Quote of the Day by William Shakespeare: “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none, be able for…”

William Shakespeare needs no introduction. It is impossible to imagine English literature without this literary giant. Without even realising we use so many sentences and phrases that owe their origin to Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, and each of them are an invaluable nugget of pure wisdom. William Shakespeare was born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Now you know why he is called the ‘Bard of Avon.’ Shakespeare stands tall as the greatest writer in the English language. Born to John Shakespeare, a glove-maker and local official, and Mary Arden, he was the third of eight children. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children- Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith; Hamnet died young at 11. Very little public information is available on his life from 1585 to 1592. By this time he was in London and had become an actor, playwright, and shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later the King’s Men). He became rich and retired there around 1613. He passed away in 1616, possibly his birthday, traditionally celebrated as St. George’s Day.Shakespeare produced most of his 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems between 1589 and 1613. He wrote some of the greatest comedies like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, historical works like Henry VI parts 1-3 and even more famous tragedies like Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbet. All his works were masterpieces probing human depths. His “romances” like The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest blended tragedy and comedy. His poems, Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594), gained a lot of fame. All’s Well That Ends Well, a “problem play” from around 1604-1605, features in his middle period amid comedies and tragedies. Shakespeare was a master of blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line, stressed on evens- da-DUM da-DUM). He used it to create natural speech rhythms that sound like a heartbeat and change them to show emotion or character. Soliloquies and monologues, like Hamlet’s “To be or not to be,” show how troubled a person is inside and give us a deeper understanding of their mind.

Shakespeare is said to have ‘created’ modern English language by inventing 1,700 words and phrases that are still used today, like “eyeball” and “swagger.” His work is quoted the most in Samuel Johnson’s dictionary. He standardized grammar during a time of change, bringing drama to life and making it universal. His work influenced Freud’s psychology through Hamlet and literature around the world, from Goethe to Bollywood adaptations. His characters’ human conflicts will always be relevant, and they can be found in movies, books, and idioms like “break the ice.” His new ideas helped English literature grow, making him an important part of its modernization.Quote of the DayIn Act 1, Scene 1 of All’s Well That Ends Well, the Countess of Roussillon tells her son Bertram, who is going to the French court after his father’s death: “Love all, trust a few,Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemyRather in power than use; and keep thy friendUnder thy own life’s key: be check’d for silence,But never tax’d for speech.”This is one of the most valuable life lessons and is universally relatable. “Love all” calls for universal kindness and opens hearts without being naive. In these lines the speaker asks her son to trust only a handful of people as this protects one from being betrayed. Do wrong to none means that one should ensure that one does not become an instrument of causing harm to anyone. “Be able for thine enemy / Rather in power than use” means one should always be ready for unseen enemies but should avoid using or misusing the power. “Keep thy friend Under thy own life’s key” means to protect one’s friends like a vault. “Be check’d for silence, but never tax’d for speech” means that it’s better to be quiet and think than to say something stupid. In this context, it echoes the virtuous father Bertram, who must set an example for others in a world full of lies and ambition. It is a timeless guide to how to be honest in relationships. This advice highlights the play’s “problematic” mix of romance and moral ambiguity, which is like how complicated life is.