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Friends and Flatterers
William Shakespeare
About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 - April 23, 1616): He is an English playwright, poet and actor. His work comprises 154 sonnets and 38 plays including some of his famous works such as Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. He is often called England's national poet and the 'Bard of Avon'.
Every one that flatters thee
Is no friend in misery
Words are easy, like the wind;
Faithful friends are hard to find.
Everyman will be thy friend
Whilst thou hast wherewith to spend;
But if store of crowns be scant
No man shall supply thy want.
If that one be prodigal
Bountiful they will him call:
And with such like flattering,
'Pity but he were a king.'
But if fortune once do frown
Then farewell his great renown:
They that fawn'd on him before,
Use his company no more.
He that is thy friend indeed,
He will help thee in thy need;
If thou sorrow, he will weep;
If thou wake, he cannot sleep:
Thus of every grief in heart
He with thee doth bear a part,
These are certain signs to know
Faithful friend from flattering foe.
Available Answers
- 1.
'Words are easy, like the wind'
Whose words is the poet referring to in this line? In what sense are they 'easy'?
- 2.
According to the poet, when do we have many friends in our life?
- 3.
Which line in the first stanza describes a flatterer?
- 4.
How can we identify a 'faithful friend' from a 'flattering foe'?
- 5.
'But if store of crowns be scant
No man shall supply thy want.'What is the poet trying to say in these lines?
- 6.
How do flatterers respond when a person becomes rich or extravagant?
8 more answer(s) available.