CHARACTERS AND QUOTES
Hamlet:
First soliloquy:
'O that this too too sallied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew'.
Hamlet's pain is intensified by his knowledge of his restless father: first hint of foul play:
Foul deeds will rise,
though all earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes.
Entrance of the ghost:
Marcellus: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
The ghost appears self centred, jealous and envious as he accuses Claudius of murder, and Gertrude of adultery.
End of Act I, Hamlet cries out against cruel fate:
O cursed spite,
that ever I was born to set it right!
By the end of Scene v, the bitter irony of the play becomes apparent: a sick soul is commanded to heal and restore harmony to Denmark
The bitterness, cynicism and hatred of Hamlet's dealings with others could be seen as unnecessary, but in a series of insulting lines, he seeks retribution for the pain which he has suffered as a result of Polonius' order to Ophelia.
David Garrick in Hamlet, I, 4
Book signing and Hamlet Au's interview with Julian...
HamletWhat piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties...
- and yet to me what is this quintessence of dust ?
This hymn of praise to man epitomises the lyrical richness of Hamlet's imagination before his mighty transformation to a state of subservient depression.
Second soliloquy:
O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
The savage attack on himself is merely a further representation of the impotence and lack of forthrightness that plagues Hamlet.
I should 'a' fatted all the region kites
With this slaves offal.
Act III, third soliloquy:
To be or not to be, that is the question
He becomes increasingly disgusted with his inaction and tries to find the truth behind his pain and paralysis.
Just as meaning, passion and...