Analysis of Key Quotes and Speeches in Act 1, 2, and 3 of Hamlet
Act 1
Horatio’s Plea to the Ghost (Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 143-147)
Original Text: If there’s any good deed I can do that will bring you peace and me honor, speak to me. If you have some secret knowledge of your country’s sad fate—which might be avoided if we knew about it—then, please, speak
Explanation/Importance: Horatio, loyal friend to Hamlet, attempts to communicate with the Ghost of the late King Hamlet. He offers his help, hoping to bring peace to the King’s spirit and honor to himself. Horatio’s request reveals his concern for the kingdom’s fate, suggesting that the Ghost might hold crucial information about impending threats.
Hamlet’s Grief for His Father (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 195-196)
Original Text: He was a great human being. He was perfect in everything. I’ll never see the likes of him again.
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet expresses profound grief and admiration for his deceased father. He describes him as a perfect human being, emphasizing the depth of his loss. This quote highlights Hamlet’s deep emotional attachment to his father and sets the stage for his descent into melancholy and anger.
Polonius’s Advice to Laertes (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 84-87)
Original Text: And, above all, be true to yourself. Then you won’t be false to anybody else. Good-bye, son. I hope my blessing will help you absorb what I’ve said.
Explanation/Importance: Polonius imparts fatherly advice to his son, Laertes, urging him to prioritize self-truthfulness. This famous quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity and integrity. However, it also reveals Polonius’s tendency to provide moral platitudes, which contributes to his characterization as somewhat pompous and out of touch.
Marcellus’s Ominous Observation (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 100)
Original Text: It means that something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Explanation/Importance: Marcellus’s observation, following the Ghost’s appearance, creates a sense of foreboding. The”rottennes” alludes to corruption and moral decay within the kingdom, foreshadowing the play’s central conflicts and tragedies.
The Ghost’s Revelation (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 49-52)
Original Text: Yes, that incestuous, adulterous animal. With his clever words and fancy gifts, he seduced my seemingly virtuous queen, persuading her to give in to his lust.
Explanation/Importance: The Ghost reveals to Hamlet the truth about his death: Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, murdered him to usurp the throne and marry Gertrude. This revelation fuels Hamlet’s desire for revenge and sets in motion the play’s central conflict.
Act 2
Polonius on Hamlet’s Madness (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 97-99)
Original Text: Therefore, since the essence of wisdom is not talking too much, I’ll get right to the point here. Your son is crazy.
Explanation/Importance: Polonius, convinced that Hamlet is mad, informs Claudius of his assessment. This quote highlights Polonius’s tendency to make hasty judgments and his belief in his own intellect. It also underscores the theme of appearance versus reality, as Hamlet’s madness is feigned.
Hamlet’s”What a Piece of Work Is Ma” Soliloquy (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 327-333)
Original Text: What a perfect invention a human is, how noble in his capacity to reason, how unlimited in thinking, how admirable in his shape and movement, how angelic in action, how godlike in understanding! There’s nothing more beautiful. We surpass all other animals. And yet to me, what are we but dust? Men don’t interest me. No—women neither.
Explanation/Importance: In this famous soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates the nature of humanity. He acknowledges the potential for greatness in humans but also expresses deep disillusionment and despair. This speech reveals Hamlet’s melancholic state of mind and his struggle to find meaning in a world he perceives as corrupt and disappointing.
Act 3
Hamlet’s”You Would Play Upon M” Speech (Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 395-399)
Original Text: Well, look how you play me—as if you knew exactly where to put your fingers, to blow the mystery out of me, playing all the octaves of my range—and yet you can’t even produce music from this little instrument? My God, do you think I’m easier to manipulate than a pipe?
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet, suspicious of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s motives, accuses them of trying to manipulate him. The metaphor of a musical instrument emphasizes Hamlet’s intelligence and his awareness of being used as a pawn in the court’s intrigues.
Claudius’s Guilt and Desire for Forgiveness (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 55-58)
Original Text: “Dear Lord, forgive me for my horrible murder”? That won’t work, since I’m still reaping the rewards of that murder: my crown and my queen. Can a person be forgiven and still keep the fruits of his crime?
Explanation/Importance: Claudius’s soliloquy reveals his guilt over murdering King Hamlet. He acknowledges the impossibility of seeking forgiveness while clinging to the spoils of his crime. This scene highlights the themes of sin, repentance, and the corrosive nature of guilt.
Hamlet’s Comparison of the Two Brothers (Act 3, Scene 4, Lines 65-78)
Original Text: Look how kind and gentlemanly this one is, with his curly hair and his forehead like a Greek god. His eye could command like the god of war. His body is as agile as Mercury just landing on a high hill. A figure and a combination of good qualities that seemed like every god had set his stamp on this man. That was your husband. Now look at this other one. Here is your present husband, like a mildewed ear of corn infecting the healthy one next to it. Do you have eyes? How could you leave the lofty heights of this man here and descend as low as this one? Look at this picture here, and that one there.
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet confronts his mother, Gertrude, with images contrasting his father’s nobility with Claudius’s villainy. He emphasizes the stark difference between the two brothers, accusing Gertrude of betraying her noble husband. This confrontation reveals Hamlet’s anger and disgust at his mother’s hasty remarriage.
Hamlet’s Advice on Abstinence (Act 3, Scene 4, Lines 186-188)
Original Text: Refrain tonight, and that shall lend a kind of easiness to the next abstinence, the next more easy. For use almost can change the stamp of nature, and either rein the devil or throw him out with wondrous potency.
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet, speaking to his mother, advises her to abstain from Claudius’s bed. He suggests that resisting temptation becomes easier with practice. This advice reflects Hamlet’s preoccupation with morality and his attempt to guide his mother back to what he perceives as a virtuous path.