The quality of mercy is not strain’d.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blest:It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomesThe throned monarch better than his crown.His scepter shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majesty,Wherein doth sit […]
Shakespeare Poetry, Sonnets and Verses
There are 152 short sonnets attributed to Shakespeare. Among them, the most famous ones are Sonnet 18, Sonnet 29, Sonnet 71, and Sonnet 55.
As a collection, narrative sequence of his Sonnets speaks to Shakespeare's deep insecurity and jealousy as a lover, his grief at separation, and his delight in sharing beautiful experiences with his romantic counterparts. However, few scholars believe that the sequence of the sonnets accurately depicts the order in which they were written. Because Shakespeare seemed to write primarily for his own private audience, dating these short jewels of literature has been next to impossible.
In this section of the website you will find famous lines of poetry and prose from Shakespeare's famous works.
All the World’s a Stage by William Shakespeare
All the world’s a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchelAnd shining morning face, creeping like snailUnwillingly to school. And […]
A Lover’s Complaint by William Shakespeare
FROM off a hill whose concave womb rewordedA plaintful story from a sistering vale,My spirits to attend this double voice accorded,And down I laid to list the sad-tuned tale;Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale,Tearing of papers, breaking rings a-twain,Storming her world with sorrow’s wind and rain. Upon her head a platted hive of […]
A Fairy Song by William Shakespeare
Over hill, over dale,Thorough bush, thorough brier,Over park, over pale,Thorough flood, thorough fire!I do wander everywhere,Swifter than the moon’s sphere;And I serve the Fairy Queen,To dew her orbs upon the green;The cowslips tall her pensioners be;In their gold coats spots you see;Those be rubies, fairy favours;In those freckles live their savours;I must go seek some […]
Witches Chant – From Macbeth
Round about the couldron go:In the poisones entrails throw.Toad,that under cold stoneDays and nights has thirty-oneSweated venom sleeping got,Boil thou first in the charmed pot.Double,double toil and trouble;Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake,In the cauldron boil and bake;Eye of newt and toe of frog,Wool of bat and tongue of dog,Adder’s fork […]