Did Shakespeare write "The course of true love never runs smooth."?

Not exactly. The full line is "The course of true love never did run smooth." — from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I.i.

Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I.i ·Lysander

"The course of true love never runs smooth."

Not quite the line.

How it's usually quoted

"The course of true love never runs smooth."

What Shakespeare actually wrote

"The course of true love never did run smooth." Lysander — A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I.i

Present tense for past: the eternal truism is Shakespeare's specific past-tense observation generalised. Small shift, big change in register.

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