Shakespeare’s celebrated tragic love story is full of beautiful lines repeated across centuries. Read on for the best Romeo and Juliet quotes.

Best Romeo and Juliet quotes

Few would dispute that William Shakespeare was one of the greatest playwrights to ever live. His impeccable mastery of intrigue, comedy, and tragedy has overcome the boundaries of time.

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous works of the English playwright. The tragedy of the star-crossed lovers manages to move the audience every time. Below are some of Romeo and Juliet famous quotes from this masterpiece so you can relive this beautiful story anytime.

The story of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet one of the most iconic Shakespeare plays. It follow the love story of two young people who find themselves in the crossfire of their families’ feud.

The story focuses on two rival families in Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets. When Romeo, son of the Montagues, sneaks into a Capulet party with his friend, Mercutio, he meets Juliet Capulet. The two fall in love at first sight and decide to marry. However, their plans are ruined when Romeo accidentally kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt.

After Romeo is banished for his crime, Juliet fakes her death to reunite with her love. Due to a misunderstanding, Romeo believes Juliet is dead and takes his own life. Once Juliet wakes up and sees what happened, she kills herself.

The tragedy of the couple puts an end to the families’ feud.

Romeo & Juliet famous quotes

Here are some of the most iconic quotes from Shakespeare’s masterpiece:

“A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.” – Chorus

This poetic quote from the drama’s prologue beautifully sums up the whole story of Romeo and Juliet.

“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes;
Being vex’d a sea nourish’d with lovers’ tears.” – Romeo

In this quote, Shakespeare’s Romeo ponders love. He compares lovers’ sighs to smoke. If the love isn’t returned, the smoke brings tears to the eyes.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!” – Romeo

In this iconic quote from Act 1, Romeo compares Juliet’s radiance to the light of the sun.

“O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” – Juliet

On the balcony scene, Juliet tells Romeo not to swear on his love for her by the changing moon because she wants his love for her to remain constant.

"One fire burns out another's burning, one pain is lessened by another's anguish." – Benvolio

In Act 1 Scene 2, Romeo’s friend Benvolio tries to comfort him and distract him from his inner turmoil about falling in love with Juliet.

“You are a lover! Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above common ground.” – Mercutio

Another friend of Romeo’s, Mercutio, also encourages Romeo with these words.

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” – Juliet

Some of the most famous quotes come from the balcony scene in Act 2 Scene 2. Here, Juliet laments the feud between their families. She wishes their names wouldn’t define their relationship and is ready to renounce her roots just to be with Romeo.

“This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Come to thy heart as that within my breast. O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?”

Here, in Act 2 Scene 2, Juliet compares her love to a budding flower that will only grow in time.

“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” – Juliet

After Romeo reveals himself, the couple converse but soon have to say goodbye. Nevertheless, Juliet says the sorrow of parting is still sweet, as it brings along the anticipation of their next meeting.

“These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder” – Friar Laurence

Although Friar Lawrence means to warn Romeo about the dangers of his overwhelming feelings, his sinister words foreshadow the tragedy to come.

“Oh, I am fortune’s fool!” – Romeo

Here, Romeo laments the cruelty of fate by referring to himself as “fortune’s fool.” Despite his best efforts, he doesn’t seem to be able to avoid tragedy.

“Give me my Romeo, and, when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night,
And pay no worship to the garish sun.” – Juliet

In this quote, Juliet expresses her admiration for Romeo’s appearance. However, just as she speaks these words in ecstatic anticipation of meeting Romeo, she hears the news about her cousin Tybalt’s death.

“My only love sprung from my only hate,
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love is it to me
That I must love a loathed enemy.” — Juliet

Once again, we see Juliet’s desperate lament of the lovers’ star-crossed fate. She feels conflicted, but she’s already so deep in love that it’s too late to change the course of destiny.

“Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” – Romeo

Romeo implies that no one has ever made him feel the way he feels about Juliet. He puts the exhilaration of first love into words in this love quote.

“A plague o’ both your houses!” – Mercutio

Mercutio, tired of the feud, curses both the Montagues and the Capulets with his terrible wish for a plague. He believes both parties are at fault. This quote has become a well-known idiom meaning the speaker doesn’t want to take sides in an argument.

“O true apothecary,
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” – Romeo

These are the last words spoken by Romeo in Act 5, Scene 3 just after he finds Juliet allegedly dead and drinks the poison to take his life. He shows the sincerity of his love by kissing Juliet one last time.

“O happy dagger,
This is thy sheath: there rust, and let me die.” – Juliet

Upon finding her lover dead, Juliet speaks these words before killing herself with Romeo’s dagger. Her body becomes the sheath of Romeo’s dagger in a final reunion.

Use Speechify to read Romeo and Juliet quotes in natural human voices

Shakespeare’s writing is wonderful to read, but it’s also undeniably difficult for modern audiences. You can get a better idea of how the love quotes sound if you listen to them using a text to speech solution.

Speechify allows users to turn any text they want into natural-sounding audio. All you need to do is paste your favorite Romeo and Juliet quotes into the program. Speechify lets you select the voice you want and even adjust the speed at which it will read the quotes for you.

FAQ

What is the most romantic line in Romeo and Juliet?

The lines spoken by Juliet in the famed balcony scene are some of the best love quotes in the work:

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”

What is Shakespeare’s most famous line?

The most frequently quoted Shakespeare line comes from his tragedy Hamlet, as the eponymous hero ponders his existence in a soliloquy: “To be, or not to be: that is the question.”

What are some other Shakespeare quotes?

All of Shakespeare’s works are full of quotable lines. The following famous quote comes from his tragedy, Julius Caesar:

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

This line from Macbeth is also often quoted:

“What’s done cannot be undone.”

Who are the main characters in Romeo and Juliet?

The main characters in Romeo and Juliet are Romeo and Juliet from the two rival families, the Montagues and Capulets.