Final Four Explanation:
“To be or not to be” develops Hamlets character by showing his indecisiveness and how he overthinks everything. We thought this showed more about Hamlet than his quote “the players cannot keep counsel.” When hamlet says “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” it shows a lot about hamlets relationship with Gertrude. It shows that hamlet wants to scare his mother but would never actually hurt her. The quote “Thou hast thy father much offended” also gives us insight to hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship. However, it doesn’t impact us as much. The quote “now might I do it, now he is praying” shows just how much Hamlet resents Claudius. Not only does Hamlet want to kill Claudius, but he wants to make sure he doesn’t go to heaven. On the other hand, the quote “Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me” does not show as much into Hamlet’s character. The quotes “Get thee to a nunnery” and “The lady doth protest too much methinks” are very similar because they both relate to the theme of misogyny. We thought that the quote said by Hamlet was more developmental to the theme of misogyny because Hamlet was calling Ophelia a whore and expressing his hatred towards women in general. Championship Explanation: When Hamlet says “to be or not to be” and “now I do it now he is praying” we learn more about his character. “To be or not to be” is so important because it shows the struggle in his mind. He is contemplating whether or not what comes after death, the unknown, is better than life. However, the other quote shows more about Hamlet’s indecisiveness about killing Claudius. We decided that the quote “get thee to a nunnery” was more significant than “I will speak daggers to her but use none” because it shows Hamlet’s hatred towards women and develops the theme of misogyny. However, they are very similar quotes because they both show how Hamlet dislikes both of the women’s behavior. We chose the quote “to be or not to be” over “get thee to a nunnery” because it signifies more of Hamlet’s character and his internal thoughts. However, the other just shows his madness and the theme of his hatred towards women. |
Meaning of all quotes:
1. “To be or not to be” –Hamlet, Scene 1 Context: Hamlet says this to himself during a soliloquy. He ponders killing himself. He knows the certainty of life and all of its complexities but wonders if the unknown of death would be better. He is contemplating whether or not it is worth it to make the jump into death and debates if the unknown can be better than the hell he is living. Significance: This quote develops Hamlet’s character. It shows his indecisiveness and how he over thinks things. The readers see insight to his thoughts and how he rationalizes his actions. Language: The tone of this quote is mellow-dramatic. Hamlet is over reacting and thinking about life and death. He often will overreact or underreact but very rarely has a middle point. This causes a lot of his actions to be irrational; either caused by over thinking or under thinking. 2. “Get thee to a nunnery” –Hamlet, Scene 1 Context: Hamlet says this to Ophelia when he is mad at her and is basically calling her a whore. Significance: This quote shows how Hamlet is acting crazy and trying to push Ophelia away. Hamlet has fully embraced his craziness and is trying to word off Ophelia. Like most things Hamlet does, he acts irrationally and starts to yell at her. This quote develops the theme of misogyny. Hamlet is releasing all of his anger towards his Ophelia, his mother, and women in general. Because of Gertrude’s actions he believes that all women are unfaithful and he cannot trust them. Language: Hamlet says this and creates a very angry mood. He has hatred towards society, especially women, and expresses this in an aggressive way. The language hints to his distrust of women by saying Ophelia needs to go to a nunnery because she cannot control herself. 3. “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” –Hamlet, Scene 2 Context: Hamlet says this when he is planning how he will treat Gertrude before he goes to have a conversation with her. Significance: He says this to shows that he wants to threaten her and wants her to be scared but he won’t actually hurt her. This is significant because it develops both Hamlet’s character and his relationship to Gertrude. The readers see that Hamlet resents his mother a lot but still loves her enough to not actually harm her. Language: The word “dagger” creates a suspenseful and crazy mood. It emphasizes how Hamlet hopes that his words to her will hurt her and make her regret what she has done. 4. “Call me what instrument you will, though can fret me, you cannot play upon me” –Hamlet, Scene 2 Context: Hamlet says this to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern after the play-within-the-play. He is saying that they can’t fool him and he knows they are spying on him. Significance: This develops Hamlet’s character because it shows how he is aware of what other people are thinking and doing. He isn’t actually insane and he knows that people think he’s crazy and are skeptical of what he is up to. Language: Shakespeare uses a metaphor by comparing Hamlet to an instrument. Hamlet says he is too smart to be fooled or “played” like an instrument. 5. “Now might I do it, now he is praying: -Hamlet, Scene 3 Context: Hamlet has wanted to kill Claudius for a while. Now he has the perfect opportunity to do so but makes up yet another excuse not to. Significance: Hamlet does not want to kill Claudius right now because he is praying. He thinks that if Claudius dies while he is praying that he will definitely go to heaven but Hamlet does not think he deserves to go to heaven. This develops Hamlet’s character by showing the readers how indecisive he is and how he often overthinks his actions. Language: Shakespeare uses parallelism by saying “and now I’ll do it. And now he goes to heaven.” He uses this to compare the pros and cons of killing Claudius now and waiting to kill him later. 6. “ Thou hast thy father much offended” –Gertrude, Scene 4 Context: Gertrude says this to Hamlet during one of their arguments. She is referring to the play that Hamlet put on which offended his step-father, Claudius, by exposing what he did to King Hamlet. Significance: This is ironic because Hamlet is mad at Gertrude for offending his father, King Hamlet, and Gertrude is mad at Hamlet for offending his step-father, Claudius. This develops Hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship by showing they both resent each other. Language: Gertrude uses “thy father” when referring to Claudius which is ironic because Hamlet was just indirectly talking about how he wished that Claudius wasn’t his step-father. 7. “Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go” –Claudius, Scene 1 Context: Claudius says this referring to Hamlet’s craziness. He says this in response to Polonius’s idea of spying on Hamlet. He agrees that they should spy on him because he sees him as a threat and if he can’t figure out why he has gone mad he wants to send him to England. Significance: This is significant because it is the reason why Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet all throughout Act 3. It also shows that Claudius fell for Hamlet’s trick and believes that he has gone crazy. Language: This quote creates suspense because the readers know that Claudius is watching Hamlet and wants to potentially send him to England but we don’t know will end up happening. 8. “The lady doth protest too much methinks” –Gertrude, Scene 2 Context: Gertrude says this about the play-within-the-play when Hamlet asks what she thinks about it. Significance: This is significant because Gertrude says this when referring to “her” character’s comment about how she would not remarry if her husband died because she loved her husband so much. Hamlet asks Gertrude what she thinks about this because he wants to make her feel bad for remarrying to Claudius and feel like she was a bad wife to King Hamlet. Language: This is an example of irony because the character in the play-within-the-play that Gertrude is referring to was in the same position she was in, but decided she would not remarry. 9. “The players cannot keep counsel” –Hamlet, Scene 2 Context: Hamlet says this to Ophelia during the play-within-the-play. Significance: This shows how the players are a representation of the truth. It signifies how not everyone understands Hamlet’s interpretation of the truth. It is important because Claudius and Hamlet see this as the truth but everyone else just sees it as a play. This parallels how some people see the truth and others just ignore it and see what they want to see. Language: In this quote, Hamlet is talking to Ophelia about the play he uses this to kind of let Ophelia in-the-know without directly telling her. He has to say this in a round-about way because he is still acting crazy and can’t seem sane. 10. Alas, how is’t with you, that you do bend your eye on vacancy and with the incorporal air do hold discourse” –Gertrude, Scene 4 Context: Gertrude says this when she is flipping out because Hamlet is talking to King Hamlet’s ghost but she does not see the ghost. Hamlet asks her how she is and she basically replies, “How am I? How are you? You’re the one talking to thin air.” Significance: This is important because this shows how everyone does think he is actually crazy and how worried his mom really is for him. It develops Hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship by showing that Gertrude really does care about him. Language: This quote has a sarcastic feel to it because the queen thinks it is weird for him to be asking how she is doing when he is talking to thin air. There is also a worrisome tone because Gertrude is really starting to think her son has gone crazy. It also creates a suspenseful mood because the readers wonder what Gertrude will do when Hamlet says he is talking to her old husband. 11. “Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind” –Ophelia, Scene 1 Context: Ophelia says this to Hamlet when they are fighting and he goes back and forth about admitting to ever loving her. Significance: Ophelia is saying that because she no longer likes Hamlet and he is not a kind person, the nice gifts he gave her no longer mean anything to her. This develops Hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship by showing how complicated and unpredictable it is. 12. “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” –Ophelia, Scene 3 Context: Claudius says this when he is trying to pray but can’t. He tries to admit what he did but is unable to say it out loud because he feels so guilty about it. Significance: This is proof that Hamlet’s play-within-the-play idea worked and made Claudius feel more guilty. Claudius wants to be forgiven for his sins but he also knows that in order to do that he would have to give up his crown and his wife, which he doesn’t want to do. Language: “My words fly up” is personification used to say how his words and thoughts are separate and how hard it is for him to pray. 13. “O, speak to me no more. These words like daggers enter in my ears. No more, sweet Hamlet” – Gertrude, Scene 4 Context: Gertrude says this to Hamlet when they are talking in her room after he killed Polonius. He starts to tell his mother how he really feels about her remarrying to Claudius. He also tells her how bad he thinks Claudius really is. Significance: The significance of this is showing the theme of misogyny by showing Hamlet’s rage for his mother. Also it shows one of the reasons why his hate for women started. This quote also shows the theme of madness because he seems crazy because just before this he kills Polonius and doesn’t care and continues to say hurtful things to his mother. Language: “These words like daggers enter in my ears” shows how offended Gertrude was by the things that Hamlet was saying to him. Even when Hamlet is saying these hurtful things Gertrude still loves him, which is evident when she calls him “sweet Hamlet.” 14. “Thou, wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell” –Hamlet, Scene 4 Context: Hamlet stabs a curtain which he thinks Claudius is hiding behind. In reality, Polonius was the one behind the curtain and he died. Hamlet does not care that he killed Polonius because he thinks it was his fault for hiding behind the curtain and spying on him and Gertrude in the first place. Significance: This develops Hamlet’s character because he just killed a somewhat innocent man and does not seem to care at all. This relates to the theme of spying because Polonius died while he was spying and Hamlet had no real intention of killing him. Language: Hamlet calls Polonius a couple names to express how dumb he was for spying on him and his mother. He shows no signs of sympathy and simply says “farewell.” 15. “A bloody deed? Almost as bad, good mother, as killing a king and marry with his brother” –Hamlet, Scene 4 Context: Hamlet says this to Gertrude after he killed Polonius. Significance: Hamlet continues to try and make Gertrude feel guilty about marrying Claudius. He says that killing Polonius was bad but Claudius killing King Hamlet and marrying his wife was even worse. This relates to the theme of misogyny and how Hamlet wants Gertrude to feel bad for marrying such and awful man. It also develops Hamlet’s character because the readers see that he just killed Polonius and still the only thing he can think about is Gertrude and Claudius’s marriage. Language: By putting the words “bad” and “good” right next to each other Shakespeare reminds the readers that Hamlet mostly views his mother as good, but views what she has done with Claudius as bad. 16. “Nay, but to live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed” –Hamlet, Scene 4 Context: Hamlet says this to Gertrude after she asks him to stop insulting her because she feels so guilty for what she has done. Significance: Hamlet says this because he still wants her to feel bad for marrying Claudius. He hopes that he will make her feel guilty enough to stop sleeping with Claudius. This quote again develops Hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship. It shows he has so much resentment towards Gertrude and Claudius’s marriage that he is willing to offend his mother and continue to make her feel bad. Language: By saying “live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed” Hamlet is portraying how Gertrude’s life is now all corrupt and dirty because she is sleeping with Claudius. |