When it comes to love, no writer captures its joy, pain, and passion quite like William Shakespeare. His words, written over 400 years ago, still resonate today. From youthful romance to tragic longing, Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets offer some of the most powerful love quotes in literature.
In this article, you’ll find Shakespeare’s best quotes on love—organized by play and sonnet. Whether spoken by star-crossed lovers or whispered in the darkness of jealousy and desire, each reflects a unique nuance of love. Perfect for writers, romantics, or anyone looking for words that truly express the feeling of love—these quotes are timeless, poetic, and unforgettable.

Shakespeare Love Quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love is wild, unpredictable, and filled with enchantment. The quotes here explore the irrational and often comical side of romance—where lovers change affections in a heartbeat, and magic blurs reality. These lines reveal Shakespeare’s wit and his understanding of how love defies logic, making this collection a whimsical and insightful look at love’s many twists.
- “The course of true love never did run smooth.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.” (Act III, Scene I)
- “I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell, to die upon the hand I love so well.” (Act II, Scene I)
- “So we grew together, like to a double cherry, seeming parted, but yet an union in partition.” (Act III, Scene II)
- “O, when she’s angry, she is keen and shrewd!” (Act III, Scene II)
- “Cupid is a knavish lad, thus to make poor females mad.” (Act III, Scene II)
- “Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such shaping fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.” (Act V, Scene I)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from All’s Well That Ends Well
This section draws from a play where persistence and cleverness shape the course of love. In All’s Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare offers a more grounded view of love—rooted in loyalty, effort, and unspoken longing. The quotes in this part reflect love’s challenges and the quiet strength needed to win a heart, reminding us that sometimes love is more endurance than fairy tale.
- “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “My love hath in’t a bond, whereof the world takes note.” (Act III, Scene V)
- “The hind that would be mated by the lion must die for love.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “A heaven on earth I have won by wooing thee.” (Act IV, Scene II)
- “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” (Act III, Scene V)
- “Let every word weigh heavy of her worth.” (Act II, Scene I)
- “Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, which we ascribe to heaven.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “’Tis not the many oaths that make the truth, but the plain single vow that is vowed true.” (Act IV, Scene II)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from Antony and Cleopatra
The love between Antony and Cleopatra burns with power, pride, and inevitable tragedy. This heading highlights quotes that show how love can be intense, all-consuming, and even fatal. These are not sweet nothings—they’re declarations of passion that echo across empires. If you’re looking for quotes that capture the epic, dangerous side of love, this is where Shakespeare delivers it at full force.
- “There’s beggary in the love that can be reckoned.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “Eternity was in our lips and eyes.” (Act I, Scene III)
- “If I lose mine honour, I lose myself.” (Act III, Scene IV)
- “O, withered is the garland of the war, the soldier’s pole is fall’n.” (Act IV, Scene XIII)
- “Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have immortal longings in me.” (Act V, Scene II)
- “I am dying, Egypt, dying.” (Act IV, Scene XV)
- “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.” (Act II, Scene II)
- “Where souls do couch on flowers, we’ll hand in hand, and with our sprightly port make the ghosts gaze.” (Act IV, Scene XIV)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from Cymbeline
In Cymbeline, love is tested by jealousy, disguise, and mistaken identity. This section features quotes that uncover how trust and forgiveness are vital to love’s survival. The language is lyrical, the sentiments complex. These quotes reveal how Shakespeare paints love as something that must weather betrayal and time—only to emerge stronger. It’s a lesser-known play, but rich in heartfelt, poetic expressions of love.
- “I were as sure to win me as I am sure to lose thee.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “Hark! Hark! the lark at heaven’s gate sings, and Phoebus ‘gins arise.” (Act II, Scene III)
- “The vows of women of no more bondage be to where they are made than they are to their virtues.” (Act II, Scene V)
- “Thou divine Imogen.” (Act I, Scene VI)
- “I’ll wake mine eyeballs blind first.” (Act III, Scene V)
- “I’ll be thy wife.” (Act V, Scene V)
- “Weariness can snore upon the flint, when restive sloth finds the down pillow hard.” (Act III, Scene VI)
- “I see a man’s life is a tedious one.” (Act III, Scene III)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from Much Ado About Nothing
With sharp wit and spirited banter, Much Ado About Nothing offers some of Shakespeare’s most playful and clever takes on love. This section features quotes that celebrate verbal duels, secret affections, and reluctant romance. Love here is layered—it hides behind sarcasm and is revealed through vulnerability. If you enjoy quotes with charm, humor, and a hint of sass, you’ll love this set.
- “I do love nothing in the world so well as you: is not that strange?” (Act IV, Scene I)
- “When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.” (Act II, Scene III)
- “Speak low if you speak love.” (Act II, Scene I)
- “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” (Act IV, Scene I)
- “For man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.” (Act V, Scene IV)
- “Friendship is constant in all other things save in the office and affairs of love.” (Act II, Scene I)
- “Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.” (Act III, Scene I)
- “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on.” (Act I, Scene I)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from Romeo and Juliet
No love story is more iconic than that of Romeo and Juliet. The quotes in this section are deeply emotional—capturing the innocence, passion, and inevitable sorrow of young love. These lines have become some of the most quoted in all of literature, offering raw expressions of longing, hope, and heartbreak. Each quote is a reminder of how love can be beautiful and devastating all at once.
- “With love’s light wings did I o’er-perch these walls; for stony limits cannot hold love out.” (Act II, Scene II)
- “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep.” (Act II, Scene II)
- “Thus with a kiss I die.” (Act V, Scene III)
- “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” (Act I, Scene V)
- “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow.” (Act II, Scene II)
- “You kiss by the book.” (Act I, Scene V)
- “This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.” (Act II, Scene II)
- “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks.” (Act II, Scene II)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from The Tempest
In The Tempest, love is gentle, mystical, and redemptive. This part brings you quotes that center around new beginnings and pure connection, especially between Ferdinand and Miranda. Their words reflect the wonder of discovering love in a strange world. Shakespeare pairs the magic of the island with the magic of romance, creating quotes that feel fresh, innocent, and otherworldly.
- “Hear my soul speak: the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service.” (Act III, Scene I)
- “I would not wish any companion in the world but you.” (Act III, Scene I)
- “Do you love me?” (Act III, Scene I)
- “Admired Miranda! Indeed the top of admiration! Worth what’s dearest to the world!” (Act III, Scene I)
- “My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.” (Act I, Scene II)
- “Fair encounter of two most rare affections!” (Act III, Scene I)
- “O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound.” (Act V, Scene I)
- “I am your wife, if you will marry me; If not, I’ll die your maid.” (Act III, Scene I)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Among Shakespeare’s earliest works, The Two Gentlemen of Verona explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the fickleness of the heart. This section features quotes that show the complicated paths love can take—where friendship and romance sometimes collide. The quotes are youthful and bold, revealing the early seeds of Shakespeare’s exploration into what makes love endure or falter.
- “Except I be by Silvia in the night, there is no music in the nightingale.” (Act III, Scene I)
- “What is love? ’Tis not hereafter; present mirth hath present laughter.” (Act II, Scene V)
- “O, how this spring of love resembleth the uncertain glory of an April day!” (Act I, Scene III)
- “Love is your master, for he masters you.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “I fly not death, to fly his deadly doom: Tarry I here, I but attend on death.” (Act II, Scene VI)
- “Even as one heat another heat expels, or as one nail by strength drives out another.” (Act II, Scene IV)
- “She dreams on him that has forgot her love; You dote on her that cares not for your love.” (Act IV, Scene IV)







Shakespeare Love Quotes from Troilus and Cressida
This play offers a more cynical view of love, wrapped in the politics and warfare of ancient Troy. The quotes here are less romanticized and more philosophical—grappling with love’s impermanence and vulnerability. Shakespeare explores the disillusionment that can come with desire and trust. If you’re searching for love quotes that question as much as they adore, Troilus and Cressida provides a rich and somber reflection.
- “This is the monstrosity in love, lady, that the will is infinite and the execution confined.” (Act III, Scene II)
- “Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.” (Act I, Scene II)
- “They say all lovers swear more performance than they are able and yet reserve an ability that they never perform.” (Act III, Scene II)
- “The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste, and violenteth in a sense as strong as that which causeth it.” (Act V, Scene II)
- “My love admits no qualifying dross.” (Act III, Scene II)
- “Words, vows, gifts, tears, and love’s full sacrifice, he offers in another’s enterprise.” (Act V, Scene II)
- “Let it not be believed for womanhood!” (Act V, Scene II)
- “I do love thee so that I will shortly send thy soul to heaven.” (Act V, Scene II)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night thrives on mistaken identities, secret passions, and unspoken longing. The quotes in this section are full of charm and whimsy, yet often carry a deeper ache beneath the surface. Shakespeare captures love’s confusion and comedy, where desire is misdirected, and affection blooms in unexpected places. These quotes reflect love’s ability to surprise, embarrass, and delight all at once.
- “If music be the food of love, play on.” (Act I, Scene I)
- “Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” (Act III, Scene I)
- “I’ll do my best to woo your lady.” (Act I, Scene IV)
- “Make me a willow cabin at your gate and call upon my soul within the house.” (Act I, Scene V)
- “My desire, more sharp than filed steel, did spur me forth.” (Act III, Scene IV)
- “I was adored once too.” (Act II, Scene III)
- “She never told her love, but let concealment, like a worm i’ the bud, feed on her damask cheek.” (Act II, Scene IV)
- “Journeys end in lovers meeting.” (Act II, Scene III)








Shakespeare Love Quotes from Shakespeare Sonnets
The sonnets offer Shakespeare’s most personal and profound reflections on love. Each quote in this dynamic, rotating collection touches on themes of time, beauty, devotion, and betrayal. With compact elegance, these lines strip love down to its essence. Whether praising a beloved or mourning loss, the sonnets remain unmatched for their emotional depth and poetic brilliance.
- “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Sonnet 18)
- “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.” (Sonnet 116)
- “Being your slave, what should I do but tend upon the hours and times of your desire?” (Sonnet 57)
- “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” (Sonnet 130)
- “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state.” (Sonnet 29)
- “That time of year thou mayst in me behold.” (Sonnet 73)
- “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” (Sonnet 18)
- “To me, fair friend, you never can be old.” (Sonnet 104)
- “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings that then I scorn to change my state with kings.” (Sonnet 29)
- “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.” (Sonnet 116)










Shakespeare quotes about love continue to enchant hearts with their timeless beauty and emotional truth. From playful banter to tragic devotion, these lines offer something for every kind of romantic. At Sentkind, we believe in the power of words to connect souls—and there’s no better inspiration than Shakespeare’s enduring wisdom. Whether you’re celebrating love, seeking comfort, or simply admiring poetic brilliance, let these quotes remind you that love, in all its forms, is truly eternal.