The usurping helmets of our adversaries.’ ‘Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath, Then reason will our hearts should be as good.’ Our armour all as strong, our cause the best
‘Our battle is more full of names than yours, Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!’ The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, ‘… the neighing steed and the shrill trump ‘Grim-visag’d war hath smoothed his wrinkled front.’ ‘Now for the bare-pick’d bone of majestyĪnd snarleth in the gentle eyes of peace.’ ‘There are few die well that die in a battle.’ ‘And all the gods go with you! upon your swordĪntony and Cleopatra 33. Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood Īmaze the welkin with your broken staves!’ ‘Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen!ĭraw, archers, draw your arrows to the head! ‘I drew this gallant head of war,Īnd cull’d these fiery spirits from the world,Įven in the jaws of danger and of death.’ Rich men look sad and ruffians dance and leap, The pale-fac’d moon looks bloody on the earthĪnd lean-look’d prophets whisper fearful change ‘The bay-trees in our country all are wither’dĪnd meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven Let him depart his passport shall be made.’ With man’s blood paint the ground, gules, gules ‘That I may truly say with the hook-nosed fellow of Rome, I came, I saw, and overcame.’ My soul’s in arms, and eager for the fray.’Ĭymbeline 26. Hark! the shrill trumpet sounds, to horse, away, ‘Conscience avaunt, Richard’s himself again: With that same weak wind which enkindled it.’ ‘Your breath first kindled the dead coal of warsĪnd brought in matter that should feed this fire Īnd now ’tis far too huge to be blown out ‘The armourers, accomplishing the knights, ‘Let’s march without the noise of threat’ning drum.’ Rather, the citizenry infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and do it gladly so.’ ‘And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind is closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. ‘From camp to camp through the foul womb of night Which many a good tall fellow had destroy’d That villanous saltpetre should be digg’d ‘Blow, wind! come, wrack!Īt least we’ll die with harness on our back.’ ‘In war, events of importance are the result of trivial causes.’ ‘The fire-eyed maid of smoky warĪll hot and bleeding will we offer them.’ The cannons to heavens, the heavens to earth.’ ‘Hang out our banners on the outward walls.’ When the intent of bearing them is just.’ Their iron indignation ‘gainst your walls.’ ‘The cannons have their bowels full of wrath, Hath no self-love, nor he that loves himself, Hot coals of vengeance! Let no soldier fly.
Whom angry heavens do make their minister, ‘Who does i’ the wars more than his captain canĪntony and Cleopatra 8. ‘Sound trumpets! let our bloody colours wave! ‘Each Trojan that is master of his heart, Let him to field Troilus, alas! hath none.’ ‘War gives the right to the conquerors to impose any condition they please upon the vanquished.’ ‘We must have bloody noses and crack’d crowns,Īnd pass them current too. Or close the wall up with our English dead.’ ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more Shakespeare’s references to war are among the most quoted phrases in our culture. English history is to a large extent the history of war, and therefore one of the main subjects for writers to write about. Although in the modern world we try to avoid war, Shakespeare recognised the fact that war is one of the great human themes, along with love and death ( read more about themes in Shakespeare’s plays). This page lists 50 Shakespeare quotes about war. Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale This list of Shakespeare plays brings together all 38 plays in alphabetical order. Plays It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 15.