Lines You Thought Shakespeare Wrote

Shakespeare has given us many memorable lines, so we can be forgiven for misattributions.

 

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Few would argue that Shakespeare is not a total literary rock star. He’s given us myriad works of perennial value, from sonnets about death to belly-laugh level comedic plays. Shakespeare is a wordsmithing virtuoso. Combined with the fact that he is a keen observer of the human condition, you get some pretty awesome one-liners (and more). 

 

Scholars and actors reflect on the unsurpassed legacy of William Shakespeare's life and art in this must-see MagellanTV documentary.

 

We can be forgiven, then, for misattributing some tasty formulations to that Einstein of English letters. These attributions often get mixed up because the language is poetic or moral, which aligns with the style people expect from Shakespeare. Here are a few:

 

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

Sir Walter Scott’s historical narrative poem, Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field (1808), is the source of this quote. Several characters in the poem are deceptive, but the quote is the narrator’s reflection on Constance de Beverley’s actions. Lord Marmion’s former lover is a nun who broke her vows to pursue a relationship with him, and who later helps in Marmion’s schemes of betrayal.

 

You could imagine one of Shakespeare’s characters lamenting (or rejoicing in) deception. Consider Othello, manipulated by Iago into believing that Desdemona is unfaithful. Othello’s intense jealousy and Iago’s deception lead to tragic consequences. Othello’s final lament about being tricked into killing Desdemona is one of the most famous in Shakespeare: “Then must you speak / Of one that loved not wisely but too well” (Act 5, Scene 2).

 

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

William Congreve’s play, The Mourning Bride (1697), is the source of this quote. Set in the fictional kingdom of Granada, a series of romantic and political entanglements explore the consequences of love, revenge, and passion. The quote is spoken by Zara, the Moorish queen, who transforms from a loving woman to one bent on revenge when her affections are betrayed.

 

(Source: The British Library, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

Shakespeare fans might think either Goneril or Regan, King Lear’s elder daughters, delivered this famous line. After receiving their inheritance, they turn against him, motivated by power, jealousy, and a desire to assert their dominance over him. Their slow-burning revenge for perceived wrongs involves a series of manipulations that strip their father of his authority, dignity, and power. In Act I, Scene 3, Goneril complains about her father: “By day and night, he wrongs me; every hour.”

 

“The ends justify the means.”

The source of this quote is Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince (1532). The Florentine diplomat’s short treatise offers advice to rulers on how to maintain power and control in their states. The central premise of The Prince is that the ruler, or “prince,” must be pragmatic, shrewd, and often ruthless to govern effectively. Machiavelli emphasizes that the preservation of power is the ultimate goal, and sometimes this requires the prince to act immorally or deceitfully. In other words, if otherwise abhorrent actions are the means to maintain power and stability, those actions are thereby justified.

 

Caius Marcius Coriolanus from Shakespeare’s Coriolanus would agree with Machiavelli’s advice. Coriolanus, a Roman general who believes in the supremacy of martial strength, power, and personal valor over democratic governance or public opinion, sees military might as the ultimate source of authority. In his view, power rightfully belongs to those who have proven their strength in battle. In Act 1, Scene 4, Coriolanus says to his assembled soldiers, “I would rather have a fool to make me a king than have one who is wise and has nothing to show for it.”

 

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Title Image Source: Adobe Stock