Analysis of Key Quotes and Speeches in Hamlet Act 1-3
Act 1
Horatio’s Plea to the Ghost (Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 143-147)
Horatio: 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, desperate to understand the Ghost’s appearance, offers his help. He hopes to provide peace to the deceased King Hamlet and gain honor for himself. This quote highlights Horatio’s loyalty and his desire to protect Denmark from potential threats.
Hamlet’s Grief for His Father (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 195-196)
Hamlet: He was a man. Take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again.
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet expresses profound grief and admiration for his recently deceased father. He believes his father was an exceptional king and a near-perfect human being. This quote emphasizes Hamlet’s deep love for his father and foreshadows the intense mourning and rage that will consume him throughout the play.
Polonius’s Advice to Laertes (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 84-87)
Polonius: 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. Farewell. My blessing season this in thee.
Explanation/Importance: Polonius, offering parting advice to his son Laertes, emphasizes the importance of self-truth. He believes that being true to oneself is the foundation of honesty in all other relationships. This quote, while often quoted for its universal wisdom, also highlights the ironic contrast between Polonius’s words and his own deceitful actions later in the play.
Marcellus’s Ominous Observation (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 100)
Marcellus: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Explanation/Importance: Marcellus, shaken by the Ghost’s appearance and the news of potential war, utters this famous line. It signifies a sense of unease and foreshadows the corruption and moral decay that will plague Denmark. This quote sets the stage for the play’s exploration of justice, revenge, and the consequences of hidden sins.
The Ghost’s Revelation (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 49-52)
Ghost: Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts— O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce! —won to his shameful lust.
Explanation/Importance: The Ghost, revealing the truth about his death to Hamlet, describes Claudius as an “incestuous” and “adulterate beast.” He accuses Claudius of using charm and manipulation to seduce Gertrude. This quote is pivotal as it ignites Hamlet’s desire for revenge and sets in motion the central conflict of the play.
Act 2
Polonius on Hamlet’s Madness (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 97-99)
Polonius: Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief: your noble son is mad.
Explanation/Importance: Polonius, known for his long-winded speeches, ironically begins with a statement about brevity. He then declares his belief that Hamlet is mad. This quote reveals Polonius’s tendency to oversimplify and misinterpret situations, contributing to the play’s theme of miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Hamlet’s “What a Piece of Work Is Man” Soliloquy (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 327-333)
Hamlet: What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in 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.
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 quote reflects Hamlet’s melancholic state and his struggle to find meaning in a world tainted by corruption and betrayal.
Act 3
Hamlet’s “You Would Play Upon Me” Speech (Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 395-399)
Hamlet: 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 out the heart of my mystery. You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass. And there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak? ‘Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet, speaking to Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, accuses them of trying to manipulate him. He uses the metaphor of a musical instrument to convey his sense of being controlled and misunderstood. This quote highlights Hamlet’s intelligence and his awareness of the deceitful plots surrounding him.
Claudius’s Crisis of Conscience (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 55-57)
Claudius: “Forgive me my foul murder”? That cannot be, since I am still possessed Of those effects for which I did the murder: My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. May one be pardoned and retain th’ offense?
Explanation/Importance: Claudius, attempting to pray, reveals his guilt and inability to fully repent for murdering King Hamlet. He acknowledges that he is unwilling to give up the rewards of his crime: the crown, his ambition, and Gertrude. This quote exposes Claudius’s hypocrisy and his struggle with the weight of his sins.
Hamlet’s “Look Here Upon This Picture” Speech (Act 3, Scene 4, Lines 65-76)
Hamlet: Look here upon this picture and on this, The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. See, what a grace was seated on this brow? Hyperion’s curls, the front of Jove himself, an eye like Mars to threaten and command, a station like the herald Mercury New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill— A combination and a form indeed Where every god did seem to set his seal to give the world assurance of a man. This was your husband. Look you now, what follows. Here is your husband, like a mildewed ear Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes? Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed and batten on this moor?
Explanation/Importance: Hamlet, confronting his mother, compares the portraits of his father and Claudius. He idealizes his father’s image, describing him as godlike and noble. In contrast, he portrays Claudius as a corrupt and inferior being. This quote emphasizes the stark contrast between the two brothers and highlights Hamlet’s disgust at his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius.