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Positive Quotes by William Shakespeare

Browse 6 quotations connecting William Shakespeare with Positive, with meanings, source notes and related themes.

Sources

Where these positive quotations appear

Sources represented here include All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, King Lear.

6 shown
Quotations

6 matching quotations with meanings and source context

Source identified1
Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.

“Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.”

Voice: Fictional character · Helena

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

Source details

All’s Well That Ends Well, Act I, Scene 1; Helena resolves to act rather than ascribe every possibility to fate. Verified against Wikisource’s 1910 facsimile transcription of the 1623 First Folio (folio spelling “Our remedies oft in our selues do lye”); direct evidence resolves to the reviewed Act I transcription.

Source identified2
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.

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

Voice: Fictional character · Ophelia

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

Source details

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

Source identified3
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!

“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!”

Voice: Fictional character · King Lear

The image captures the particular hurt of care being answered by ingratitude within a close family bond.

Source details

King Lear, Act I, Scene IV, reviewed against the scan-backed First Folio facsimile. Lear's serpent's-tooth line occurs inside his curse against Goneril after the reduction of his retinue; it is angry dramatic speech, not a neutral rule about children or family relationships.

Source identified4
The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.

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

Voice: Fictional character · Claudio

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

Source details

Measure for Measure, Act III, Scene I, Claudio to the disguised Duke. The scan-backed 1910 Methuen facsimile transcription of the 1623 First Folio reads “The miserable haue no other medicine / But onely hope” as Claudio awaits possible execution. The line remains fictional speech under threat of death, not medical treatment guidance or a guarantee that hope resolves suffering.

Source identified5
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

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

Voice: Fictional character · Portia

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

Source details

Act 5, Scene 1.

Source identified6
I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.
Image design Charcoal

“I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.”

Voice: Fictional character · Sebastian

Sebastian responds to Antonio’s costly loyalty with repeated thanks while also admitting that words alone are an inadequate repayment for practical care.

Source details

Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene 3, Sebastian; 1922 Yale Shakespeare edition edited by George Henry Nettleton, printed page 56 / Wikisource scan leaf 68. Sebastian tells Antonio, “I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks,” after Antonio explains that concern for Sebastian’s safety drove him onward despite danger in Illyria. It remains fictional gratitude dialogue tied to Antonio’s costly loyalty, not Shakespeare autobiography.

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