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What’s past is prologue.
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“What’s past is prologue.”

William Shakespeare

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Source
The Tempest
Date
c. 1611
Local voice
Fictional character · Antonio
Meaning

Meaning of “What’s past is prologue.”

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

Source context

Where does it come from?

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.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

Antonio says this in The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 1 while urging Sebastian toward conspiracy.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

Change and GrowthGrowthInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLetting Go Quotes About Release & Moving ForwardLifeLife AdviceLife LessonsMotivation For LifeMoving OnPersonal GrowthSelf ImprovementShortLife Goes OnPast
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
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“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

Ecclesiastes · King James Bible — Ecclesiastes 3:1 · 1611
Meaning & context

The verse places change inside a larger rhythm of seasons and purposes, making it useful for thinking about acceptance when one phase of life gives way to another.

Source details

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The past is never more than an experiment.
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“The past is never more than an experiment.”

Arnold Bennett · Mental Efficiency, and Other Hints to Men and Women · 1911
Meaning & context

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Source details

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It is not a lost year, but one that may prove the most helpful of any you ever know.
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“It is not a lost year, but one that may prove the most helpful of any you ever know.”

Louisa May Alcott · Jo's Boys · 1886
Voice: Fictional character · Jo Bhaer
Meaning & context

A painful or disappointing period can still become useful experience when it changes judgment, humility, resolve, and the way a person begins again.

Source details

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For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
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“For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.”

Kahlil Gibran · The Prophet · 1923
Meaning & context

Life continues forward despite attachment to what has already happened, so care for the past cannot make the present remain there.

Source details

The Prophet, “On Children”; Gibran contrasts parents’ memory of yesterday with children belonging to a life that moves forward.

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