| This above all: To thine own self be true,And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not be false to any man. | Polonius (speaking to Laertes);Meaning: be true to yourself, don’t lie, be yourself around othersImportance: Laertes is leaving for Paris |
| My uncle!Aye, that incestuous, that adulterous beast. | Ghost;Meaning: Claudius has married Gertrude = cowardly and incestImportance: Hamlet’s conversation w/ ghost about how evil Claudius is- Claudius’ secret revealed |
| Taint no thy mind, nor let thy soul contriveAgainst thy mother aught. Leaver her to HeavenAnd to those thorns that in her bosom lodgeTo prick and sting her. | Ghost;Meaning: get revenge on Claudius, but don’t hurt Gertrude. Leave it to her and God to deal with her sins.Importance: Ghost wants Hamlet to get revenge on Claudius without hurting his mother |
| The time is out of joint. Oh, cursed spiteThat ever I was born to set it right! | Hamlet;Meaning: everything is going wrong and I am supposed to fix it all!?Importance: Ghost was telling Hamlet to swear & get revenge to set everything straight |
| Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t | Polonius; (aside)Meaning: there is a solution to all this madnessImportance: Polonius thinks Hamlet’s gone mad and wants to find out why |
| The play’s the thingWherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King. | Hamlet;Meaning: the truth about Claudius will reveal itself through the playImportance: Hamlet changes lines in play to test Claudius and the words of the Ghost |
| The lady doth protest too much, methinks. | Queen;Meaning: I think the lady is overdoing it.Importance: Queen talking about Player Queen in the play. Ironic b/c she’s commenting about herself |
| I must be cruel only to be kind. | Hamlet;Meaning: The situation is only getting worse. Must tell Gertrude about it all and how evil Claudius isImportance: Hamlet wants revenge and doesn’t want his mother to be with Claudius |
| The cat will mew and dog will have his day. | Hamlet;Meaning: Hamlet is saying even Hercules can’t keep cats from being cats and dogs from being dogs.Importance: Hamlet & Laertes fight in Ophelia’s grave about who loved her more |
| The king, the King’s to blame. | Laertes;Meaning: the king is to blame.Importance: Laertes is saying that the plan to kill Hamlet went wrong & the king is to blame for their death |
Hamlet Quotes
July 15, 2019