Hamlet Quotes
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." (II ii) This statement, spoken by Polonius in an aside about Hamlet, makes reference to Hamlets apparent insane disposition. Polonius, though shown as somewhat dimwitted and slow, is shown by this quote to be coming to the realization that Hamlets speech, which was once dismissed as the words of a madman actually are carefully selected phrases, witty responses, and calculated sentences with "method in't." We not only learn that Polonius realizes this, but it tells a reader or watcher who might not of caught the hidden implication, that Hamlet might not be mad. It shows that Hamlet is in fact capable of methodic thought and it also proposes a question as to the nature Hamlets intentions. "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, / Or that the Everlasting had not fixed / His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. O God, God, How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world!" (I ii) In this soliloquy spoken by Hamlet, which appears relatively early in the play, we see the first signs of Hamlet questioning his life and if he should end it. He says "all
"...For there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." (II ii) this quote, spoken by Hamlet holds true in the play as well in life. Hamlet is saying that there is nothing bad or good in life but our own thinking defines it in these terms. He is saying that an action by itself is merely an action, the decision of whether that action is correct or not rest squarely on the shoulders of though. Different people might consider an action either right or wrong simply by how they perceive it not because the action itself it right or wrong. This can be said for things today. Who decides what is correct and what is not, what is moral and what isn't, what is right and what is wrong? Do the actions themselves carry some predestined affirmation as to their morality? The point could also be made that since Hamlet tends to think about everything he tries to assign a confirmation of right or wrong to everything and act accordingly. the uses of this world" seem "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable" and that God has "Fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter" meaning that God forbids suicide. This shows us that he is really bothered by the circumstances in Denmark and that he is an unstable character. "A villain kills my father and for that / I, his sole son, do this same villain send / to heaven / Why this is hire and salary, not revenge." Hamlet was in the process of reconsidering immediately killing Claudius when he said this. He didn't want to kill him and send him to heaven for that would not be revenge. Besides being yet another example of his philosophy of thought over action it also posses the debate of does Hamlet really want to kill Claudius. Before we were led to believe he didn't do it for fear he was being mislead by the ghost but now that he knows the ghosts words to be true he hesitates. It is a question that must be asked as to his intensions. We've seen this tendency to aversion before but now it is actually shown to us in an indirect way. "To be or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of
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Approximate Word count = 1428
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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