| Play | Key Line | Modern Text | Original Text |
| All's Well That Ends Well | AW II.iii.28 | brief and the tedious of it; and he's of a most facinerious | breefe and the tedious of it, and he's of a most facinerious |
| All's Well That Ends Well | AW II.iii.178 | Shall seem expedient on the now-born brief, | Shall seeme expedient on the now borne briefe, |
| All's Well That Ends Well | AW V.iii.137 | In a sweet verbal brief, it did concern | In a sweet verball breefe, it did concerne |
| Antony and Cleopatra | AC V.ii.138 | This is the brief of money, plate, and jewels | This is the breefe: of Money, Plate, & Iewels |
| As You Like It | AYL III.ii.125 | Some, how brief the life of man | Some, how briefe the Life of man |
| As You Like It | AYL IV.iii.143 | I' brief, he led me to the gentle Duke, | I briefe, he led me to the gentle Duke, |
| As You Like It | AYL IV.iii.151 | Brief, I recovered him, bound up his wound, | Briefe, I recouer'd him, bound vp his wound, |
| The Comedy of Errors | CE I.i.29 | Well, Syracusian, say in brief the cause | Well Siracusian; say in briefe the cause |
| Coriolanus | Cor I.iii.101 | prevailing and to make it brief wars. This is true, on | preuailing, and to make it breefe Warres. This is true on |
| Coriolanus | Cor IV.i.1 | Come, leave your tears. A brief farewell. The beast | Come leaue your teares: a brief farwel: the beast |
| Cymbeline | Cym I.ii.32.2 | Be brief, I pray you: | Be briefe, I pray you: |
| Cymbeline | Cym III.iv.167.2 | Nay, be brief: | Nay be breefe? |
| Cymbeline | Cym V.v.165 | Postures, beyond brief Nature. For condition, | Postures, beyond breefe Nature. For Condition, |
| Cymbeline | Cym V.v.199 | And to be brief, my practice so prevailed, | And to be breefe, my practise so preuayl'd |
| Hamlet | Ham I.v.59 | Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard, | Briefe let me be: Sleeping within mine Orchard, |
| Hamlet | Ham II.ii.68 | On Fortinbras; which he in brief obeys, | On Fortinbras, which he (in breefe) obeyes, |
| Hamlet | Ham II.ii.92 | I will be brief. Your noble son is mad. | I will be breefe. Your Noble Sonne is mad: |
| Hamlet | Ham II.ii.522 | they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time. | they are the Abstracts and breefe Chronicles of the time. |
| Hamlet | Ham III.ii.162 | 'Tis brief, my lord. | 'Tis briefe my Lord. |
| Henry IV Part 1 | 1H4 IV.iv.1 | Hie, good Sir Michael, bear this sealed brief | Hie, good Sir Michell, beare this sealed Briefe |
| Henry V | H5 I.ii.28 | That makes such waste in brief mortality. | That makes such waste in briefe mortalitie. |
| Henry VI Part 3 | 3H6 IV.i.89 | Go to, we pardon thee; therefore, in brief, | Goe too, wee pardon thee: / Therefore, in briefe, |
| Henry VIII | H8 III.ii.140 | To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span | To steale from Spirituall leysure, a briefe span |
| King Edward III | E3 II.i.82 | Whose body is an abstract or a brief, | Whose bodie is an abstract or a breefe, |
| King Edward III | E3 III.iii.142 | Therefore, my friends, consider this in brief: | Therfore my frinds consider this in breefe, |
| King Edward III | E3 IV.iv.66 | What tidings, messenger? Be plain and brief. | What tidings messenger, be playne and briefe. |
| King Edward III | E3 IV.v.36 | In brief, our soldiers have let fall their arms | In briefe, our souldiers haue let fall their armes, |
| King John | KJ II.i.72 | In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits | In briefe, a brauer choyse of dauntlesse spirits |
| King John | KJ II.i.103 | Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume. | Shall draw this breefe into as huge a volume: |
| King John | KJ II.i.267. | In brief, we are the King of England's subjects; | In breefe, we are the King of Englands subiects |
| King John | KJ IV.i.35 | I must be brief, lest resolution drop | I must be breefe, least resolution drop |
| King John | KJ IV.iii.158 | A thousand businesses are brief in hand, | A thousand businesses are briefe in hand, |
| King John | KJ V.vi.18.2 | Brief, then; and what's the news? | Brcefe then: and what's the newes? |
| King Lear | KL IV.iii.22 | As pearls from diamonds dropped. In brief, | |
| King Lear | KL V.iii.179 | By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale; | By nursing them my Lord. List a breefe tale, |
| King Lear | KL V.iii.243 | Be brief in it – to the castle, for my writ | (Be briefe in it) to'th'Castle, for my Writ |
| Macbeth | Mac V.v.23 | The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! | The way to dusty death. Out, out, breefe Candle, |
| Measure for Measure | MM II.ii.118 | Dressed in a little brief authority, | Drest in a little briefe authoritie, |
| Measure for Measure | MM III.i.184 | beauty brief in goodness, but grace, being the soul of | beauty briefe in goodnes; but grace being the soule of |
| Measure for Measure | MM IV.i.44 | Can be but brief. For I have made him know | Can be but briefe: for I haue made him know, |
| Measure for Measure | MM V.i.26 | Relate your wrongs. In what? By whom? Be brief. | Relate your wrongs; / In what, by whom? be briefe: |
| Measure for Measure | MM V.i.92 | In brief, to set the needless process by, | In briefe, to set the needlesse processe by: |
| The Merchant of Venice | MV II.ii.121 | To be brief, the very truth is that the Jew | To be briefe, the verie truth is, that the Iew |
| The Merchant of Venice | MV II.ii.126 | In very brief, the suit is impertinent to | In verie briefe, the suite is impertinent to |
| The Merchant of Venice | MV IV.i.82 | But with all brief and plain conveniency | But with all briefe and plaine conueniencie |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | MW II.ii.76 | But what says she to me? Be brief, my good | But what saies shee to mee? be briefe my good |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | MW II.ii.174 | Sir, I hear you are a scholar – I will be brief with | Sir, I heare you are a Scholler: (I will be briefe with |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | MW III.iii.7 | brief. | briefe. |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | MW IV.v.2 | Speak, breathe, discuss; brief, short, quick, snap. | speake, breathe, discusse: breefe, short, quicke, snap. |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | MND I.i.145 | Brief as the lightning in the collied night, | Briefe as the lightning in the collied night, |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | MND V.i.42 | There is a brief how many sports are ripe. | There is a breefe how many sports are rife: |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | MND V.i.56 | A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus | Lis. A tedious breefe Scene of yong Piramus, |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | MND V.i.58 | Merry and tragical? Tedious and brief? | The. Merry and tragicall? Tedious, and briefe? |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | MND V.i.62 | Which is as ‘ brief ’ as I have known a play. | Which is as breefe, as I haue knowne a play; |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | MND V.i.309 | such a Pyramus. I hope she will be brief. | such a Piramus: I hope she will be breefe. |
| Much Ado About Nothing | MA II.i.333 | a just seven-night; and a time too brief, too, to have all | a iust seuen night, and a time too briefe too, to haue all |
| Much Ado About Nothing | MA III.v.4 | Brief, I pray you, for you see it is a busy time | Briefe I pray you, for you see it is a busie time |
| Much Ado About Nothing | MA IV.i.1 | Come, Friar Francis, be brief; only to the plain | Come Frier Francis, be briefe, onely to the plaine |
| Much Ado About Nothing | MA V.iv.103 | about him. In brief, since I do purpose to marry, I will | about him: in briefe, since I do purpose to marry, I will |
| Othello | Oth II.iii.231 | For this was brief – I found them close together | (For this was briefe) I found them close together |
| Othello | Oth III.i.2 | Something that's brief; and bid ‘ Good morrow, General.’ | Something that's briefe: and bid, goodmorrow General. |
| Othello | Oth III.i.51 | Give me advantage of some brief discourse | Giue me aduantage of some breefe Discourse |
| Othello | Oth V.ii.30 | Well, do it, and be brief; I will walk by: | Well, do it, and be breefe, I will walke by: |
| Pericles | Per Chorus.III.39 | Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre. | Briefe he must hence depart to Tyre, |
| Richard II | R2 III.iii.10 | Your grace mistakes. Only to be brief | Your Grace mistakes: onely to be briefe, |
| Richard II | R2 III.iii.12 | Would you have been so brief with him, he would | Would you haue beene so briefe with him, he would |
| Richard II | R2 III.iii.13 | Have been so brief with you to shorten you, | Haue beene so briefe with you, to shorten you, |
| Richard II | R2 V.i.93 | Come, come – in wooing sorrow let's be brief, | Come, come, in wooing Sorrow let's be briefe, |
| Richard III | R3 I.iv.89 | Yea, So brief? | What so breefe? |
| Richard III | R3 II.ii.43 | If you will live, lament; if die, be brief, | If you will liue, Lament: if dye, be breefe, |
| Richard III | R3 IV.ii.20 | What sayest thou now? Speak suddenly, be brief. | What say'st thou now? speake suddenly, be briefe. |
| Richard III | R3 IV.iii.57 | We must be brief when traitors brave the field. | We must be breefe, when Traitors braue the Field. |
| Richard III | R3 IV.iv.28 | Brief abstract and record of tedious days, | Breefe abstract and record of tedious dayes, |
| Richard III | R3 IV.iv.162 | And brief, good mother, for I am in haste. | And breefe (good Mother) for I am in hast. |
| Richard III | R3 IV.iv.254 | Be brief, lest that the process of thy kindness | Be breefe, least that the processe of thy kindnesse |
| Richard III | R3 V.iii.88 | In brief, for so the season bids us be, | In breefe, for so the season bids vs be, |
| Romeo and Juliet | RJ I.iii.74 | That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief: | That you are now a Maide, thus then in briefe: |
| Romeo and Juliet | RJ III.ii.51 | Brief sounds determine of my weal or woe. | Briefe, sounds, determine of my weale or wo. |
| Romeo and Juliet | RJ III.iii.174 | It were a grief so brief to part with thee. | It were a griefe, so briefe to part with thee: |
| Romeo and Juliet | RJ V.iii.169 | Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! | Yea noise? Then ile be briefe. O happy Dagger. |
| Romeo and Juliet | RJ V.iii.229 | I will be brief, for my short date of breath | I will be briefe, for my short date of breath |
| The Taming of the Shrew | TS I.i.40 | In brief, sir, study what you most affect. | In briefe sir, studie what you most affect. |
| The Taming of the Shrew | TS I.i.208 | In brief, sir, sith it your pleasure is, | In breefe Sir, sith it your pleasure is, |
| The Taming of the Shrew | TS IV.iii.151 | Well sir, in brief, the gown is not for me. | Well sir in breefe the gowne is not for me. |
| Timon of Athens | Tim IV.iii.254 | The sweet degrees that this brief world affords | The sweet degrees that this breefe world affords, |
| Troilus and Cressida | TC IV.ii.11.2 | Night hath been too brief. | Night hath beene too briefe. |
| Troilus and Cressida | TC IV.v.237 | Thou art too brief; I will the second time, | Thou art to breefe, I will the second time, |
| Troilus and Cressida | TC V.x.8 | I say, at once let your brief plagues be mercy, | I say at once, let your briefe plagues be mercy, |
| Twelfth Night | TN I.v.191 | you be not mad, be gone; if you have reason, be brief. | you be not mad, be gone: if you haue reason, be breefe: |
| Twelfth Night | TN III.ii.41 | brief. It is no matter how witty, so it be eloquent and | briefe: it is no matter how wittie, so it bee eloquent, and |
| Twelfth Night | TN III.iv.156 | Very brief, and to exceeding good sense – (aside) | Very breefe, and to exceeding good sence- |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | TG I.i.126 | Come, come, open the matter in brief; what | Come, come, open the matter in briefe; what |
| The Two Noble Kinsmen | TNK V.i.118 | And who would not believe her? Brief, I am | And who would not beleeve her? briefe I am |