
Othello:
Our bodies are our gardens, to the which
our wills are gardeners: so that if we will plant
nettles, or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up
thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs, or
distract it with many, either to have it sterile
with idleness, or manured with industry, why, the
power and corrigible authority of this lies in our
wills.
Here's my attempt to narrow it down to five:
i. Not a whit, we defy augury. There is special providence in
the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to
come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come—the
readiness is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows what is't
to leave betimes, let be. (Hamlet to Horatio)
ii. Ha, ha! keep time: how sour sweet music is,
When time is broke and no proportion kept!
So is it in the music of men's lives.
And here have I the daintiness of ear
To cheque time broke in a disorder'd string;
But for the concord of my state and time
Had not an ear to hear my true time broke.
I wasted time, and now doth time waste me; ... (Richard in prison)
iii. Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. (Prospero after the feast)
iv. When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools: ... (Mad Lear to Gloucester) or
'Tis the times' plague, when madmen lead the blind. (Gloucester to Old Man)
v. I'll so offend, to make offence a skill;
Redeeming time when men think least I will. (Prince Hal to his audience)
'Love's not time's fool'
-Sonnet #116
'A knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear'
-Hamlet. Act 4, Scene 2
This is my favorite too from Hamlet....I always cry in that scene. Amodli, glad that you posted this one; it saved me looking it up. I have some more Shakespeare favorites but will have to look those up online and then post later on. One is "Henry V's" famous soliquey in the night camp. That one goes right to my heart. I also love one by Byron in "Love's Labours Lost." I will have to go hunt for these online...too much typging.
Not a whit, we defy augury. There is special providence in
the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to
come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come—the
readiness is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows what is't
to leave betimes, let be. (Hamlet to Horatio)
Good one, Janine. Also from Hamlet this always strikes me:
I haue of late, but wherefore I knowe not, lost all my mirth,
forgon all custome of exercises: and indeede it goes so heauily with
my disposition, that this goodly frame the earth, seemes to mee a
sterill promontorie, this most excellent Canopie the ayre, looke
you, this braue orehanging firmament, this maiesticall roofe fret-
ted with golden fire, why it appeareth nothing to me but a foule
and pestilent congregation of vapoures. What peece of worke is a
man, how noble in reason, how infinit in faculties, in forme and
moouing, how expresse and admirable in action, how like an An-
gell in apprehension, how like a God: the beautie of the world; the
paragon of Annimales; and yet to me, what is this Quintessence of
dust: man delights not me
X
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the gap up with our English dead. (Henry V)
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise;
This fortress, built by nature for herself,
Against infection, and the hand of war;
This happy breed of men, this little world;
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, (Richard II)
I must be feeling a bit patriotic tonight!
Have you read Henry VI part One? Overall a poor play with a few good bits in it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Abdiel
Caliban to Prospero
You taught me language, and my profit on't
Is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you
For learning me your language!
The Tempest
From "Macbeth", 5.5:
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
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."
'The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars. It is in ourselves that we are underlings' (Julius Caeser)
'It is a tale told by an idiot/Full of sound and fury/Signifying nothing' (Macbeth)
And probably many more.
This is my favorite, too!...Quote:
i. Not a whit, we defy augury. There is special providence in
the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to
come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come—the
readiness is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows what is't
to leave betimes, let be. (Hamlet to Horatio)
hahah...I see I posted it twice now; well you know how much I love this line since I didn't realise I had done so just now; I had to edit this entry.