William Shakespeare

English playwright, poet, and actor of the Elizabethan era

9 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was baptized on 26 April 1564. Son of a glover and alderman, he married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and had three children. From 1592, he was active in London as an actor and playwright, becoming a leading sharer in the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men) and part-owner of the Globe Theatre. Author of at least 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and two narrative poems, he purchased New Place, one of Stratford's largest houses, in 1597. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church. His works, largely published in the First Folio of 1623, are translated into over 80 languages and have profoundly influenced world literature.

Major works

Hamlet (1603)play
Romeo and Juliet (1597)play
Macbeth (1623)play
Sonnets (1609)sonnet collection
The First Folio (1623)play collection

Key milestones

1564Baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.
1599Part-owner of the Globe Theatre, built in London.
1616Died in Stratford-upon-Avon, buried on 25 April.

Themes

Love and passionPower and ambitionBetrayal and jealousyFate and free willHuman nature and madness

Sources: folger.edu · rsc.org.uk

“Nothing will come of nothing; we must dare mighty things.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Motivation

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

— William ShakespeareTheme · Motivation

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“How use doth breed a habit in a man!”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Psychology

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“Ignorance is the curse of God, Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Knowledge

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“By medicine life may be prolonged, yet death will seize the doctor too.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Life

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“Men should be what they seem.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Society

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“How often the sight of means to do ill deeds, makes deeds ill done.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Psychology

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“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.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Motivation

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“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

— William ShakespeareTheme · Literature

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