HAMLET: Quotes
Key Quotes in Hamlet: A Thematic Analysis
Understanding Hamlet requires a deep dive into its language. The play's most famous quotes are not just memorable lines; they are the keys to unlocking its central themes of mortality, revenge, corruption, and the deceptive nature of reality. This analysis explores the most vital quotations, organized by theme, to provide clear and concise explanations for study and revision.
Quotes on Mortality and the Human Condition
Death is a constant presence in Hamlet, from the ghost's first appearance to the final, tragic scene. Hamlet's obsession with mortality, the meaning of life, and the uncertainty of the afterlife drives his philosophical and existential turmoil.
"To be, or not to be: that is the question"
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 3, Scene 1
Analysis: This is arguably the most famous line in all of English literature. In this soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates the fundamental question of existence: is it nobler to endure the suffering of life ("the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune") or to end one's life and escape it? He compares death to sleep, a peaceful end to pain, but is stopped by the fear of the unknown—what dreams may come in "that sleep of death". This speech is the ultimate expression of his existential crisis, capturing his indecisiveness and his profound contemplation of life, death, and suicide.
"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 5, Scene 1
Analysis: Holding the skull of his father's court jester, Hamlet confronts the physical reality of death. He reflects on the vibrant life that once inhabited this empty bone, remembering Yorick's jokes and songs. This moment serves as a powerful meditation on the transience of life and the great equalizing force of death. All people, from kings to jesters, are ultimately reduced to dust, a realization that underscores the play's deep-seated obsession with mortality.
"O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!"
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 1, Scene 2
Analysis: In his first soliloquy, Hamlet reveals the true depth of his despair long before he knows of his father's murder. He is sick of the world, which he describes as an "unweeded garden," and wishes he could simply cease to exist. This line expresses his suicidal thoughts, held in check only by the church's law against "self-slaughter". It establishes his profound melancholy and disgust with his mother's hasty marriage, setting the stage for his later actions.
Quotes on Revenge
The ghost's demand for vengeance is the engine of the play's plot. However, Hamlet struggles with the moral and ethical implications of revenge, leading to the central conflict between his duty to act and his tendency to delay.
"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."
Speaker: The Ghost
Act 1, Scene 5
Analysis: This is the command that sets Hamlet on his tragic path. The Ghost's revelation that he was murdered by his own brother, Claudius, transforms Hamlet's grief into a quest for vengeance. The use of "foul" and "unnatural" emphasizes the horrific nature of the crime—a brother killing a brother, a king killing a king—which has disrupted the natural order of Denmark.
"The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king."
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 2, Scene 2
Analysis: Frustrated by his own inaction, Hamlet devises a clever plan to confirm Claudius's guilt. He will have a troupe of traveling actors perform a play that mimics the murder of his father. By watching Claudius's reaction, Hamlet hopes to get the proof he needs to act. This couplet highlights Hamlet's intellectual, rather than impulsive, approach to revenge and introduces the powerful theme of performance and reality.
Quotes on Appearance vs. Reality
The Danish court is a world of secrets, spying, and deception. Characters constantly wear masks to hide their true intentions, forcing Hamlet—and the audience—to question what is real and what is merely performance.
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
Speaker: Marcellus
Act 1, Scene 4
Analysis: Spoken by a guard after Hamlet follows the Ghost, this line acts as a powerful piece of foreshadowing. It suggests that the Ghost's appearance is a symptom of a deeper corruption infecting the kingdom. The "rotten" state refers not only to the political corruption of Claudius's reign but also to the moral decay that has taken hold, setting a dark and ominous tone for the rest of the play.
"That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain."
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 1, Scene 5
Analysis: After learning the truth from the Ghost, Hamlet has a profound realization about the nature of deception. He understands that a pleasant exterior can hide a corrupt soul, a direct reference to his uncle, Claudius. This marks a turning point for Hamlet, solidifying his distrust of the world around him and reinforcing the theme that appearances are dangerously misleading.
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't."
Speaker: Polonius
Act 2, Scene 2
Analysis: While spying on Hamlet, Polonius observes that even amidst Hamlet's bizarre and nonsensical ramblings, there are flashes of profound insight and wit. Polonius is astute enough to recognize that Hamlet's "madness" seems to have a purpose, though he wrongly assumes it's caused by his love for Ophelia. The line is crucial because it points to the ambiguity of Hamlet's mental state—is he truly mad, or is it all a calculated performance?
Quotes on Misogyny and Frailty
Hamlet's relationships with the two main female characters, his mother Gertrude and his love Ophelia, are fraught with anger, disappointment, and cruelty. His disillusionment with them often extends to a general condemnation of all women.
"Frailty, thy name is woman!"
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 1, Scene 2
Analysis: In his first soliloquy, Hamlet expresses his disgust at his mother's quick marriage to Claudius. He sees her actions not just as a personal betrayal, but as evidence of the inherent moral weakness of all women. This misogynistic outburst is a defining aspect of his character, revealing a deep-seated anger that colors his interactions with both Gertrude and Ophelia throughout the play.
10. "Get thee to a nunnery."
Speaker: Hamlet
Act 3, Scene 1
Analysis: In a brutal and emotionally charged confrontation, Hamlet rejects Ophelia, telling her to remove herself from the corrupt world of men by entering a convent. The line has a cruel double meaning, as "nunnery" was also Elizabethan slang for a brothel. He attacks her for being a "breeder of sinners" and for using feminine wiles to deceive people. This moment marks the tragic collapse of their relationship and fuels Ophelia's descent into madness.
Jump to quotes on: Mortality & the Human Condition · Revenge · Appearance vs Reality · Misogyny & Frailty
Hamlet quotes — quick glosses by theme
Key lines from Hamlet grouped by major themes — each with a one-line gloss and an act–scene citation. Use the links to jump to the scene in our modern English reader, or to the scene analysis where available.
Appearance vs reality
“Seems, madam? Nay, it is; I know not ‘seems’.”
Grief is real; courtly theatre can only pretend.
“That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”
Virtue’s mask can hide corruption.
“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown.”
The official story is a lie; the murderer rules.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Over-insistence reveals insincerity.
Action vs inaction
“To be, or not to be — that is the question.”
Is endurance wiser than action — or merely fear?
“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.”
Thinking through consequences freezes the will.
“The time is out of joint — O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right!”
A broken world demands action from a reluctant heir.
“What is a man, / If his chief good and market of his time / Be but to sleep and feed?”
Human purpose should be more than appetite.
“How all occasions do inform against me.”
Even small wars shame his delay into resolve.
Madness & performance
“As I… shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on.”
He will perform madness as strategy.
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”
Even nonsense can hide a plan.
“I am but mad north-north-west… I know a hawk from a handsaw.”
His ‘madness’ has direction — and limits.
“Get thee to a nunnery.”
Cruel performance, genuine bitterness — or both.
“There’s rosemary — that’s for remembrance.”
Mad songs speak what courtly speech cannot.
Death & mortality
“To die, to sleep — / To sleep, perchance to dream.”
Death as rest — then the fear of what dreams may come.
“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio.”
Memento mori — memory meets the skull’s truth.
“Imperious Caesar, dead and turn’d to clay…”
Greatness ends as dust — all status levels.
“The rest is silence.”
Final surrender of speech and self.
Corruption & disease
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
Political decay stinks beneath ceremony.
“’Tis an unweeded garden / That grows to seed — things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely.”
A kingdom — and mind — overrun by rot.
“O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven.”
Guilt framed as stench — and prayer as theatre.
“In the corrupted currents of this world / Offence’s gilded hand may shove by justice.”
Power and money can varnish crime.
Theatre & truth
“The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”
Drama as trap — performance exposes reality.
“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action.”
Naturalism — acting should mirror life, not strut.
“…to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature.”
The purpose of playing — reveal human truth.
“Give me that man / That is not passion’s slave.”
Reasoned steadiness over theatrical excess.
Conscience & guilt
“May one be pardon’d and retain the offence?”
He wants absolution without surrendering the prize.
“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; / Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”
Prayer without intent is empty rhetoric.
“I must be cruel, only to be kind.”
He frames harsh truth-telling as care.
“O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!”
Self-reproach drives the plan to test the king.
Providence & readiness
“There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”
Acceptance — the pattern is larger than us.
“If it be now, ’tis not to come… The readiness is all.”
What matters is being prepared, not predicting time.
“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will.”
Human intention meets a greater design.