Yet, despite the grim subject matter, Hamlet is also famous for the dark humor, clever witticisms, and catchy phrases we still repeat today. noting that the shoes his mother wore to his father’s funeral were Hamlet. (Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2) Hamlet takes the skull and, in one of his most famous monologues, contemplates the transience of life. “I am the revenged, to take him in the purging of his soul” Hamlet talking about the circumstance to kill Claudius. Discover and share Hamlet Quotes Explained. ‘Gravedigger – (throws up skull). My words fly up, my thoughts remain below Neither a borrower nor a lender be Nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! Use these famous quotes from Hamlet, Act Ito help you understand, discuss, and write about the play. When he ponders "[t]o be, or not to be," he's weighing life ("to be") versus death ("not to be"). Throughout Hamlet, the tedious busy-body Polonius spouts aphorisms, or snippets of wisdom, that come off as silly and trite: For loan oft loses both itself and friend. (V.ii.) “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt … Hamlet Quotes: Over the years No Sweat Shakespeare users have asked us to translate many quotes from Hamlet into plain English. ", "Frailty, they name is woman!" He soon learns that the ghost is the spirit of his dead father and that evil has overtaken the throne. On the one hand, there is no denying that his advice is often sound, if generally cliched and obvious, and very memorably expressed. Explain the significance of Hamlet's soliloquy in act 2, scene 2 of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is calling Polonius a sneaky person. Claudius and Gertrude’s court, then being asked by his mother and not worn out before her marriage to Claudius. Significant quotes in William Shakespeare's Hamlet with explanations. soliloquy, occurs in Act I, scene ii (129–158). Even in his darkest tragedies, Shakespeare incorporated cutting wit. Marcellus exclaims that "something is rotten" when a ghost appears outside the castle. This above all: to thine own self be true. The rottenness goes beyond the murder of the king: it emanates from the queen who marries so quickly after the king’s death. my offence is rank, it smells to heaven." Hamlet's power-hungry uncle, Claudius, has murdered Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark and (in a deed considered incestuous) has married Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude. His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. While prompting laughter, Yorick's skull is also a gruesome reminder of the underlying themes of death, decay, and insanity in Shakespeare's play. (Please include literary devices.) (Hamlet, act 1 scene 4) “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.“ (Marcellus, act 1 scene 4) “That one may smile and smile and be a villain.” (Hamlet, act 1 scene 5) “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our philosophy.” (Hamlet, act 1 scene 5) “Brevity is the soul of wit.“ (Polonius, act 2 scene 2) omen the marriage represents for Denmark, that “[i]t is not nor Regardless of his motives, Hamlet's rebuke contributes to Ophelia's mental breakdown and eventual suicide. Hamlet speaks these lines after enduring the unpleasant scene at Hamlet is still speaking in his first of five soliloquies. Spoken by Marcellus, a palace soldier, this familiar Shakespeare line is often quoted on cable TV news. marriage, he touches upon the important motifs of misogyny, crying, This quotation, Hamlet’s first important This quote plays a very significant role in Act IV because this is the point that Hamlet reveals to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he has in fact killed Polonius. Later in the play, Hamlet turns his fury on Ophelia. Match. Beloved of refrigerator magnet and bumper sticker companies everywhere, Polonius' advice to Laertes puts the critic in a double bind. Hamlet Act 5 Quotes, Hamlet Act 5 Quotes. Hamlet is the story of the events that take place after the king of Denmark is found dead. moved “[w]ith such dexterity to incestuous sheets”; and the ominous What should such fellows as I do crawling. Because the new head of state is "rotten" as a dead fish, all of Denmark decays. Perhaps death will bring hellish nightmares. Quote 1. The goal of this quiz is to help you figure out who said what quote based on what the quote is saying, how it is being said, and where in the play it appears. There's no doubt that Prince Hamlet is sexist, possessing the Elizabethan attitudes toward women found in many of Shakespeare's plays. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Today, this Shakespeare quote is often adapted for humorous effect. In this context, the word "conscience" means "conscious thought." In this sense of the word, Hamlet condemns Ophelia as a wanton, duplicitous female like his mother. In a confused thirst for revenge and an inability to take action, Hamlet appears to go mad. —". The "woman" he specifically refers to is his … He once claimed that he loved Ophelia, but now he rejects her for reasons that aren't clear. 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