"He is the half part of a blessed man, Left to be finished by such as she; And she a fair divided excellence, Whose fulness of perfection lies in him."

"Talks as familiarly of roaring lions, As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs!"

"Zounds! I was never so bethump’d with words, Since I first call’d my brother’s father, dad."

"I will instruct my sorrows to be proud; For grief is proud, and makes his owner stout."

"Here I and sorrows sit; Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it."

"Thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward, Thou little valiant, great in villainy! Thou ever strong upon the stronger side! Thou Fortune’s champion, that dost never fight But when her humorous ladyship is by To teach thee safety!"

"Thou wear a lion’s hide! doff it for shame, And hang a calf’s-skin on those recreant limbs."

"Tell him this tale; and from the mouth of England Add thus much more — That no Italian priest Shall tithe or toll in our dominions."

"So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith; And, like a civil war, sett'st oath to oath, Thy tongue against thy tongue."

"Grief fills the room up of my absent child, Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, Remembers me of all his gracious parts, Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form."

"Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale, Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man."

"When Fortune means to men most good, She looks upon them with a threatening eye."

"And he that stands upon a slippery place Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him up."

"How now, foolish rheum!"

"Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp, To guard a title that was rich before, To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, To smooth the ice, or add another hue Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, Is wasteful, and ridiculous excess."

"And oftentimes excusing of a fault Doth make the fault the worse by the excuse."

"We cannot hold mortality’s strong hand."

"There is no sure foundation set on blood; No certain life achieved by others' death."

"Make haste, the better foot before."

"I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool, With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news."

"Another lean unwash'd artificer."

"How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds Make deeds ill done!"

"O inglorious league! Shall we, upon the footing of our land, Send fair-play orders and make compromise, Insinuation, parley and base truce To arms invasive? shall a beardless boy, A cocker'd silken wanton, brave our fields, And flesh his spirit in a warlike soil, Mocking the air with colours idly spread."

"’T is strange that death should sing! I am the cygnet to this pale faint swan, Who chants a doleful hymn to his own death; And, from the organ-pipe of frailty, sings His soul and body to their lasting rest."

"Ay, marry, now my soul hath elbow-room."

"Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds, that lour'd upon our house, In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; Our stern alarums chang'd to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim-visag'd war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front; And now, — instead of mounting barbed steeds, To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,— He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I, — that am not shap'd for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass; I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love’s majesty, To strut before a wanton ambling nymph; I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable, That dogs bark at me, as I halt by them,— Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to spy my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity. And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days."

"The thing that is always so surprising about plays written in another century is how remarkably elastic they are. When you listen to the way in which Shakespeare attacks relationships, for example, even though the words may start off sounding foreign, in actuality they are so accessible, the motivations so clear, the resonances so contemporary. When you put it in a modern context - we could well be in a place with someone like Gaddafi or Mubarak - it becomes apparent how Richard III resonates with that type of personality, with media and manipulation, alliances and petty jealousies."

"In Iran one cannot stage... Richard III... because no Iranian should see the death of a prince or a king on the stage. He might jump to conclusions, as if contemporary Iranian history itself is devoid of attempts at regicide."

"In his 1916 essay "The Exceptions", Sigmund Freud interprets Richard's opening soliloquy saying "we all demand reparation for early wounds to our narcissism, our self-love.""

"Inter their bodies as becomes their births. Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled, That in submission will return to us; And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament, We will unite the white rose and the red: — Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction, That long have frown'd upon their emnity!"

"God and your arms be prais'd, victorious friends; The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead."

"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"

"I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die! I think there be six Richmonds in the field; Five have I slain to-day instead of him."

"Rescue, my lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue! The king enacts more wonders than a man, Daring an opposite to every danger; His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights, Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death: Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!"

"Conscience is but a word that cowards use, Devis'd at first to keep the strong in awe; Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law."

"A thing devised by the enemy."

"Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me, More than to Richmond? for the selfsame heaven That frowns on me, looks sadly upon him."

"By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard, Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers, Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond!"

"The early village cock Hath twice done salutation to the morn."

"I shall despair. There is no creature loves me; And if I die, no soul shall pity me. Nay, wherefore should they? since that I myself Find in myself no pity to myself."

"My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale, And every tale condemns me for a villain."

"Give me another horse,—bind up my wounds,— Have mercy, Jesu!—Soft! I did but dream.— O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!— The lights burn blue.—It is now dead midnight. Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh. What, do I fear myself? there's none else by: Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I. Is there a murderer here? No;—yes, I am: Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why,— Lest I revenge. What,—myself upon myself! Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? for any good That I myself have done unto myself? O, no! alas, I rather hate myself For hateful deeds committed by myself! I am a villain: yet I lie, I am not."

"Despair and die!"

"The king's name is a tower of strength, Which they upon the adverse faction want."

"True hope is swift, and flies with swallows' wings; Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings."

"Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends, Bruis'd underneath the yoke of tyranny, Thus far into the bowels of the land Have we march'd on without impediment."