If you’re looking for a Shakespeare funeral reading, poem, or quote for a funeral, you’ll find plenty of options below. With over 37 plays and 154 sonnets, Shakespeare wrote a lot, and it can be hard to choose which of his words are right for you. We’ve gathered some of the most popular choices to make things a little more straightforward.
Shakespeare funeral readings
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet has some of Shakespeare’s most loved readings. In this part, Juliet is talking about her love for Romeo. She says that even if he dies, she’d still love him – as would everyone else. This is a good way to show that love and admiration are bonds that can’t be broken by death.
“Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night,
Give me my Romeo; and, when he 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.”
Hamlet
Hamlet is a play that focuses a lot on life and death. It’s the play that give us the line “to be or not to be”. In this Shakespeare funeral reading, Hamlet thinks about the afterlife. He’s saying that if death is like sleep then maybe we’ll dream. It gives hope that there’s something more waiting for us.
"To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life."
Measure for Measure
If you’re looking for a Shakespeare funeral reading for someone who’d accepted their passing, this could be a good choice. In these lines, Claudio talks about how he’ll embrace death, accepting it as a part of life.
“If I must die, I will encounter darkness as a bride, And hug it in mine arms.”
Julius Caesar
This is a hopeful reading from Julius Caesar. It says that while we don’t know what lies for us beyond death, it’s not something to dwell on or worry about. If we meet with our loved ones again we’ll smile, but if not, we already shared life together and have good memories.
“And whether we shall meet again I know not.
Therefore our everlasting farewell take:
For ever, and for ever, farewell, [trustees]!
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;
If not, why then, this parting was well made.”
Shakespeare funeral poems
If you’re looking for a Shakespeare funeral poem, you’ll find plenty of choice. Shakespeare wrote a lot of rhyming verse on death, grief and loss. Here are some of the most popular to choose from.
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun
This poem is actually a song taken from Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline. Actors would’ve sung it on the stage, but you can just as easily use it as a reading. It talks about death being a release, sharing how your loved one no longer has to face the negative parts of the world like fear and dread. You can find the full poem here.
“Fear no more the lightning flash,
Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.”
Sonnet 60
When it comes to poetry, Shakespeare is probably best-known for his sonnets. Sonnet 60 makes a good Shakespeare poem for a funeral, using natural imagery to remind us that we are part of nature and the circle of life. Read the full poem here.
“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with what which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.”
Sonnet 71
Another popular Shakespeare funeral poem is Sonnet 71. This sonnet is written from the point of view of someone who is contemplating their death, but is a surprisingly uplifting funeral poem. It encourages us that while it’s fine to grieve, our loved one who’s passed would want us to be happy going forward. For the full sonnet, click here.
“No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell;
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; for I love you so,
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
If thinking on me then should make you woe.”
Shakespeare funeral quotes
If you’re looking for something shorter, Shakespeare funeral quotes might be better. These short phrases share an important message in just one or two lines. This makes them ideal for a book of condolence, funeral flower cards or a gravestone inscription.
“Everyone can master a grief but he that has it.”
This quote about grief is from Much Ado About Nothing. It’s a simple way of saying that while people can offer advice and comfort, and while you might have comforted others experiencing grief in the past, it’s completely different when you’re experiencing it yourself.
“We are such stuff, As dreams are made on; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.”
Taken from the Tempest, this Shakespeare funeral quote offers a soft way of talking about life and death. It talks about how our lives are filled with hopes and dreams, but eventually we will all drift into a sleep and slowly fade away.
"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow."
Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays – and it gives us one of the most popular Shakespeare quotes for funerals. It combines a sense of happiness and sadness that you might feel when you lose a loved one. Happiness that you got to share in their life, and sadness that they are now gone. It also gives hope that you might meet again someday.
"Death lies on her like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field."
This quote is also from Romeo & Juliet. It can be used for the loss of someone who went before their time – perhaps someone who passed away young.
"Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."
This quote from Julius Caesar looks at death in a rational way. It acknowledges that death is a part of life and that it will inevitably come one day. This could be a good quote to use when talking about someone who’d come to accept their passing – and perhaps made the most of life in the process.
