William Shakespeare Quotes About Hope

“Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.”

Before assuming rescue must come from outside, the line asks what capacity, choice, or effort is already available within.

Source note: All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 1, Scene 1.

“Sweet are the uses of adversity.”

Adversity is presented as capable of yielding insight or value even when the experience itself is unwelcome.

Source note: As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 1; Duke Senior reflects on what adversity can reveal while living in exile.

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”

The line leaves room between present identity and future possibility, making it useful for reflection on change and potential.

Source note: Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5; Ophelia speaks during her disrupted state, so the line remains dramatic dialogue rather than Shakespearean autobiography.

“The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.”

When circumstances offer little immediate relief, hope can preserve the possibility of endurance without pretending the pain is gone.

Source note: Measure for Measure, Act 3, Scene 1.

“The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.”

Preserving some inward freedom after a loss denies the wrongdoer complete control over what the loss becomes.

Source note: Othello, Act 1, Scene 3; the Duke urges Brabantio not to compound an irreversible loss by continuing to feed it with fresh grief.

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”

A small good action can remain visible precisely because it contrasts with a difficult environment.

Source note: Act 5, Scene 1.