Significant Quotations from Hamlet PDF

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Significant Quotations from Hamlet 1. The speaker of “Frailty thy name is woman” is Hamlet, in Act I, Scene II, line 146. The quotation reveals that Hamlet is anguished as he is mourning the death of his father and recalling the beautiful memories he has of his mother, Gertrude, and father. He is also revealed as bitter as he is mourning the changing nature and weakness of woman, specifically Gertrude, as she is marrying her brother in law, Claudius, soon after her husband’s death. This quotation further reveals that Gertrude and Claudius are morally weak and selfish as they marry to have power. The quotation occurs during the exposition of Hamlet right after Gertrude and Claudius marry, while Hamlet is speaking hastily about the decision his mother has made. The quotation reveals to us that morality and moral corruption are themes of the play as Gertrude’s decisions are looked at as immoral by Hamlet. Finally, while he does not use imagery, Hamlet uses irony in his soliloquy to stereotypically depict women as immoral. This mirrors the overall idea of questioning morality in the play. 2. The speaker of “Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak’d meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven or ever I had seen that day, Horatio!” is Hamlet, in Act I, Scene II, lines 180-183. The quotation further reveals that Hamlet is bitter and disgusted about the fact that his mother married Claudius so swiftly. The quotation further convinces the audience that Gertrude married Claudius so quickly to remain royal status. This also reveals that Horatio is a close friend that truly cares about Hamlet as he questions this marriage occurs so hurriedly. This quote occurs during the exposition of the play while Horatio and Hamlet are having a conversation about the recent wedding ceremony. The quotation reveals that the play’s theme of suspicion and moral corruption are present as the men question why Gertrude would marry so soon. While there is no imagery in this quotation, Shakespeare utilizes wit and sarcasm as he claims that the same meat used for his father’s funeral could be used for the wedding ceremony as they have occurred so close to each other. This quote relates to the plays overall idea of skepticism. 3. The speaker of “Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry” is Lord Polonius, in Act I, Scene III, lines 75-77. The quotation reveals that Lord Polonius is a fool as he gives his son advice that he should listen to himself. The quotation tells us that Laertes is possibly immature as his father feels that he needs this much instruction. This quote occurs during the exposition of Hamlet while Polonius is counseling Laertes on how to act before he leaves for Paris. Polonius tells him to hold his tongue and not act rashly or borrow money.This quote relates to the play’s theme of humans being contradictory as Polonius gives advice but does not take it for himself later on when he acts rashly by interfering in a fight between Hamlet and Claudius. While no imagery it utilized in this quotation, Shakespeare uses irony as Polonius and Laertes will later die from not following Polonius's own advice, relating to the play’s overarching theme of contradictoriness. 4. The speaker of “This above all: to thine own self be true” is Polonius, in Act I, Scene III, line 78. The quotation reveals that Polonius is self-contradictory as he is telling his son to be true to himself but Polonius does not listen to this advice as he pays someone to spy on his son, spies on his daughter himself, and impedes on Claudius and Hamlet’s fight. The quotation reveals that Laertes is, again, possibly immature as his father feels that he needs this much instruction.

This quote occurs during the exposition of the play while Lord Polonius is counseling Laertes on the right way to act before he leaves for Paris. Next, this quote relates to the play’s theme of humans being contradictory as Polonius gives advice but does not take it for himself. While imagery is not used, this quotation is ironic because Polonius cannot take his own advice to heart and utilizes imagery as the words self and true are parts of figurative language. The quote highlights Hamlet’s theme of belieng. 5. The speaker of “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” is Marcellus, in Act I, Scene IV, line 90. The quotation reveals that Marcellus is observant, especially of his country, as he seems to be contemplating things in various situations. This quotation reveals tells readers that Claudius and Gertrude’s actions were wrong and are negatively affecting society as observers are even able to recognize the morally depreciating state of Denmark. This quotation takes place during the exposition of Hamlet while Marcellus and Horatio are having a conversation about the ghost that has come for Hamlet. Furthermore, This quotation relates to the play’s themes of morality and deceit as the married couple’s actions are immoral in the eyes of Hamlet and Claudius’s deceit has brought a corrupt ora to Denmark. Olfactory imagery is used in this quotation because we can relate imagining the smell of something rotten to the negative state that Claudius and Gertrude’s decisions have put Denmark in, relating to the play’s overall imagery of deceit. 8. The speaker of “Though this be madness, yet there is method in‘t” is Polonius, in Act II, Scene II, line 198. This quote reveals that Polonius is naive as he easily falls for Hamlet’s acting to be mad and accredits it to Hamlet’s love for Ophelia, not that he is acting mad so they let their guard down around him and reveal Claudius’s guilt. Furthermore, it reveals that Hamlet is persuasive in his acting because he is able to convince Polonius of an alternative motive for his madness. This quotation occurs during the rising action of the play while Polonius is having a conversation with Hamlet trying to figure out why he is acting out of sorts. The quote plays into the theme of madness and deceit as Hamlet fools everyone, especially Polonius, that he has gone completely mad. While Shakespeare does not utilize imagery in this quotation, it is considered an aside, or a remark by a character that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters. This aside hints to the audience that Hamlet’s acting is truly fooling those around him and correlates to Hamlet’s theme of madness. 10. The speaker of “ . . . I’ll have grounds more relative than this: the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” is Hamlet, in Act II, Scene II, lines 354-356. This quotation reveals that Hamlet is truly dedicated to avenging his father’s death and that he believes he is smart enough to create such an elaborate plan. Furthermore, it emphasizes how Claudius’s immoral actions have affected and hurt Hamlet. This quote occurs during the rising action of the play while Hamlet is giving a soliloquy stating his plans to catch Claudius by watching his reaction to a play that recounts how Claudius killed Hamlet’s father. It aids in expressing the play’s theme of revenge as Hamlet wants to get revenge on Claudius for killing his father. While there is no significant imagery evident in the quotation, it does express Hamlet’s feelings and his new found purpose. Overall, this quotation pertains to the play’s imagery of revenge. 12. The speaker of “madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go” is Claudius in Act III, Scene I, line 180. This quote reveals that Claudius is observant of Hamlet’s actions but is also fooled by them. Claudius believes that he will get away with his past crimes and is unaware that

Hamlet knows he killed old Hamlet. It also shows readers that Hamlet is persuasive and a good actor as his plan of acting insane is truly working. The quotation occurs during the climax of Hamlet while Claudius and Lord Polonius are having a conversation about Hamlet’s madness and how he must be watched closely. The quotation further expresses the play’s overarching themes of madness and deceit because Hamlet is fooling Claudius by acting mad. Shakespeare does not utilize imagery in this quote but it is included in the play to show how Claudius plans to watch Hamlet carefully so Hamlet must be careful and stealthy in his actions. This quotation furthers the expression of madness in the play. 14. “O! my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; it hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t. A brother’s murder!” is said by Claudius in Act III, Scene III, lines 36-38. This quotation reveals that Claudius did indeed murder Hamlet’s father but that he is too proud to ask for forgiveness because he does not want to give up his gains from murder. Claudius says this during the climax of the play in his soliloquy where he is praying to God and admits to killing Hamlet’s father. He knows he cannot be forgiven while he holds the throne and is still married to the queen but cares too much about these things to rid himself of them. This quotation relates to the play’s theme of corruption because Claudius’s morals are corrupted by his earthly desires. Furthermore, olfactory imagery is used in the use of the word “rank” and compares it to the smell his sin traveling to heaven. The quotation also incorporates a Biblical allusion to Cain and Abel because Claudius knows he holds the "primal" curse of killing one's brother. This imagery backs the plays continuous imagery used to describe madness. 21. “Good-night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!” is said by Horatio in Act V, Scene 2, lines 345-350. This quotation reveals that Horatio is sorrowful concerning Hamlet’s coming death and that he is a loyal friend because he stayed by Hamlet’s side until his death. This quote also reveals that Hamlet’s only friend, in the end, is Horatio as many others turned against him. During the denouement of Hamlet, Horatio says these words as he is saying goodbye to Hamlet after he is poisoned by a sword cut and to express that Hamlet is honorable in the way he stayed loyal to his father until the end. This quote plays into the play’s theme of death because like many other characters, Hamlet passes away. While there is no significant imagery evident in the quotation, it does express how Horatio is truly a loyal friend to Hamlet and respects him till the end and supports Hamlet’s repeated imagery concerning mortality....