--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I must be gone and live, or stay and die." description: "\"I must be gone and live, or stay and die.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg" --- # I must be gone and live, or stay and die. ![“I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg) > “I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing to act or remain passive determines whether one lives fully or merely exists. **In simple terms:** Act or die. Key Takeaway Choose action over stagnation. Themes choice existence agency life death Mood determined reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decision - personal relationships - health choices - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism self-determination Questions to Reflect On - What does “live” mean to you? - How can you act when fear holds you back? A Different Perspective Staying passive may lead to missed opportunities and regret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Live Stay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-stay-5722896/) [Stay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay/) [Stay Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-die-1144192/) ## Related quotes > [You only live once so why not stay up 24/7](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex/you-only-live-once-so-why-not-stay-up-24-7/) [Alex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex/) > [“I'm going to stay in the wrong because I don't know how to get through the thicket of my own mind in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-m-going-to-stay-in-the-wrong-because-i-don-t-know-how-to-get/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Loved bye u is in love don't go away plz stay before I die inside because u will always be mine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-hood/loved-bye-u-is-in-love-don-t-go-away-plz-stay-before-i-die-inside/) [Courtney Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-hood/) > [I would rather die than stay there." "Well, you might die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-croggon/i-would-rather-die-than-stay-there-well-you-might-die/) [Alison Croggon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-croggon/) > [A lot of times I think Id be better off dead. I know its the truth cause Im fucked in the head. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lot-of-times-i-think-id-be-better-off-dead-i-know-its-the-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“BEL-IMPERIA: Oh let me go; for in my troubled eyes Now may'st thou read that life in passion dies. HORATIO: Oh stay a while,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kyd/bel-imperia-oh-let-me-go-for-in-my-troubled-eyes-now-may-st-thou-read/) [Thomas Kyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kyd/) > [You can stay and die or you can walk your ugly ass back through that gate. It's your call, pal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/you-can-stay-and-die-or-you-can-walk-your-ugly-ass-back-through-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“We have still not had a death. A person does not belong to a place until there is someone dead under the ground." he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/we-have-still-not-had-a-death-a-person-does-not-belong-to-a-place/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/love-is-how-you-stay-alive-even-after-you-are-gone/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [In providing this $5,000 tax credit for those purchasing rural homes, we're offering an important incentive to encourage people to live in smaller communities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-mchugh/in-providing-this-5-000-tax-credit-for-those-purchasing-rural-homes/) [John M. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-mchugh/) > [I grew up in a town - it was so small that I was like, 'There's absolutely no way that I'm going to stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerli/i-grew-up-in-a-town-it-was-so-small-that-i-was-like-there-s/) [Kerli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerli/) > [TV is the place for writers to live. This is where you have creative control and you're constantly writing. 'Twilight' had almost a TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/tv-is-the-place-for-writers-to-live-this-is-where-you-have-creative/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [You just have to stay humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/you-just-have-to-stay-humble/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Gone quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [“I notice when you’re gone. Or do I? How can I observe something that isn’t there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-notice-when-you-re-gone-or-do-i-how-can-i-observe-something-that/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You're getting into some kind of shape, cop." Aw, come on, now." Butch grinned. "Don't let that shower we took go to your head."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/you-re-getting-into-some-kind-of-shape-cop-aw-come-on-now-butch/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The amazing thing is that we live our lives with the hope that things will go right, that things will happen. And all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/the-amazing-thing-is-that-we-live-our-lives-with-the-hope-that-things/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [“I am disappearing, maybe I'm already gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/i-am-disappearing-maybe-i-m-already-gone/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/you-don-t-think-it-s-all-instinct-if-you-stop-to-think-you-re-gone/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The weird thing was that Soft Cell was supposed to have come and gone before I started the album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/the-weird-thing-was-that-soft-cell-was-supposed-to-have-come-and-gone/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) [Browse all 7,934 Gone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I must be gone and live, or stay and die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/william-shakespeare-4_gone_i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die_1538163.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” — William Shakespeare", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I must be gone and live,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-gone-and-live-or-stay-and-die/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```