| A little more than kin and less than kind | Hamlet (aside)About ClaudiusUsed to be his uncle but now he is his father, less than kind because he is an incestuous, horrible person |
| O, that this too too solid flesh would melt | Hamlet (soliloquy) His skin is dirty from his mother’s deeds |
| “Seems,” madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems.” ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother…These but the trappings and the suits of woe. | Hamlet to GertrudeHamlet is saying he wears black and is mourning for his father’s death. He is not pretending to be sad he is actually in much grief |
| Frailty thy name is women | Hamlet about GertrudeShe is only alone for a month yet she has already moved on |
| To thine own self be true. Neither a borrower nor a lender be | Polonius to LaertesBe true to himself, don’t change who you are (cant) |
| Something is rotten in the state of Denmark | Marcelus to HoratioSomething is not right in this place |
| The serpent that did sting thy father now wears his crown | Ghost to HamletThe person that killed his father, Claudius, is now king |
| There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy | Hamlet to HoratioThere are more things you learn in life than in just philosophy |
| I shall in all my best obey you, madam | Hamlet to GertrudeHe will obey Gertrude but not Claudius |
| Neither a borrower nor a lender | Polonius to Laertes |
| Incestuous and adulterate beast | Ghost about Claudius |
| Ocursed spite that ever I was born to set it right | Hamlet to himselfNot willing to be an avenger |
| And thus.. do we.. by indirections find directions out | Polonius to ReynaldoThey who have wisdom and intelligence find things out indirectly through roundabout ways |
| Brevity is the soul of wit | Polonius to the King and QueenIntelligent speech should be concise |
| The play’s the thing | Hamlet (soliloquy) That is where he will find out if Claudius is guilty |
| Though this madness yet there’s method in it | Polonius (aside)There is a reason for his madness |
| There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so | Hamlet to Guildenstern and RosencratzIf you think is good it is good you make the decision of how to feel about it |
| What a piece of work is man. How noble in reason how infinite in faculty | Hamlet to Guildenstern and RosencratzMan is very needy and difficult yet also amazing, phenomenal and a piece of beauty |
| O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I | Hamlet (soliloquy)He has to continue to pretend to be mad |
| I am but mad north-north west | Hamlet to Guildenstern and RosencratzSometimes he is mad sometimes he is not |
| To be or not to be | Hamlet (to himself)To live or not to live |
| To the noble mind, rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind | Ophelia to HamletThe gifts don’t mean anything if he doesn’t truly love her |
| The lady doth protest too much methinks | Gertrude to Hamlet The lady (player queen) makes too many assurances |
| Why look you now how unworthy a thing you make of Me! You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck to the heart of my mystery | Hamlet to GuildensteinHe is offended that Guild thinks that he can trick (play) him but not play the recorder |
| I will speak daggers to her but use none | Hamlet (soliloquy)He will speak harshly to her but not injure her |
| Give me that man that is not passion’s slave | Hamlet to HoratioEveryone is run my their passions and emotions |
| My words fly up my thoughts remain below | King (alone)He speaks the prayers but he is not truly sorry; he does not mean what he speaks |
| Oh, what a rash and bloody deed is this | Gertrude to HamletHe made the decision to kill Polonius to fast without thought, now it is a bloody scene |
| I must be cruel only to be kind | Hamlet to GertrudeHe must be cruel and harsh to his mother in order to save her and help her |
| Let it work; For ’tis the sport to have the engineer noise with his own petard and ‘t shall go hard | Hamlet to GertrudeTo have the maker of a military device blown up by his own bomb device, somebody taken down by their own fault/job |
| Than is my deed to my most painted work o heavy burden | Claudius to himself |
| Get thee to a nunnery | Hamlet to OpheliaShe should go a nunnery so she doesn’t have kids because they will be horrible; also calling her a prostitute |
| Madness in great ones must not unwatched go | King about HamletIts bad if this crazy guy could potentially get power |
| My wit diseased | Hamlet How not a ratHamlet to Polonius when he kills him |
| He’s loved of the distracted multitude who like not in their judgment but their eyes | Claudius (soliloquy) about HamletHe’s loved by the confused masses who choose not by judgment but by appearance |
| From this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth | Hamlet (soliloquy) He has only revenge on his mind; he is finally going to take action |
| No place indeed should murder sanctuarize Revenge should have no bounds | King to LaertesNo place should protect a murderer. Revenge should have no restrictions |
| What is a man if his chief good and … | HamletWhat is the point of your existence if all you do is eat and sleep; have to have a purpose |
| Heat dries up my brains | OpheliaShe is truly crazy |
| Alas poor Yorick! I knew him Horatio | Hamlet to HoratioHe knows whose skull it is- the old court jester |
| Sweets to the sweet | QueenPutting flowers (sweet) onto Ophelia (who is sweet) |
| There’s a divinity that shapes our ends… Rough-hew them how we will | Hamlet to HoratioA divine power guides our destinies despite our clumsy attempt to fashion them ourselves |
| The readiness is all | HamletHe is ready for any encounter |
| Report me and my cause aright to the unsatisfied | Hamlet to HoratioTell everyone the take of his death; the true story |
| Now cracks a noble heart | Horatio about Hamlet dyingA noble person, courageous man has died; honoring him |
| I’ll be your foil | Hamlet to LaertesIronic |
| I am justly killed with my own treachery | LaertesHe was killed with his own evil |
Hamlet Quotes
July 19, 2019