The plays were written more than 400 years ago by Great " William Shakespeare", but the words of William Shakespeare remain timeless.
Thanks in large part to the Bard of Avon's ability to poetically capture universal human emotions with overarching themes that continue to remain relevant, many continue to find his writing highly relatable.
As the most quoted English writer, Shakespeare created more than his fair share of famous quotes. We often talk about Shakespeare’s quotes as things the wise Bard is saying to us, but we should remember that some of his wisest words are spoken by his biggest fools.
In fact, whether one knows it or not, many lines of his work live far outside high school English classrooms. Shakespeare has been credited with either coining or at least popularizing myriad phrases that have become so ingrained into the everyday lexicon that many aren't even aware of their origins.
Just a few examples: "love is blind" (The Merchant of Venice), "break the ice" (The Taming of the Shrew), "be-all, end-all" (Macbeth), and "wild-goose chase" (Romeo and Juliet).
Some William Shakespeare quotes are known for their beauty, some Shakespeare quotes for their everyday truths and some for their wisdom.
Although, A Midsummer Night's Dream is Shakespeare's most popular play both in the United States and abroad. But most of his plays are praised all over the world.
Let's Have a Look at Some of Them
1. "To be, or not to be, that is the question …" - "Hamlet"
2. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players;" - "As You Like It"
3. "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" - "Richard III"
4. "The course of true love never did run smooth …" - "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
5. "To sleep - perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub..." - "Hamlet"
6. "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." - "Macbeth"
7. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears …" - "Julius Caesar"
8. "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." - "Henry VI, Part II"
9. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." - "Hamlet"
10. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose" - "Romeo and Juliet"
11. "How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world …" - "The Tempest"
12. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more …" - "Henry V"
13. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio …" - "Hamlet"
14. "Out, damned spot! out, I say!" - "Macbeth"
15. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" - "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
16. "I am a man more sinned against than sinning." - "King Lear"
17. "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer …" - "Richard III"
18. "There is a willow grows aslant a brook, that shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream..." - "Hamlet"
19. "And kiss me, Kate, we will be married o' Sunday." - "The Taming of the Shrew"
20. "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." - "Macbeth"
21. "A guiltless death I die" - "Othello"
22. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." - "Henry IV, Part 2"
23. "My salad days When I was green in judgment: cold in blood …" - "Anthony and Cleopatra"
24. “Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss, I die." - "Romeo and Juliet"
25. "When in the why and the wherefore is neither rhyme nor reason?" - "The Comedy Of Errors"
Classification of the Plays
Shakespeare's works include the 36 plays printed in the First Folio of 1623, listed according to their folio classification as comedies, histories, and tragedies.
Two plays not included in the First Folio, The Two Noble Kinsmen and Pericles, Prince of Tyre, are now accepted as part of the canon, with today's scholars agreeing that Shakespeare made major contributions to the writing of both. No Shakespearean poems were included in the First Folio.
Through Late 19th Century
In the late 19th century, Edward Dowden classified four of the late comedies as romances, and though many scholars prefer to call them tragicomedies, Dowden's term is often used.
In 1896, Frederick S. Boas coined the term "problem plays" to describe four plays: All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and Hamlet.
"Dramas as singular in theme and temper cannot be strictly called comedies or tragedies", he wrote. "We may, therefore, borrow a convenient phrase from the theatre of today and class them together as Shakespeare's problem plays." The term much debated and sometimes applied to other plays remains in use though Hamlet is definitively classed as a tragedy.
Comparing Shakespeare's accomplishments to those of leading figures in philosophy and theology, Harold Bloom wrote: "Shakespeare was larger than Plato and than St. Augustine. He encloses us because we see with his fundamental perceptions."
Written By - Bhagyadeep Jena
Edited By - Gunika Manchanda
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