“To thine own self be true.”
Extract from Polonius’s advice to his departing son, Laertes. This is a character’s speech, not a personal declaration by Shakespeare.
Familiar words in context
Short Famous Quotes
Famous lines are often shortened, modernized, or assigned to the wrong person online. This collection links short quotations to the works they come from, with notes on speakers, extracts, and context.
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“The readiness is all.”
Hamlet says this to Horatio before the fencing match, in a passage about providence and the possibility of death. It is more than a slogan about preparation.
“Forever is composed of Nows—”
The poem imagines eternity through present moments. The linked transcription preserves “Nows” and the ending dash; Dickinson editions differ in punctuation.
“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”
Emerson follows this with a sentence about the triumph of principles. Read the conclusion rather than treating the extract as advice to refuse help.
“Things do not change; we change.”
Thoreau places this sentence beside advice not to keep seeking new clothes and friends. It belongs to a reflection on simplicity and perspective.
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
Algernon says this during Jack’s explanation of his double identity. The comedy gives the line an ironic setting rather than the authority of a factual principle.
“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.”
Emma says this to herself while reflecting on Harriet. It expresses a character’s judgment within the novel.
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”
Two lines are joined here. The poem later returns to the idea as a question while the speaker tries to hold grains of sand.
“No legacy is so rich as honesty.”
Extract from Mariana’s warning to Diana about the French earl. Here “honesty” concerns a woman’s sexual reputation, not simply truth-telling in the modern sense.
Choosing and adapting
Check the speaker before borrowing the line
A character is not the author giving advice
Polonius speaks the line about being true to oneself; Hamlet speaks about readiness; Algernon makes Wilde’s remark about truth. Their situations affect how the words read. The source notes below each quotation distinguish the speaker or passage so a familiar line does not become a false biographical claim.
Introduce a quotation in a speech
Name the work and make clear what you are taking from it. Your interpretation belongs outside the quotation. A literary comparison does not prove an argument.
Example wording
In Walden, Thoreau writes, “Things do not change; we change.” I am borrowing that line today to think about how differently we see the place where we began.
When the source does not match the graphic
Open the linked passage, compare the words, and check whether the quotation is an extract. If you need to rewrite it, use your own sentence without the author’s name. Do not cite this collection as though it were the original book or poem.
Names and situations in the examples are illustrative. Keep only details and promises that are true for you.
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