ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

William Shakespeare - Words of Wisdom

Updated on August 16, 2013
First Folio - the works of William Shakespeare published in 1623.
First Folio - the works of William Shakespeare published in 1623. | Source

Shakespeare's Quotes

Having recently written an article on the true author of Shakespeare's works - William Shakespeare and only William Shakespeare, I couldn't help to remember some of the famous words from his writings. He has coined a few phrases that up to today still remain in our vocabulary and lexicon. What a genius!

He had a great understanding of the different aspects of our lives and the motivations behind them: love, hate, jealousy, betrayal, relationships, power, prejudice, murder, marriage, family, intrigue, disguise, thievery, society, comedy, tragedy, and history. Shakespeare understood it all and wrote about it with cleverness and wit. That is why his plays and sonnets are so universal and timeless and have been published in so many different languages. His plays can be staged in any time period: antiquity, past or present, and have been done so over the years by many.

Below are a list of some of his famous words or quotes from his various plays and sonnets. They are in no particular order and the particular work from which they are taken is not identified. These words stand alone, and even though taken out of context, can add richness, meaning and lessons to our individual lives. This is why I call Shakespeare a genius. They have been chosen randomly and come from the web-site: http://www.brainlyquotes.com Some of the works from which these are taken, you will be able to guess and identify. I believe no explanation is necessary to their meaning as they can have a different meaning to each individual person. If your decade of age happens to be the 20's, read these again when you are in your 50's and see if the meanings have changed for you. They have for me. If you are in your 50's decade, read this again when you are in your 80's or 90's and see what the meaning is to you then.


All the words below have been authored by William Shakespeare and come from his works or he has incorporated the sayings of his day into his own words and included them in his works:




With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.


There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.


The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.


This above all, to thine own self be true.


What's done can't be undone.


Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent.


Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.


I say there is no darkness but ignorance.


Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.


Parting is such sweet sorrow.


A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise fool knows himself to be a fool.


Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.


Boldness be my friend.


Hell is empty and all the devils are here.


Give thy thoughts no tongue.


For my part, it was Greek to me.


But men are men, the best sometimes forget.


Go to your bosom; Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know.


I am not bound to please thee with my answer.


Everyone ought to bear patiently the results of his own conduct.


Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valient never taste of death but once.


Like as the waves make towards the pebb'd shore, so do our minutes, hasten to their end.

Love sought is good but given unsought, is better.


Neither a borrower or a lender be.


The course of true love never did run smooth.


Oh what fools these mortals be.


Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge.


'Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall.


We know what we are, but know not what we may be.


The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.


A peace is of a nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party a loser.


But, O, how bitter a thing is to look into happiness through another man's eyes.


Expectation is the root of all heartache.


He is winding the watch of his wit; by and by it will strike.


How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal by by degrees.


How far the little candle throws its beam! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

Give every man thy ear, but few they voice.


Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.


It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.


I have learned much from Shakespeare's words and the reading of his works. I hope you have as well. Some of his words have become the sayings of our day and we have incorporated them in our vocabulary and lexicon as his words are timeless and universal.










working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)