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The most famous love story ever told? (or The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, to give it the full title) might just take that crown, and William Shakespeare’s tale of two star-crossed lovers has inspired romances for centuries, from its debut in 1559 all the way to the current day. Set in Verona, this is a tragic love story that has transcended its original form and becomes an integral part of romantic iconography, full of famous lines, unforgettable quotes, and such sweet sorrow.
There is so much more to William Shakespeare’s famous love story than the simple blossoming of romance between a boy and a girl in Verona. The many characters of Romeo and Juliet bring charm, humour, clarity, and violence to the play and are arguably the most quotable aspect, from Mercutio’s saucy one-liners to the cautious wisdom of Friar Laurence and the rest. The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is romantic, acerbic, inspiring and heartbreaking all at once, as much about the political squabblings of the Montagues and Capulets as it is the infectious excitement of that famous pair of “star-cross’d lovers.”
From its beginnings in the unrequited love of Rosaline to its famously violent end, Romeo and Juliet is packed with memorable quotes that are as inspirational as they are heart-wrenching. Whether it is the enthusiasm of Juliet and Romeo, the righteous passion of Tybalt, the reluctant influence of the true apothecary or the reticence of Benvolio, Romeo and Juliet has given the world quote after quote that has transcended the play and become an integral part of the modern romantic discourse. After all, who among us has not dreamt of that famous balcony scene coming true in our own lives? These are the most iconic Romeo and Juliet quotes, lines to recite over and over again.
Famous lines from Romeo and Juliet
Has there ever been a more quotable play? William Shakespeare's best works were always eminently quotable, but the sweet sorrow of The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet touched a chord like no other, inspiring laments of love for centuries. Many of the lines in Romeo and Juliet are classics, but some are more well-known than others. You will probably recognize most of these often-quoted Romeo and Juliet quotes. You might even have used them from time to time without being entirely sure where you got them from. The answer? The greatest love story ever told, of course.
2. “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.” — Romeo
3. “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” — Abram
4. “What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word. As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.” — Tybalt
5. “My only love sprung from my only hate!” — Juliet
6. “Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.” — Mercutio
7. “Care keeps his watch in every old man's eye, And, where care lodges, sleep will never lie.” — Friar Lawrence
8. “These times of woe afford no time to woo.” — Paris
9. “It were a grief so brief to part with thee. Farewell.” — Romeo
10. “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” — Juliet
Quotes on love
The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is about many things, but it is the romantic element of the story that keeps it in the hearts and minds (but mostly the hearts) of an adoring public around the world. The play is filled with quotes that shine a bright light on the infectious nature of love, from the loss of reason to the absolute embrace of everything that life can be, fortune’s fools be damned. This is a story about the power of love, for better or for worse, and the best Romeo and Juliet quotes remind us of the intensity that our hearts are capable of. If you’re looking for wise words about matters of the heart, these quotes about love should do the trick.
11. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.” — Juliet
12. “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” — Romeo
13. “O, swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” — Juliet
14. “If love be rough with you, be rough with love.” — Mercutio
15. “Under love's heavy burden do I sink.” — Romeo
16. “You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings And soar with them above a common bound.” — Mercutio
17. “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.” — Romeo
18. “Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.” — Romeo
19. “O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head, As is a winged messenger of heaven.” — Romeo
20. “If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.” — Mercutio
Quotes about death
Romeo and Juliet is a story about love, but ultimately it is also a story about death. After all, barely any of the central characters survive, and the star-crossed lovers immortalised at the heart of the story perish in a most heartbreaking manner. The play is filled with quotes about death from a variety of angles, phrases that face mortality head-on, or simply hint at the great beyond from which we never return. Death changes those that are left behind, and that is very much true at the violent end of Romeo and Juliet. These quotes about death from the play might just have listeners approaching love, life and loss in a slightly different manner as the world continues to turn.
21. “These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume.” — Friar Lawrence
22. “I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” — Romeo
23. “Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.” — Romeo
24. “Some grief shows much of love, But much of grief shows still some want of wit.” — Lady Capulet
25. “Ready to go, but never to return.” — Capulet
26. “Death lies on her like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” — Capulet
27. “Thus with a kiss I die.” — Romeo
Quotes on fate and destiny
Were Romeo and Juliet destined for tragedy from the start? Throughout The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare (or the various characters, to be more exact) muse on the concept of fate and destiny, wondering whether certain things are preordained. The various events in Romeo and Juliet that lead to the heartbreaking ending seem to be wrought by destiny, the unavoidable fate that makes them “star-crossed lovers'', but is it really as simple as that? A fascinating treatise into things that may or may not be meant to be, here are the play’s best quotes about fate and destiny.
28. “What must be shall be.” — Juliet
29. “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” — Friar Lawrence
30. “O, I am Fortune's fool!” — Romeo
31. “What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” — Juliet
32. “He that is strucken blind cannot forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost." — Romeo
33. “Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, And vice sometime by action dignified." — Friar Lawrence
34. “Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe.” — Lady Montague
35. “The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law.” — Romeo
36. “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” — The Prince of Verona
When it comes to love stories, nothing stirs the soul quite like William Shakespeare’s iconic Romeo and Juliet. The story of two star-crossed lovers has inspired tragic romances for centuries and will continue to do as we hurtle through the 21st century and beyond. This most quotable love story has made dreamers of us all, inspired lovers to embrace the face of heaven if it means everlasting romance, and left legions searching desperately for that most righteous kiss. Often imitated but never duplicated, The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet remains the love story against which all others are judged. After all, there was never a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
