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Is This a Dagger Which I See Before Me?
'And when I shall die,Take him and cut him out in little stars.'This collection of Shakespeare's soliloquies, including both old favourites and lesser-known pieces, shows him at his dazzling best.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.
Mass Market Paperback
First published March 3, 2016
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About the author
William Shakespeare
27.8k books47.1k followersWilliam Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
June 10, 2019
i love shakespeare and his quick wit and funny remarks on either human nature or society.
but i didn’t really understand this collection of little snippets of his different works?
i read all how his plays and i think most of what is in this book is also in the plays (it’s been a while so don’t quote me on it but i didn’t think anything new or unprinted was added here?) so what is the purpose of this little collection of random snippets of his plays?
And its not as if they were all little sections of different plays handling one topic. That i would have understood. If the theme of the entire book -for example- would have been dagger? Great! Shakespeare loved his daggers! so add sections of his plays and other writings where he talkes about those.
But if i wasn't completely out of it (again can't guarantee that either since i am currently suffering from a migraine that keeps me pretty well occupied and will. just. not. leave! so my brain power is not has its all time high!) this booklet didn't feature most of his dagger scenes at all...
So what was the purpose if it?
Because if you never read shakespeare before this, i am sure, this will only confuse you because you don’t have any real background to any of what is going on or who those people are or what they are doing... so clearly its not an introductionary book to the works and plays of his.
But also if you read all of his thing and love him... this adds nothing you don't already know or can reread in your favourites of his?
i am confused!
all in all through it’s shakespeare so i am not complaining, just puzzled.
if you love him and want a pocket sized, transportable little mini booklet with a mixture of snippets? this is great!
if you are not a “carry shakespeare EVERYWHERE” type? not sure what you could do with this honestly!
but i didn’t really understand this collection of little snippets of his different works?
i read all how his plays and i think most of what is in this book is also in the plays (it’s been a while so don’t quote me on it but i didn’t think anything new or unprinted was added here?) so what is the purpose of this little collection of random snippets of his plays?
And its not as if they were all little sections of different plays handling one topic. That i would have understood. If the theme of the entire book -for example- would have been dagger? Great! Shakespeare loved his daggers! so add sections of his plays and other writings where he talkes about those.
But if i wasn't completely out of it (again can't guarantee that either since i am currently suffering from a migraine that keeps me pretty well occupied and will. just. not. leave! so my brain power is not has its all time high!) this booklet didn't feature most of his dagger scenes at all...
So what was the purpose if it?
Because if you never read shakespeare before this, i am sure, this will only confuse you because you don’t have any real background to any of what is going on or who those people are or what they are doing... so clearly its not an introductionary book to the works and plays of his.
But also if you read all of his thing and love him... this adds nothing you don't already know or can reread in your favourites of his?
i am confused!
all in all through it’s shakespeare so i am not complaining, just puzzled.
if you love him and want a pocket sized, transportable little mini booklet with a mixture of snippets? this is great!
if you are not a “carry shakespeare EVERYWHERE” type? not sure what you could do with this honestly!
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January 23, 2023Rating: ?? stars
It’s only 100ish pages, won’t take me long, right? WRONG. I underestimated the amount of brain power it would take to read in Shakespeare's poetic meter. A problem I always have when reading Shakespeare is that my brain doesn’t read rhythmically, it just reads monotone. I had to go look up examples of iambic pentameter again (flash back to studying Macbeth) because just saying "da DUM" over an over again in my head wasn’t getting me very far.
So to sum it all up, yeah, it's good poetry… but man, so much of this could be solved so simply. I know these are the soliloquies which are arguably the most dramatic part, (you can just imagine a white middle aged man in a wig spitting all over the front row while saying these) but still. I think the truth it all comes down to for me is that the summaries of Shakespeare's stuff always is more interesting than the actual reading of it. There's so much fluff, so much extra drama (for lack of a better word) in his work, but when you strip that all away, you do actually get a good story. This little collection was made up of all those off-cuts.
It’s only 100ish pages, won’t take me long, right? WRONG. I underestimated the amount of brain power it would take to read in Shakespeare's poetic meter. A problem I always have when reading Shakespeare is that my brain doesn’t read rhythmically, it just reads monotone. I had to go look up examples of iambic pentameter again (flash back to studying Macbeth) because just saying "da DUM" over an over again in my head wasn’t getting me very far.
So to sum it all up, yeah, it's good poetry… but man, so much of this could be solved so simply. I know these are the soliloquies which are arguably the most dramatic part, (you can just imagine a white middle aged man in a wig spitting all over the front row while saying these) but still. I think the truth it all comes down to for me is that the summaries of Shakespeare's stuff always is more interesting than the actual reading of it. There's so much fluff, so much extra drama (for lack of a better word) in his work, but when you strip that all away, you do actually get a good story. This little collection was made up of all those off-cuts.
June 28, 2017
This little book of shakespeare is a beautiful book, full of the best scenes, some well known and some that deserve greater recognition.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
November 17, 2019
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I thought it was strange that Shakespeare was not included in the original 80 Little Black Classics, but it is here, in the additional 46. So rather than waiting when I would finally arrive at #113, I decided to immediately read this one.
Shakespeare is great, and as such I liked this but these were all such little snippets that I didn't think this is the best way to read it. Or, better still, go see a play, that way, for me, the works come to life best!
~ Little Black Classics #113 ~
I thought it was strange that Shakespeare was not included in the original 80 Little Black Classics, but it is here, in the additional 46. So rather than waiting when I would finally arrive at #113, I decided to immediately read this one.
Shakespeare is great, and as such I liked this but these were all such little snippets that I didn't think this is the best way to read it. Or, better still, go see a play, that way, for me, the works come to life best!
~ Little Black Classics #113 ~
February 21, 2019
Capturing Human emotions, whether grand or tiny, is something Shakespeare does very well. Reading these out of context did seem a bit strange, even if the reader is provided with a few sentences on what is going on at this point in the given play. I did enjoy reading this book, and I'm glad I wasn't overly spoiled on the Shakespeare plays that I have not read yet.
July 8, 2025
I have read and analysed Shakespeare lots and lots of times. That is why I feel this little anthology is a pretty good introduction to the author, as it provides a myriad of excerpts from the Bard’s plays. Above all, if you have read Shakespeare’s work, this will come as no surprise. However, I am biased when Shakespeare is concerned. I love his remarks on the human condition and the foolishness of human existence. And that is probably why I will NEVER rate a Shakespeare work less than 3 stars (sue me). As a reminder of some of Shakespeare’s quotes, this book is marvellous. Nonetheless, if you are not looking for that maybe you can skip it (although I would recommend it as a lightweight dosis of Shakespeare).
September 29, 2020
While I liked the inclusion of some lesser-known monologues, I was a bit disappointed by the selection (too much of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and not enough of anything else). That's likely just me being picky though, and I'll definitely be keeping this on-hand for auditions.
August 28, 2025
'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.
April 13, 2022
This is a great collection, perfect for anyone looking to dip their toe into Shakespeare's work.
December 8, 2019
This was a nice little collection of Shakespeare’s soliloquies. Although in a collection such as Little Black Classics, why has it taken until book 113 for a Shakey inclusion?
Although it’s a treat to read the most famous and evocative all at once, there was something quite jarring and disengaging about reading them in this way. Penguin provide short explanations before each, in order to give context, but of course they are far better consumed as part of the whole.
Despite that, I’ve now been incentivised to read some of Shakey’s plays which I had no interest in before, mainly the Henrys. Some of the passages were truly excellent, particularly those dealing with the characters’ mental states as a result of war, or the fight for the crown; I’m excited to delve further into these.
A decent addition to the range. Penguin haven’t totally missed the mark with this, but could have benefitted from a little more thought towards the context and inclusion.
Although it’s a treat to read the most famous and evocative all at once, there was something quite jarring and disengaging about reading them in this way. Penguin provide short explanations before each, in order to give context, but of course they are far better consumed as part of the whole.
Despite that, I’ve now been incentivised to read some of Shakey’s plays which I had no interest in before, mainly the Henrys. Some of the passages were truly excellent, particularly those dealing with the characters’ mental states as a result of war, or the fight for the crown; I’m excited to delve further into these.
A decent addition to the range. Penguin haven’t totally missed the mark with this, but could have benefitted from a little more thought towards the context and inclusion.
June 6, 2021
3.5 ⭐
Having only read/studied/watched adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Coriolanus, and Macbeth (the latter being my favourite), it was very interesting to experience a sample of soliloquies from a range of Shakespeare's plays. This little black classic put each passage in context of the play and the particular scene that meant I wasn't required to research each play to have an understanding of the passages.
This has encouraged me to get to more Shakespeare, and from the soliloquies in here, I think Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Cymbeline will be my priorities.
Having only read/studied/watched adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Coriolanus, and Macbeth (the latter being my favourite), it was very interesting to experience a sample of soliloquies from a range of Shakespeare's plays. This little black classic put each passage in context of the play and the particular scene that meant I wasn't required to research each play to have an understanding of the passages.
This has encouraged me to get to more Shakespeare, and from the soliloquies in here, I think Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Cymbeline will be my priorities.
February 3, 2021
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.
- Henry VIII
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.
- Henry VIII
July 19, 2020
“O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!”
- The Tempest
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!”
- The Tempest
October 18, 2023
súper buena colección :)
creo que para te guste este libro ya tienes que haber leído muchos plays. pero básicamente reúne los versos más "icónicos" de cada obra. prefiero leer sus obras completas pero aún así me gustó :)
creo que para te guste este libro ya tienes que haber leído muchos plays. pero básicamente reúne los versos más "icónicos" de cada obra. prefiero leer sus obras completas pero aún así me gustó :)
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December 11, 2022what’s this? what’s this? is this her falut of mine? the tempter or the tempted, who sins the most? ha?
July 1, 2025
When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.
(Docked .25 bc this collection included loads of his kings plays bleh)
(Docked .25 bc this collection included loads of his kings plays bleh)
June 21, 2023
kurwa co to było
April 5, 2025
I do love a good bit of Shakespeare!
Reading these aloud was so fun. This made me want to read the history plays SO. BADLY. Also reminded me to finally study/read about the Wars of the Roses (I’m from Yorkshire, shame on me for not knowing more about them)!!
🎭 And I - like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rents the thorns and is rent with the thorns,
Seeking a way and straying from the way,
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out -
Torment myself to catch the English crown
- Henry VI, Part 3
🎭 Can I do this, and cannot get a crown
Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.
- Henry VI, Part 3
🎭 I, that am rudely stamped, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling Nature,
Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
Into this breathing world scarce half made up
- Richard III
🎭 Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
🎭 For ere Demetrius looked on Hermia's eyne,
He hailed down oaths that he was only mine,
And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt,
So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
🎭 What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
- Romeo and Juliet
🎭 Like a poor beggar raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.
- King John
🎭 And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
- Julius Caesar
🎭 It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
- Hamlet
🎭 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
- Hamlet
🎭 To be, or not to be - that is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
- Hamlet
🎭 To die - to sleep -
To sleep - perchance to dream.
- Hamlet
🎭 Thus conscience does make cowards of us all
- Hamlet
🎭 Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair,
When with your blood you daily paint her thus.
- Troilus and Cressida
🎭 Never could the strumpet,
With all her double vigour, art and nature,
Once stir my temper; but this virtuous maid
Subdues me quite. Ever till now,
When men were fond, I smiled and wondered how.
- Measure for Measure
🎭 ‘Twere all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me.
In his bright radiance and collateral light
Must I be comforted, not in his sphere.
- All’s Well That Ends Well
🎭 Well then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate. Fine word 'legitimate'
Well, my legitimate', if this letter speed
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow. I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
- King Lear
🎭 Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse
- Macbeth
🎭 By your untimely claspings with your child,
Which pleasures fits a husband, not a father,
And she, an eater of her mother's flesh
By the defiling of her parents' bed;
And both like serpents are, who though they feed
On sweetest flowers, yet they poison breed.
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
🎭 One sin, I know, another doth provoke.
Murder's as near to lust as flame to smoke.
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Reading these aloud was so fun. This made me want to read the history plays SO. BADLY. Also reminded me to finally study/read about the Wars of the Roses (I’m from Yorkshire, shame on me for not knowing more about them)!!
🎭 And I - like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rents the thorns and is rent with the thorns,
Seeking a way and straying from the way,
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out -
Torment myself to catch the English crown
- Henry VI, Part 3
🎭 Can I do this, and cannot get a crown
Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.
- Henry VI, Part 3
🎭 I, that am rudely stamped, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling Nature,
Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
Into this breathing world scarce half made up
- Richard III
🎭 Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
🎭 For ere Demetrius looked on Hermia's eyne,
He hailed down oaths that he was only mine,
And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt,
So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
🎭 What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
- Romeo and Juliet
🎭 Like a poor beggar raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.
- King John
🎭 And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
- Julius Caesar
🎭 It is not, nor it cannot come to good.
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
- Hamlet
🎭 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
- Hamlet
🎭 To be, or not to be - that is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
- Hamlet
🎭 To die - to sleep -
To sleep - perchance to dream.
- Hamlet
🎭 Thus conscience does make cowards of us all
- Hamlet
🎭 Fools on both sides! Helen must needs be fair,
When with your blood you daily paint her thus.
- Troilus and Cressida
🎭 Never could the strumpet,
With all her double vigour, art and nature,
Once stir my temper; but this virtuous maid
Subdues me quite. Ever till now,
When men were fond, I smiled and wondered how.
- Measure for Measure
🎭 ‘Twere all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me.
In his bright radiance and collateral light
Must I be comforted, not in his sphere.
- All’s Well That Ends Well
🎭 Well then,
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate. Fine word 'legitimate'
Well, my legitimate', if this letter speed
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow. I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
- King Lear
🎭 Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse
- Macbeth
🎭 By your untimely claspings with your child,
Which pleasures fits a husband, not a father,
And she, an eater of her mother's flesh
By the defiling of her parents' bed;
And both like serpents are, who though they feed
On sweetest flowers, yet they poison breed.
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
🎭 One sin, I know, another doth provoke.
Murder's as near to lust as flame to smoke.
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
March 1, 2017
I really love it. I love the fee scenes of the favourite played. It was a joy to read it.
December 14, 2016
I really enjoyed this little collection of Shakespeare's soliloquies.
It was fantastic to be able to read the well known and lesser known soliloquies of Shakespeare's vast amount of plays. I haven't yet read all of his plays, so this was a wonderful way to get a taste of each of them.
I think Shakespeare is better performed than read, however it was wonderful to be able to read passages that I've often seen performed. The 'father and son' scene from Henry VI Part 3 in particular was brilliant to read and absolutely broke my heart (again!).
I was a bit disappointed that certain soliloquies weren't included in the collection, however it would no longer be a Little Black Classic if every soliloquy was included.
This little collection is a fantastic way to introduce yourself to Shakespeare and get a feel for his writing.
It was fantastic to be able to read the well known and lesser known soliloquies of Shakespeare's vast amount of plays. I haven't yet read all of his plays, so this was a wonderful way to get a taste of each of them.
I think Shakespeare is better performed than read, however it was wonderful to be able to read passages that I've often seen performed. The 'father and son' scene from Henry VI Part 3 in particular was brilliant to read and absolutely broke my heart (again!).
I was a bit disappointed that certain soliloquies weren't included in the collection, however it would no longer be a Little Black Classic if every soliloquy was included.
This little collection is a fantastic way to introduce yourself to Shakespeare and get a feel for his writing.
January 9, 2017
this is my first unabridged Shakespeare and I'm hoping to delve deeper into his plays this year ❤ a perfect beginning!
March 13, 2024
Absolutely brilliant work! I can’t do anything else than call this collection perfection.
Whether it be funny moments (someone isn’t trusted because they don’t drink wine) or devastating moments (a father kills his son) or powerful moments (a murder is plotted) - this book contains something for every mood and touches your heart. 10/10
Favorite quotes:
“At first I did adore a twinkling star,
But now I worship a celestial sun.” (3)
“And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.” (26)
“There is no creature loves me;
And if I die, no soul will pity me.” (29)
“Give me my Romeo. And when I shall die
Take him out and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.” (35)
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” (47)
“But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (60)
“Murder’s as near to lust as flame to smoke.” (92)
Whether it be funny moments (someone isn’t trusted because they don’t drink wine) or devastating moments (a father kills his son) or powerful moments (a murder is plotted) - this book contains something for every mood and touches your heart. 10/10
Favorite quotes:
“At first I did adore a twinkling star,
But now I worship a celestial sun.” (3)
“And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.” (26)
“There is no creature loves me;
And if I die, no soul will pity me.” (29)
“Give me my Romeo. And when I shall die
Take him out and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.” (35)
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” (47)
“But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (60)
“Murder’s as near to lust as flame to smoke.” (92)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2019
Henry VI, Part iii:
Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying, he'll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keeps me from it;
And so I say, I'll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.
اگر بخوام به فارسی ترجمه ای کنم شاید بشه اینطور گفت: چیزی که من در سر می پرورانم چیزی جز رویای تاج و تخت نیست. همانند کسی که بر لبه پرتگاهی ایستاده است و از دور ساحلی را میپاید که می خواست قدم بر آن نهد، در این حال آرزو می کند که قدم هایش با چشم هایش برابری می کرد و دریا را به خاطر اینکه بین او و ساحلش فاصله انداخته ملامت می کند، با خود می گوید که این دریا را (که بین او و ساحلش فاصله انداخته) خالی خواهد کرد...
Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying, he'll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keeps me from it;
And so I say, I'll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.
اگر بخوام به فارسی ترجمه ای کنم شاید بشه اینطور گفت: چیزی که من در سر می پرورانم چیزی جز رویای تاج و تخت نیست. همانند کسی که بر لبه پرتگاهی ایستاده است و از دور ساحلی را میپاید که می خواست قدم بر آن نهد، در این حال آرزو می کند که قدم هایش با چشم هایش برابری می کرد و دریا را به خاطر اینکه بین او و ساحلش فاصله انداخته ملامت می کند، با خود می گوید که این دریا را (که بین او و ساحلش فاصله انداخته) خالی خواهد کرد...
November 8, 2020
God, I love Shakespeare. I love his sonnets, his plays, his soliloquies, all of it. His use of language just moves me along in the most beautiful way.
This is a little collection of his most famous soliloquies, which I imaging would be handy for people to learn if they were ever going into auditions for plays, and most of these are easily recognisable.
I think Shakespeare is best read aloud, while you might trip over the words occasionally, in the end the poetic nature of his writing will help you come to understand what he is describing to you, and in the end can actually end up expanding your understanding of the play as a whole.
This is a little collection of his most famous soliloquies, which I imaging would be handy for people to learn if they were ever going into auditions for plays, and most of these are easily recognisable.
I think Shakespeare is best read aloud, while you might trip over the words occasionally, in the end the poetic nature of his writing will help you come to understand what he is describing to you, and in the end can actually end up expanding your understanding of the play as a whole.
June 17, 2024
If there was to be an introduction to Shakespeare I really wouldn’t recommend, I think you would be doing a disservice to yourself , I think this would be a good resource for drama students to get a (VERY) brief and barebones idea of the story and the prose and then if they wanna do that as a monologue or such to go and research more about the play,
And if you are a Shakespeare lover then just go and read the play… I don’t really know who this is for or what they had in mind.
This is the last Little Black Penguin Classics I will be reading because I don’t get the point of them, with the way they are edited or the translations I don’t know who would benefit from reading these.
And if you are a Shakespeare lover then just go and read the play… I don’t really know who this is for or what they had in mind.
This is the last Little Black Penguin Classics I will be reading because I don’t get the point of them, with the way they are edited or the translations I don’t know who would benefit from reading these.
April 10, 2024
I started to read the black little classics because I thought if I already read that much maybe I should educate myself a little bit …
I didn’t like Shakespeare in school but I wanted to give it a second chance. Spoiler, that was a bad idea.
I feel like either he smoke something or I am way to dumb. I mean it’s not my native tongue and it’s Shakespeare so…but still. Why use such stupid language. It’s unnecessarily complicated and ruins the entire story because you can’t focus on the plot if you have to figure out what all the weird filling words are supposed to mean.
I didn’t like Shakespeare in school but I wanted to give it a second chance. Spoiler, that was a bad idea.
I feel like either he smoke something or I am way to dumb. I mean it’s not my native tongue and it’s Shakespeare so…but still. Why use such stupid language. It’s unnecessarily complicated and ruins the entire story because you can’t focus on the plot if you have to figure out what all the weird filling words are supposed to mean.
December 12, 2025
Half a lifetime ago, I read all of Shakespeare's work, as part of a year-long undergraduate course cycle taught by W.R. Streitberger.
Re-reading this collection of Shakespearean soliloquy, now, approaching middle-age, felt more illumined. I read 10 pages every day as soon as I got up, before breakfast. The usual suspects are included -- Hamlet and Macbeth are deeply represented -- but it was rediscovering 3 Henry VI and Cymbeline that proved most delicious.
#the52bookclub Challenge #17. TOLD IN VERSE
Re-reading this collection of Shakespearean soliloquy, now, approaching middle-age, felt more illumined. I read 10 pages every day as soon as I got up, before breakfast. The usual suspects are included -- Hamlet and Macbeth are deeply represented -- but it was rediscovering 3 Henry VI and Cymbeline that proved most delicious.
#the52bookclub Challenge #17. TOLD IN VERSE
July 5, 2024
Sooooo.I'm shocked.First of all this book is so hard to read.The writing is sooooo perfect,so good.I loved it so much.I have to read two other classics and then read a "modern" book and I know for sure I'll dislike it so much if it ain't good comparing it to the classics I read.This book is also funny.I have to read Romeo&Juliet as soon as possible or another Shakespeare work because I'm amazed.
July 26, 2020
This is a great little collection of Shakespeare’s soliloquies, however if you never read Shakespeare I would advise you not to start with this one. You will only enjoy only after you taste a few of his plays head to toe first.
January 26, 2022
I enjoyed this collection of some of the famous scenes (and lesser known scenes) from Shakespeare's work, however, I'm not sure if this is the best way to read them, especially since I have not read all of his plays.
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