LISANDROAy de mí, por todo lo que jamás leí,y por todas las historias y relatos que he oído,sé que el cauce del amor sincero nunca fue sereno;pues, o bien sufre de diferencias de rango...HERMIA¡Oh Dios! Demasiada nobleza para cárcel tan plebeya...LISANDROO de disparidad de edades...HERMIA¡Oh rencor! Demasiada vejez para juventud tan tierna...LISANDROO el mérito depende de lo que elijen amigos...HERMIA¡Oh infierno! Elegir el amor con ojos ajenos.LISANDROO si se ha escogido a quien convenga,viene el cerco de la guerra, la muerte o la dolenciapara hacer al amor efímero como un trino,veloz como una sombra, breve como cualquier sueño,raudo como el relámpago en la noche tenebrosaque, en un suspiro, despliega cielo y tierray antes que un hombre pueda decir "¡Mira!",vuelve y cierra sus fauces renegridas, y los devoratan pronto que lo brillante va a dar en confusión.
John of Gaunt: Methinks I am a prophet new inspired And thus expiring do foretell of him: His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last,For violent fires soon burn out themselves; Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short; He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes; With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder: Light vanity, insatiate cormorant,Consuming means, soon preys upon itself. This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herselfAgainst infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings, Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth, Renowned for their deeds as far from home, For Christian service and true chivalry, As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry, Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son, This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land, Dear for her reputation through the world, Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it, Like to a tenement or pelting farm: England, bound in with the triumphant sea Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame, With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds: That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself. Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life, How happy then were my ensuing death!
KUNGEN Nå, Hamlet, var är Polonius? HAMLET På supé. KUNGEN På supé? Var då? HAMLET Inte där han spisar utan där han spisas. En hel konselj av intrigerande maskar håller på med honom. Masken är den som vinner till slut. Vi göder alla andra kreatur för att göda oss själva, och vi göder oss själva för maskarna. En fet kung och en mager tiggare är bara variationer på menyn - två rätter på samma bord. Det är slutet på visan.