Favourite Shakesperian Quotes - Historum

**Earl_of_Rochester** · June 14th, 2012, 01:17 PM

Harken to me fellow Historumites, lend me your ears!

The game's afoot, follow your spirit and upon this charge cry out your favourite Shakesperian quotes!

I've always rather liked these:

SUFFOLK: ...
For where thou art, there is the world itself, and where thou art not, desolation.

Hamlet: ...
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil

Hamlet:
O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a
king of infinite space—were it not that I have bad dreams.
I'm not looking for entire excerpts from the plays, just a few words which you've found to hold deeply significant and personal meaning.

-EoR

**Von Ranke** · June 14th, 2012, 01:24 PM

My favourite is from the Scottish Play :

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.

**Earl_of_Rochester** · June 14th, 2012, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Von Ranke

My favourite is from the Scottish Play :

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.

Old Will Shakespeare was certainly a very astute philosopher. Eat your heart out Hobbes and Hume.

**General Michael Collins** · June 14th, 2012, 01:45 PM

I absoultely love Hamlet, too many to mention. Maybe this;

Quote:

the power of beauty will sooner transform
honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of
honesty can translate beauty into his likeness.

and

Quote:

I am very proud, revengeful,
ambitious; with more offences at my beck than I have
thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape,
or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do,
crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves
all; believe none of us.

**Earl_of_Rochester** · June 14th, 2012, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Michael Collins

I absoultely love Hamlet,

Excellent choices, I'm not overly familiar with every single play but Hamlet is by far my favourite for quotes. I wonder if it was his best work?

**Kevinmeath** · June 14th, 2012, 01:51 PM

" You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"

Henry V at the siege of Harfleur I think

**General Michael Collins** · June 14th, 2012, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl_of_Rochester

Excellent choices, I'm not overly familiar with every single play but Hamlet is by far my favourite for quotes. I wonder if it was his best work?

I have only familiarised myself with Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice, and while both are incredible, I must say I prefer Hamlet. Almost every quote is advice for life, and philosophy.

**tjadams** · June 14th, 2012, 03:48 PM

"Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war, that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial."

Act 3, Scene 1, line 273|Julius Caesar