The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always.

I think it's a mistake to ever look for hope outside of one's self.

Nobody dast blame this man. For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don't put a bolt to a nut, he don't tell you the law or give you medicine. He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back -- that's an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you're finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.

It is rare for people to be asked the question which puts them squarely in front of themselves

Willy Loman: I don't want change, I want Swiss cheese!

I'm the end of the line; absurd and appalling as it may seem, serious New York theater has died in my lifetime.

You specialize in something until one day it is specializing in you.