Writing.Com General Discussion

Shakespeare - if quoted exactly - is in the public domain. This means you can use lines from it without an issue so long as you attribute where it comes from (play, act, scene). Shakespeare's stories and characters are public domain. The general rule of thumb we were told was not to use too much, but you could include the entire Lady McBeth soliloquy and it is not a problem.

Shakespeare is all yours to use and abuse at your leisure.

Having said that, using too much - unless the performance of the play is integral to the plot - is seen as pretentious by many readers/publishers. If you want a good example of Shakespeare integrated into a plot with lots of quotes, I recommend the Vincent price film Theater Of Blood.