| A little more than kin and less than kind (I. ii. 64) | Hamlet. Too many family ties there for me |
| Seems, madam! Nay, it is. I know not “seems.” (I. ii. 76) | Hamlet. He doesn’t seem depressed he is depressed |
| How weary still flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world! (I. ii. 133-134) | Hamlet. Life is pointless. |
| Frailty, thy name is woman! | Hamlet. He is saying that his mother is weak for giving into her desires w his uncle-dad |
| Thrift, Thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables (I. ii. 179-180) | Hamlet. It was all to save money. The wedding was so soon after the funeral, the wedding dinner was the leftovers from the funeral |
| Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man (I. iii. 75-80) | Polonius to Laertes. Rules to live by. Don’t borrow or lend money and to be true to yourself |
| Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (I. iv. 89) | Marcellus. Denmark is corrupt |
| Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder (I. v. 40-41) | Ghost. Avenge king Hamlet’s murder |
| My Uncle!Aye, that incestuous, that adulterate beast (I. v. 40-41) | Ghost. Talking about Claudius |
| Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven and to those thorns that in her bosom lodge to prick and sting her. (I. v. 85-88) | Ghost. Leave your mother out of your revenge plot. Let heaven deal with her. |
| The time is out of joint. Oh cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right! (I. v. 189-190) | Hamlet. There so much rotten with Denmark and he hates that he has to fix it |
| What majesty should be, what duty is, why day is day, Night is night, and time is time, were nothing but to waste night, day, and time. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief. (II. ii. 87-92) | Polonius. This is showing the irony of Polonius. He says he’ll be brief but he’s anything but |
| Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t (II. ii. 207) | Polonius. The words of Hamlet have meaning, but he’s too dumb to know what he means |
| Why, then ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so (II. ii. 255-256) | Hamlet. Actions are actions and words are words. Perspective is what makes them good or bad. |
| What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! And apprehension how like a God! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me- no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so. (II. ii. 315-321) | Hamlet. He’s saying that he hates everyone |
| The play’s the thing. Wherein i’ll catch the conscience of the King. (II. ii. 633-634) | Hamlet. By watching the Kings reaction to the play that he will put on he’ll determine if Claudius is guilty or innocent |
Hamlet Quotes- Act I-II
July 13, 2019