Hamlet: Famous Quotes

Analysis This is arguably the most famous soliloquy in literature. Hamlet is not merely contemplating suicide; he is debating the nature of existence itself. He feels trapped between the pain of life ("slings and arrows") and the fear of the uncertainty of death ("the dread of something after death"). This paralysis of will is the central conflict of his character.

Analysis Polonius delivers this advice to his son, Laertes, before he departs for France. While the sentiment—that integrity to oneself leads to honesty with others—is sound, there is a deep irony in the speaker. Polonius is the court’s chief spy and hypocrite, a man who is rarely "true" to anyone, eventually meeting his end while spying behind a tapestry.

Analysis In his first soliloquy, Hamlet expresses his disgust at his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. He views her inability to remain loyal to his father’s memory as a moral weakness. Crucially, he generalises this anger to all women ("thy name is woman"), establishing the misogyny that will later destroy his relationship with Ophelia.

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.

Analysis Spoken by Marcellus, a guard, after Hamlet follows the Ghost into the darkness. This line is the thematic core of the play. It suggests that the moral crime committed at the top of the political hierarchy (Claudius’s fratricide) has infected the entire nation. The "rot" is a recurring motif of disease and decay that permeates the text.

Analysis Polonius speaks this aside (to himself) while observing Hamlet. He realises that despite Hamlet’s "antic disposition" (feigned madness), his speech contains sharp wit and logical points. It highlights the blurred line between sanity and insanity in the play—Hamlet uses madness as a mask to speak dangerous truths.

Analysis Queen Gertrude’s dry comment during The Mousetrap play. She is watching the Player Queen repeatedly vow never to remarry if her husband dies. Gertrude’s criticism suggests she finds such vows unrealistic or perhaps annoying, inadvertently revealing her own pragmatism regarding her hasty remarriage to Claudius.

Analysis In the Graveyard Scene, Hamlet holds the skull of the court jester who entertained him as a child. This is a moment of memento mori (remember death). Hamlet confronts the physical reality that all human accomplishments, joy, and "infinite jest" eventually end in dust. It marks his transition from fearing death to accepting its inevitability.

Analysis Horatio’s farewell to his dying friend. It is a moment of profound tenderness in a play filled with violence. It re-establishes Hamlet’s nobility ("noble heart") despite his erratic behaviour and the bloodshed he caused. Horatio, the loyal witness, frames Hamlet not as a madman, but as a tragic hero deserving of peace.