William Shakespeare Quotes About Moving On

“The readiness is all.”

The emphasis is not on controlling every outcome but on meeting what comes with preparedness and acceptance.

Source note: Act 5, Scene 2.

“What’s done cannot be undone.”

Some consequences cannot be reversed, so the practical question becomes how to respond now rather than how to erase the past.

Source note: Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1; Lady Macbeth speaks during the sleepwalking scene while confronting actions that cannot be reversed.

“To mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on.”

Grief over what cannot be changed can become a second injury when it prevents attention to what can still be done.

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.

“Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

The phrase holds affection and pain together: separation hurts precisely because the relationship being left is valued.

Source note: Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2; Juliet speaks as the lovers part for the night.

“What’s past is prologue.”

The past is framed as context rather than the whole story, leaving the future open to further action.

Source note: The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 1; Antonio says this while urging Sebastian toward a conspiracy against Alonso. The phrase is therefore embedded in morally compromised dramatic persuasion rather than neutral advice.

“The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.”

Prospero chooses deliberate mercy over retaliation, presenting forgiveness not as weakness but as the more difficult exercise of reason and character.

Source note: The Tempest, Act 5, Scene 1; Prospero decides against vengeance after considering the suffering of his enemies.