W. S. Gilbert Quotes

1836–1911 England

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist and librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his operatic collaborations with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan.

England
Playwrights
Poets

Also known as: Gilbert, W. S., Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, W.S. Gilbert, William Schwenck Gilbert

Random W. S. Gilbert quote

69 quotes

I know a youth who loves a little maid—
(Hey, but his face is a sight for to see!)
Silent is he, for he's modest and afraid
(Hey, but he's timid as a youth can be!)

Ruddigore (1887)

Never, never, never,
Faint heart never won fair lady!
Nothing venture, nothing win –
Blood is thick, but water’s thin –
In for a penny, in for a pound –
It's Love that makes the world go round!

Iolanthe (1882)

As someday it may happen that a victim must be found
I've got a little list, I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed—who never would be missed!

The Mikado (1885)

When I was a lad I served a term
As office boy to an attorney's firm.
I cleaned the wndows and I swept the floor,
And I polished up the handle of the big front door.
I polished up that handle so carefullee
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!

H.M.S. Pinafore (1878)

Man is nature's sole mistake.

Princess Ida (1884)

...Darwinian Man, though well-behav’d,
At best is only a monkey shav’d!

Princess Ida (1884)

Some word that teems with hidden meaning, like "Basingstoke". It might recall me to my saner self. For, after all, I am only Mad Margaret! Daft Meg! Poor Meg! He! he! he!

Ruddigore (1887)

Then a sentimental passion of a vegetable fashion must excite your languid spleen,
An attachment à la Plato for a bashful young potato, or a not-too-French French bean!
Though the Philistines may jostle, you will rank as an apostle in the high aesthetic band,
If you walk down Piccadilly with a poppy or a lily in your medieval hand.

Patience (1881)

There's a little group of isles beyond the wave,
So tiny you might almost wonder where it is—
That nation is the bravest of the brave,
And cowards are the rarest of all rarities.
The proudest nations kneel at her command,
She terrifies all foreign-born rap-scallions;
And holds the peace of Europe in her hand
With half a score invincible battalions.

Utopia Limited (1893)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: W. S. Gilbert (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.