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the winter of our discontent

Cultural  
  1. A phrase from the historical play King Richard the Third, by William Shakespeare; it describes a civil war in England.


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“The winter of our discontent” has come to suggest disaffection in general. The phrase served as the title for a book by John Steinbeck.

Example Sentences

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This truly is the winter of our discontent, not just in the present but in our thoughts about a dystopian future.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

He began speaking into his prop phone; had someone passed by, they could have heard him reciting Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent …”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2022

Everyone knows the line "now is the winter of our discontent."

From The Guardian ● Apr. 30, 2010

One London newspaper described it as "a mad final fling before the winter of our discontent."

From Time Magazine Archive

The cook made a special effort and the menu bore the following foreword: Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer....

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Sir Douglas Mawson

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