Can You Finish These Sayings Made Famous by Shakespeare?

By: Stella Alexander
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can You Finish These Sayings Made Famous by Shakespeare?
Image: The Orchard On Demand

About This Quiz

"It's all Greek to me." Hopefully this quiz won't be! This popular saying is a way to tell someone that you have no clue what's going on, but where did it come from? With the premise of this quiz, you've probably guessed that it comes from Shakespeare. Found in his tragedy Julius Caesar, this saying was born in 1599. While this is definitely a popular saying, the author would come to have dozens more. Can you finish them?

William Shakespeare might be the most well-known writer in history. An English author, he created tons of works that would continue to be studied by students and professionals for years. With up to 39 plays and 154 sonnets on his resume, Shakespeare created some of the most celebrated works of literature. Bouncing between comedies and tragedies, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He also penned famous sonnets, such as Sonnet 18, where he compared his love to a seasonal day, and Sonnet 116, where he spoke about marriage. 

Through characters from Hamlet to Julius Caesar, Shakespeare included some infinitely repeated lines in his work. Can you remember all of them? Enough to finish them? There's only one way to find out! Let's go!

To be, or not to be: that is the ________________.
answer
question
This famous saying by Shakespeare comes from his popular tragedy, "Hamlet." It can be found in Act 3, Scene 1.
exclamation
declaration

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All the world's a _________, and all the men and women merely players.
lobster
scene
stage
This quote comes from the Shakespearean play "As You Like It." It is found in Act 2, Scene 7.
game

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We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a _________.
lie
sleep
This line comes from "The Tempest" and appears in Act 4, Scene 1.
note
clock

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How sharper than a _________ tooth it is to have a thankless child!
hound's
shark's
serpent's
This saying comes from the historical play "King Lear." It appears in Act 1, Scene 4.
beast's

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Frailty, thy name is _________!
man
woman
This popular line comes from "Hamlet" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 2. Hamlet is talking about his mother.
Juliet
death

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There is nothing either _________ or _________, but thinking makes it so.
light, dark
good, bad
This saying comes from "Hamlet" and can be found in Act 2, Scene 2.
Heaven, hell
None of the above

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Is this a ________ which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?
dagger
This quote comes from the Shakespearean play, "Macbeth," and can be found in Act 2, Scene 1.
cross
sign
plague

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If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not ________? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not ___________?
laugh, revenge
This line comes from the Shakespearean play "The Merchant of Venice." Shylock speaks these words.
smile, retaliate
glee, fight
None of the above

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To thine own ________ be true.
friend
family
self
This quote comes from "Hamlet" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 3. Good advice here.
love

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Speak of me as I am.... one who loved not _______, but too well.
fully
wisely
These lines comes from the tragedy "Othello." They can be found in Act 5, Scene 2.
completely
stupidly

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Neither a borrower or a _________ be.
owner
canter
banker
lender
This saying comes from "Hamlet" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 3. Great words of wisdom.

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Lord, what fools these ____________ be!
men
crowdsmen
lovers
mortals
This saying comes from the Shakespearean comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and can be found in Act 3, Scene 2. Puck is the speaker.

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A horse, a horse! My _________ for a horse!
wife
power
kingdom
This saying comes from the historical play "Richard III" and can be found in Act 5, Scene 4. The title character makes this plea.
crown

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Some are ________ great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
always
born
This popular saying comes from "Twelfth Night." It can be found in Act 2, Scene 5.
loved
made

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The lady doth _________ too much, methinks.
love
fight
protest
This is another one of Shakespeare's most popular sayings. It can be found in "Hamlet" in Act 3, Scene 2.
reveal

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Bewares the Ides of __________.
April
May
February
March
This popular line is found in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." The Ides of March, which is March 15, is known as the assassination date of Julius Caesar.

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There are more things in heaven and earth, _________, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Horatio
This line comes from the tragedy "Hamlet" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 5. The title character delivers this line.
Mercutio
Benvolio
Romeo

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The course of true __________ never did run smooth.
friendship
loyalty
love
This saying comes from the Shakespearean comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It can be found in Act 1, Scene 1.
leadership

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Now is the ____________ of our discontent.
spring
summer
fall
winter
This line is from Shakespeare's historical play, "Richard III." The line can be found in Act 1, Scene 1.

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A man can ________ but once.
love
marry
die
This saying comes from "Henry IV, Part 2" and can be found in Act 3, Scene 2. Feeble speaks these words.
be born

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Get thee to a ___________.
apothecary
wedding
nunnery
This line comes from Shakespeare's "Hamlet." You'll find it in Act 3, Scene 1.
funeral

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Nothing will come of ___________.
love
friendship
life
nothing
This saying comes from the Shakespearean play "King Lear." This can be found in Act 1, Scene 1.

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If music be the ________ of love, play on.
bone
food
This line comes from "Twelfth Night" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 1. Duke Orsino of Illyria speaks here.
thought
ground

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Full fathom five thy father lies, of his bones are ________ made.
pearls
fire
coral
This line comes from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 2.
jewels

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Love looks not with the eyes, but with the _________, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
heart
mind
This line is from the comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and can be found in Act 1, Scene 1.
hands
None of the above.

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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury __________, not to praise him.
Romeo
Hamlet
Caesar
This saying can be found in the historical tragedy "Julius Caesar." Found in Act 3, Scene 2, this is the beginning of a speech given by Mark Antony.
Mercutio

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Finish this popular paraphrase: "What's in a name? A __________ by any name would smell as sweet."
dandelion
violet
rose
This sentiment comes from "Romeo and Juliet," possibly Shakespeare's most famous play. It can be found in Act 2, Scene 2. The actual words are: “What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.”
tulip

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Life's but a __________ shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage...
lurking
walking
This line comes from Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and can be found in Act 5, Scene 5.
following
gloomy

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Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never ________ of death but once.
see
hear
feel
taste
This saying comes from the historical tragedy "Julius Caesar," written by Shakespeare. This line appears in Act 2, Scene 2.

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All that glisters is not _________.
real
gold
This popular quote comes from the play "The Merchant of Venice" and can be found in Act 2, Scene 7. This saying has since been updated as "All that glitters is not gold."
love
truth

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The better part of valor is ______________.
discretion
This line comes from Shakespeare's historical play "Henry IV, Part 1." It can be found in Act 5, Scene 4.
disobedience
disapproval
dismissal

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The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our ______, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.
stars
This saying comes from the historical tragedy "Julius Caesar," and can be found in Act 1, Scene 2. Cassius says these words.
mind
truth
oceans

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O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou _____________?
love
man
Romeo
These popular lines come from on of Shakespeare's most famous plays, "Romeo and Juliet." This line can be found in Act 2, Scene 2. Almost everyone misunderstands the meaning of these lines.
Caesar

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Shall I compare thee to a __________ day?
winter's
spring's
summer's
This is a line from Shakespeare's most famous sonnet, Sonnet 18. The next line is, "Thou art more lovely and more temperate."
autumn's

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Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the ______ of war.
days
dogs
This line comes from the historical tragedy "Julius Caesar" and can be found in Act 3, Scene 1. Mark Antony is speaking.
cries
death

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