a-level lit > Hamlet Quotes > Flashcards

Hamlet Quotes Flashcards

(118 cards)

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1
Q

“Who’s there?”

A

THEME OF IDENTITY AND MISTRUST/ DECIET
- Barnardo
- Act 1 Scene 1
- opening line of the play
- starts in media res
- creates tone of mystery, tension, confusion, mistrust and disquiet (reinforced by refusal to reveal identity)
- establishes theme of identity - true identity often unclear
- immerses audience into the play

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2
Q

“It breaks my heart”

A

THEME OF LOVE
- Hamlet (about staying silent about his mother’s marriage)
-Act 1 Scene 2
- metaphor
- links to Oedipus complex? removal of patriarchal freedom of speech? sadness at betrayal?

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3
Q

‘’Get thee to a nunnery”

A

THEME OF GENDER
- Hamlet to Ophelia
- Act 3 Scene 1
- repeated declarative (shows patriarchal power)
- “nunnery” - double meaning of being a brother or a holy place
- is he calling Ophelia holy or a prostitute?
- ambiguity shows theme of uncertainty throughout play

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4
Q

“Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?”

A

THEME OF GENDER
-Hamlet to Ophelia
- Act 3 Scene 1
- interrogative animalistic language
- dehumanises Ophelia
- makes her unfit for what is implied to be women’s only purpose; have children
- blaming her

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5
Q

“Are you honest?”

A

THEME OF DECEPTION
- Hamlet to Ophelia
- Act 3 Scene 1
- interrogative - hunting for information
- ambiguous - could be interpreted multiple ways
- could show Hamlet’s vulnerability and need for someone to trust, displaying closeness and love to Ophelia
- could alternatively show Hamlet’s awareness at the trap he’s in

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6
Q

“But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue”

A

THEME OF LOVE AND POWER
- Hamlet’s first soliloquy (about his mother’s marriage)
- Act 1 Scene 2
- “break my heart” could link in with psychodynamic view of the oedipus complex - heartbroken at mother being married
- as a royal man in this Elizabethan/ Jacobean era means he has likely been scarcely restricted, so is heartbroken at loss of power and freedom

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7
Q

“loose my daughter to him”

A

THEME OF GENDER
- Polonius to the King and Queen about Ophelia
- Act 2 Scene 2
- animalistic/ controlling language
- “loose” has connotations of being animalistic and controlled - acting like she’s less than

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8
Q

“tender” “higher rate”

A

THEME OF MONEY
- Polonius to Ophelia
- Act 1 Scene 3
- Semantic field of finance
- Shows marriage an women as objects of financial transactions, not important principals/ people

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9
Q

“to thine own self be true”

A

THEME OF HONESTY, SECRECY AND HYPOSCRISY/ GENDER
- Polonius to Laertes
- Act 1 Scene 3
- Encourages a rejection of secrecy, opposing Polonius’ later actions towards the plot around Hamlet
- Shows patriarchal standards, as he tells his son to be true to himself, whilst encouraging Ophelia to mask her feelings
- This may show that attitudes of the time towards female hysteria being something to be contained, whereas male melancholy was seen as vastly beneficial.

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10
Q

“violets (…) wither’d all when my father died”

A

THEME OF DEATH, LOVE AND INSANITY
- Ophelia after the loss of Polonius
- Act 4 Scene 5
- “violets” - symbolic of love and innocence
- also give out “rosemary” “for remembrance”, “pansies” “for thoughts” “fennel” “columbines” “rue” and “daisies”
- shows the loss of her father lost her ability to love and the child-like innocence she could view the world with
- now forced into harsh realities, making her insane and rebel against it with loss of control
- recurrence of nature theme in wanting/ addressing destruction
- metaphor for her?

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11
Q

“forty thousand brothers could not (with all their quantity of love) make up my sum”

A

THEME OF COMPETITION AND LOVE
- Said by Hamlet to Laertes in the grave
- Act 5 Scene 1
- competitive tone established
- ideas of ownership over Ophelia generated - competing for her love or for control over her?
- the sincerity of his love can be questioned - if he loved her, would he fight and kill the only people, other than himself, that mattered to her
- claims love, but only displays it when she’s not present, acting abusively when she’s there

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12
Q

“out of thy star”

A

THEME OF IMPOSSIBLE LOVE AND CLASS
- Said by Polonius, claiming to be from a conversation with Ophelia
- Act 2 Scene 2
- “star” - links to love of Romeo and Juliet - the love CANNOT BE “star-crossed lovers”
- may be corrupted reasoning for Ophelia’s ‘love’ - wanting to defy social norms and the demands of her seemingly misogynistic father by going insane, and by wanting to be with a man above her station

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13
Q

“With one auspicious, and one dropping eye”

A

THEME OF DUALITY
- Said by Claudius in his wedding speech
- Act 1 Scene 2
- Oxymorons may be used to portray the contradictory state of the kingdom, being seemingly well, but secretly corrupted by his rule
- May also reflect Hamlet’s feelings

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14
Q

“Let us impart what we have seen to-night unto young Hamlet”

A

THEME OF LOYALTY
- Said by Horatio after seeing Old Hamlet’s ghost
- Act 1 Scene 1
- shows his dedication and caring for his friend- prioritises him before others
“young Hamlet” - indicates short time since King’s death, so much so, someone who spends lots of time with Hamlet is still in the habit of distinguishing who he’s talking to, despite it now being unnecessary

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15
Q

“willingly I came to Denmark To show my duty in your Coronation”

A

THEME OF FLATTERY AND SECRECY
- Said by Laertes to Claudius
- Act 1 Scene 2
- Cleverly only mentions coronation, not funeral
- his way of pleasing Claudius contradicts Hamlet’s rudeness
- uses diplomacy and flattery
- reinforces them as opposites

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16
Q

“A little more than kin and less than kind”

A

THEME OF FAMILY AND SECRET OBJECTIONS
- Said as an aside by Hamlet about Claudius
- Act 1 Scene 2
- establishes a rebellious and criticising tone
- shows contempt and disgust towards his parents marriage
- pun shows anger - establishes him as sarcastic and clever
- his first line

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17
Q

“Oh, that this too too solid flesh, would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew”

A

THEME OF DEATH AND NATURE
- Said by Hamlet in his first soliloquy
- Act 1 Scene 2
- Wishing not only death, but a gruesome death to himself - shows deep loathing towards the life she leads
- only seems to oppose suicide because of religion
- blank verse - status
- soliloquy - honesty

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18
Q

“‘Tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart” and ““The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold”

A

THEME OF DISEASE
- Said by Fransisco and Hamlet
- Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 1 Scene 4
- uses pathetic fallacy - coldness reflecting broken and unpleasant state of the kingdom after Old Hamlet’s death
- foreshadows the deaths and madness to come

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19
Q

“Do not for ever with
thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust:”

A

THEME OF POWER AND CORRUPTION
- said by Gertrude to Hamlet
- Act 1 Scene 2
- poetic - uses enjambment
- ‘vailed lids’ indicates blindness to what’s happening around him
- imperative command - indicates her knowing things he doesn’t (the murder?)
- still respectful towards Old Hamlet

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20
Q

“not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more”

A

THEME OF GENDER AND DOMINANCE
-Said by Laertes to Ophelia
-Act 1 Scene 3
- listing structure accentuates the idea that Hamlet is taking sexual advantage of Ophelia
- parataxical phrase ‘No more’ indicates finality
- “perfume” - metaphor of artificiality - although the scent is pleasant, it’s not REAL to the individual
-‘minute’ - brevity and impermanence

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21
Q

“Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister”

A

THEME OF PROTECTION AND GENDER
- Said by Laertes to Ophelia
- Act 1 Scene 3
- “fear” - trying to generate instinctive perception of danger towards Hamlet
- repetition evokes cruciality
- ‘my dear sister’ implies emotional vulnerability - love and care - OR competition?
- despite seeming show of care, he’s still commanding her to do things…

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22
Q

“Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell”

A

THEME OF RELIGION AND DEATH
- Said by Hamlet to Old Hamlet’s Ghost
- Act 1 Scene 4
- oxymoronic - contrasting positive and negative connotations
- questioning, pleading tone
- removes idea of certainty and stringency in good and evil

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23
Q

“What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff”

A

THEME OF LOYALTY AND DEATH
- Said by Horatio to Hamlet about the Ghost
- Act 1 Scene 4
- caesura
- cements Horatio’s loyalty
- biblical allusions
-‘flood’ - Noah’s ark? - tempted into sin and the punishment sinners befall
‘summit of the cliff’ - similar to the pigs with the devil placed inside them

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24
Q

“O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!”

A

THEME OF CORRUPTION, GENDER AND EVIL
- Said by Hamlet about Gertrude
- Act 1 Scene 5
- pernicious - violent effect
- blaming his mother, DESPITE it being Claudius who is entirely responsible
- frenzied repetition suggests a loss of composure

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25
"to make inquire Of his behaviour"
THEME OF SPYING AND SECRECY -Said by Polonius when asking Reynaldo to spy on Laertes - Act 2 Scene 1 - shows a lack of trust between them
26
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt in our philosophy"
THEME OF MORTALITY, INSIGNIFICANCE AND SECRECY - Said by Hamlet to Horatio - Act 1 Scene 5 - 'Heaven and Earth' - accentuate religious ideas spanning in both mortality and beyond it - 'our' - representing man or them as scholars?
27
"with wings as swift as meditation"
THEME OF UNCERTAINTY - Said by Hamlet to his Father - Act 1 Scene 5 - oxymoronic - implies he may waste time brooding
28
"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murther"
THEME OF REVENGE - Said by Old Hamlet to Hamlet - Act 1 Scene 5 - revenge was forbidden by state and religion - allowed in the Old Testament - ironic, since Old Hamlet, having been the King, was representative of the State (and in England's case, religion too) - opposing his own enforcements of law in death - could this be a commentary on how, in death he sees everything more clearly, showing an alternative moral ideology towards murder...
29
"sulphurous and tormenting flames"
THEME OF TORTURE AND REVENGE - Said by Old Hamlet to Hamlet - Act 1 Scene 5 - shows he's being punished in death for his mortal sins - secretive, as Hamlet NEVER discusses his father's downfalls, only his heroism and love for him - false idols? - idea of divine justice
30
"sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me"
THEME OF RELIGION AND BETRAYAL - Said by Old Hamlet to Hamlet - Act 1 Scene 5 - 'orchard' - represents Garden of Eden - 'serpent' - Claudius or devil... - 'stung' - connotes towards a betrayal
31
"leperous distillment"
THEME OF RELIGION - Said by Old Hamlet when describing how Claudius killed him to Hamlet - Act 1 Scene 5 - links to the lepers healed by Jesus
32
"leave her to heaven, And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge, To prick and sting her."
THEME OF LOVE AND JUSTICE - Said by Old Hamlet to Hamlet about Gertrude - Act 1 Scene 5 - displays merciful love after betrayal - contradicted by her fate - 'bosom' - where the heart is - it's her heart that has betrayed him in this marriage - 'thorns' - plurality suggests multiple sins - perhaps she knew about the murder BEFORE it occurred?
33
"put an antic disposition on"
THEME OF MADNESS - Said by Hamlet when telling Horatio of his plan - Act 1 Scene 5 - introducing his façade of insanity - the lines between reality and acting gradually blur - his mind may be poisoned by the knowledge of his Father's murder, mother's incest and the ghost's call for revenge
34
"O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right"
THEME OF THE SUPERNATURAL AND FATE - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 1 Scene 5 - shows he views his new role as a revenge as a curse (contradicts the views Laertes later on in the play)
35
"loosed out of hell To speak of horrors"
THEME OF MADNESS AND RELIGION - Said by Ophelia when describing Hamlet's behaviour to Polonius - Act 2 Scene 1 - imagery of him being a devil - Hamlet's madness is ambiguous - is it real or fake? - significant that Ophelia is the first witness to his madness CONTEXT: people suffering from melancholy/ madness were said to suffer visions of devils
36
"doublet all unbrac'd (...) his stockings foul'd, Ungrater'd, and down-gyved to his ankle"
THEME OF MADNESS - Said by Ophelia when describing Hamlet's madness to Polonius - Act 2 Scene 1 - 'doublet unbrac'd' - common sign of being taken over by a fit of passion - 'stockings foul'd' - reflects chaos - dirt on stockings removes sentimentality and instead brings a neglect of his status - - 'foul' - links into the corruption in Denmark - his mad appearance contrasts that of the ghost - domestic disarray vs martial order
37
"His father's death and our o'erhasty marriage"
THEME OF GUILT AND MADNESS - Said by Gertrude about why Hamlet's gone mad - Act 2 Scene 2 - shows she's aware of her discretions, but makes no effort to alter them... - shows her as sympathetic... to an extent
38
"Celestial" "Soul's idol" "Stars are fire" "Sun doth move" "Doubt Truth to be a liar"
THEME OF LOVE AND DIVINITY - Written by Hamlet in a love letter to Ophelia - Act 2 Scene 2 - establishes a theme of the celestial - displays her as better than mortality itself - contradicts his behaviour to her in person - makes his love questionable
39
"you are a fishmonger"
THEME OF IMMORALITY AND TABOO - Said by Hamlet to Polonius - Act 2 Scene 2 - alludes towards Ophelia being a prostitute - making fun of Polonius - indicates he may be aware of Polonius' exploiting Ophelia to entrap him
40
"Let her not walk i' th' sun"
THEME OF PROTECTION AND LOVE - Said by Hamlet to Polonius - Act 2 Scene 2 - uses exactly the same phrasing as in Act 1 Scene 2 when speaking to Gertrude and Polonius - warning against allowing Ophelia to go down the same path as he is? - loving her enough to want to protect her? - OR critiquing her as being promiscuous?
41
"You cannot sir take from me any thing, that I will more willingly part withal, except my life, my life"
THEME OF SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION - Said by Hamlet to Polonius - Act 2 Scene 2 - critiquing by Polonius by hinting that giving up his presence would be incredibly easy for him - repetition of 'my life' mimics Polonius' repetitive way of speaking, as well as emphasizing his weariness of living - shifts tone to raw despair
42
"These tedious old fools"
THEME OF SECRECY AND UNCERTAINTY - Said by Hamlet as an aside - Act 2 Scene 2 - Plurality indicates he could be aware that the King is part of the plan - adds a tone of annoyance and superiority - suggests the encounter was fake, and both parties were trying to conceal their true intentions
43
"secret parts of Fortune"
THEME OF GENDER - Said by Guildenstern to Hamlet and Rosencrantz - Act 2 Scene 2 - objectification of women - capitalisation in 'Fortune' indicates it's a person (Ophelia?) rather than a concept
44
"Denmark's a prison"
THEME OF ENTRAPMENT - Said by Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 2 Scene 2 - Short declarative adds certainty and bluntness
45
"excellent canopy the air" against "foul and pestilent congregation of vapours"
THEME OF DECEPTION - Said by Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 2 Scene 2 - sudden shift between idolisation to disgust may represent his mother's marriage and the truth behind the royalty
46
"like a god! (...) what is this quintessence of dust?"
THEME OF UNCERTAINTY AND INFERIORITY - Said by Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 2 Scene 2 - asserts tone of gloom and despair - lists glories of humanity as above all other life forms, before reducing them to 'dust' - imagery shows an unhealthy preoccupation with corruption, decay and death
47
"Am I a coward?"
THEME OF INSANITY AND UNCERTAINTY - Said in a soliloquy by Hamlet - Act 2 Scene 2 - portrays self-disgust throughout this monologue, causing him to question his own identity, contrasting his behaviour after he returns from England - too slow to act? - overthinking the situation
48
"the play's the thing, Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King"
THEME OF SECRECY AND ENTRAPMENT - Said in a soliloquy by Hamlet - Act 2 Scene 2 - rhyme indicates a finality to the plan - "catch" - indicates he is a hunter, juxtaposing his prior uncertainty, as well as this current act (avoiding killing him) - repeated future tense adds impression of excitement, urgency and resolve
49
"How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience! The harlot's cheek beautied with plastering art"
THEME OF SUFFERING AND GENDER - Said by Claudius as an aside - Act 3 Scene 1 - shows that both Claudius and Hamlet dehumanise women (by reducing them to make-up here) - ("lash") imagery connotes towards torture, suffering and punishment, due to his inner turmoil - ironically, his guilt here proves the murder - abstract noun ("conscience") refers to Hamlet's feelings and foreshadows the next scene
50
"To be or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"
THEME OF SUICIDE AND SECRET STRUGGLE - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 1 - immediately creates an impression of suicide, which was viewed as a crime against God, the King and nature - Enjambment between suffering and what causes it makes it it's own point/ idea; to suffer is permanent - idea of fortune as torturous may be viewed as contradictory
51
"The heart ache and thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to"
THEME OF SUICIDE AND SECRET SUFFERING - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 1 - "heart ache" - loss of his father? marriage of his mother? love for Ophelia? - idea of flesh being corrupted returns - reinforces suffering as certain - juxtaposes the idea of fortune with violence, whilst supporting it through his survival
52
"The undiscovered country"
THEME OF DEATH - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 1 - this metaphor for death presents it as conquerable - due to his fear of what happens after, he wants to overcome it?
53
"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all"
THEME OF SECRECY - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 1 - hint that he may be aware of Claudius' guilt - intrinsically links the two characters, despite them being enemies - creates unity - trying to justify his fears in a world where men couldn't be afraid? -
54
"Nymph, in thy orisons"
THEME OF GENDER - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 1 - "nymph" - mythological beautiful maiden - "orisons" - prayer - she brings beauty and faith to his prayers? OR she corrupts them with unholy feelings? - she brings him out of the soliloquy into life - only source of joy?
55
"Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind"
THEME OF CORRUPTION - Said by Ophelia to Hamlet - Act 3 Scene 1 - rhyming couplet (alludes to the plan?)
56
"beauty will sooner transform honesty (...) to a bawd, than the force of honesty can translate beauty to its likeness" "God has given you one face and you make another"
THEME OF GENDER AND DECIET - Said by Hamlet to Ophelia - Act 3 Scene 1 - he accuses women of deception within both of these quotes through their focus on beauty, despite beauty being stressed by the patriarchy in aiding women to marry, the only way they could secure a life - his focus and disgust towards female deceit could be viewed as highly hypocritical, due to his current schemes - he's sickened by female sexuality, causing him to abuse women (Ophelia and Gertrude), criticising what he believes is lustfulness and a propensity to deceive
57
"O what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's eye, tongue, sword"
THEME OF INSANITY AND DECEPTION - Said by Ophelia after Hamlet had left - Act 3 Scene 1 - portrays Hamlet as complex, possessing a large array of skills - he's both a soldier and an intellectual, contradicting his current inaction
58
"He shall with speed to England" "Madness in great ones, must not unwatch'd go"
THEME OF MANIPULATION AND CONTROL - Said by Claudius to Polonius and Ophelia - Act 3 Scene 1 - He's deceiving them into believing Hamlet's façade to protect himself by sending him away?
59
"metal more attractive" "Lady, shall I lie in your lap?" "fair thought to lie between a maids' legs"
THEME OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER - Said by Hamlet to Ophelia - Act 3 Scene 2 - constant use of sexual innuendo - to unsettle the King and Queen? Cover his tracks with the play?
60
"look how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within two hours"
THEME OF ANGER AND INSANITY - Said by Hamlet to Ophelia - Act 3 Scene 2 - attack on his mother, using provocative and offensive hyperbole
61
"Tis brief my Lord" **"As woman's love"**
THEME OF GENDER - Said by Hamlet to Ophelia - Act 3 Scene 2 - criticising both his mother and Ophelia
62
"woe is me"
THEME OF DEPRESSION - Said by Player Queen - Act 3 Scene 2 - Asserts ideas of depression and struggle
63
"The lady protests too much methinks"
THEME OF GENDER - Said by Gertrude to Hamlet - Act 3 Scene 2 - Criticism of women for not following patriarchal norms - Enforcing sexist society
64
"The Mouse-trap" (name of the play)
THEME OF ENTRAPMENT - Said by Hamlet to Claudius - Act 3 Scene 2 - symbolic of the game of cat and mouse between them
65
"The King rises" (Ophelia) ... "Give me some light. Away."
THEME OF GUILT AND MYSTERY - Said by Claudius - Act 3 Scene 2 - does the King rise due to guilt or feeling threatened? - is Claudius unaffected because he's concealing/ overcome with guilt, doesn't see the message, or is offended by Hamlet's behaviour?
66
"Call me what instrument you will (...) you cannot play upon me"
THEME OF SECRECY AND DANGER - Said by Hamlet to Polonius - Act 3 Scene 2 - threatening him from trying to trick/ use him - indicates power and awareness that his hesitance counteracts
67
"I will speak daggers to her, but use none"
THEME OF VIOLENCE AND GENDER - Said by Hamlet in a Soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 2 - indicates danger and an attack in his actions - ironic foreshadowing - dismissing feeling bad emotionally for not being physically damaged - idea of mental health - should be more compassionate towards own mother?
68
"To keep those many bodies safe that live and feed off your majesty"
THEME OF OBEDIENCE - Said by Guildenstern to Claudius - Act 3 Scene 3 - Shows their cowardice in conforming to the wants of the king, betraying their friend
69
"Oh my offence is rank, it smells to Heaven"
THEME OF GUILT AND REVULSION - Said by Claudius in prayer soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 3 - Disgusted by own actions - aware they are wrong and damning
70
"Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens To wash it white as snow?"
THEME OF GUILT AND REPENTENCE -Said by Claudius in prayer soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 3 - Wishing the removal of his brother's blood - 'Snow' - pure, but also deadly AND weak - can cause illness/ kill - doesn't last - NOT permanent - like his repentance?
71
"My crown, my own ambition, and my Queen"
THEME OF GUILT - Said by Claudius in prayer soliloquy - Act 3 Scene 3 - ironic - he isn't truly repenting, as he's unprepared to give up what the murder has allowed him to gain - can't be forgiven whilst profiting from it - acts a a complete confession - he committed fratricide (killing sibling) and regicide (killing king)
72
"this is hire and salary, not revenge"
THEME OF MURDER - Said by Hamlet when listening to Claudius pray - Act 3 Scene 3 - He shifts from wanting revenge, to acting like an assassin, forgetting ideas of justice and becoming corrupted/ losing control in his desire to kill
73
"counterfeit presentment of two brothers"
THEME OF ILLUSION - Said by Hamlet to Gertrude about his father and Claudius - Act 3 Scene 4 - often played by same actor - both the same and the opposite
74
"I see such black and grained spots" and "These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears"
THEME OF SUFFERING - Said by Gertrude to Hamlet - Act 3 Scene 4 - confrontation viewed as genuine insanity - potential incest (oedipus complex...) - lost control, causing him to carry out vehement acts against his mother - bedroom setting (never specified it's in a bedroom, but it ALWAYS uses a bed - is this why he hasn't killed claudius yet?
75
"How is it with your lady?"
THEME OF MERCY - Said by Hamlet to Gertrude, after his father's ghost tells him to 'Speak to her' - Act 3 Scene 4 - he shifts to being more tender and gentle - shows he is still mentally alert
76
"ulcerous place" "rank corruption" "infects unseen"
THEME OF DISEASE - Said by Hamlet to Gertrude - Act 3 Scene 4 - semantic field of illness reinforces infects nature of Denmark
77
"I must be cruel, only to be kind"
THEME OF POWER - Said by Hamlet to Gertrude - Act 3 Scene 4 - excusing own actions in the name of good - oxymoronic concepts - his behaviour in this extract of the text suggests severe mental strain - he's close to the breaking point, but can compose himself = he's unpredictable and extreme
78
**"Exit Hamlet tugging on Polonius"**
THEME OF POWER - Stage direction - Act 3 Scene 4 - Final image reinforces his lost control
79
"Like the owner of a foul disease To keep it from divulging"
THEME OF CORRUPTION - Said by Claudius to Gertrude - Act 4 Scene 1 (only scene Claudius and Gertrude are alone - both are lying to and using each other for their own motives revolving around Hamlet - he is a centre of destruction) - links in with the motif of destruction and disease, but is indicating it lies in Hamlet
80
"soaks up the King's countenance , his rewards, his authorities (...) sponge you shall be dry again"
THEME OF CORRUPTION - Said by Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 4 Scene 2 - insulting and warning them of their loyalties to the king being selfish and potentially destructive for them
81
"The King is a thing-" "Of nothing"
THEME OF DEFIANCE - Said by Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 4 Scene 2 - The individual or the role itself? - seeing more than just what's on the surface - being king means nothing if it's done incorrectly?
82
"He's loved of the distracted multitude"
THEME OF FACADE - Said by Claudius - Act 4 Scene 3 - highlights Hamlet's popularity, due to his emotion, not intellect
83
"We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots"
THEME OF DEATH - Said by Hamlet to Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 4 Scene 3 - Highlights theme of decay in the kingdom - disgusting, graphic descriptions show his insanity in defying social norms - cyclical nature of life as pointless
84
"He will stay till ye come"
THEME OF CARELESSNESS - Said by Hamlet to Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 4 Scene 3 - flippant and unremorseful - juxtaposes Gertrude saying he "weeps for what he has done" - solid shift between conscientious to uncaring and cold - insanity?
85
"O from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth"
THEME OF CHANGE - Said by Hamlet in a soliloquy - Act 4 Scene 4 - reflecting on pointlessness of war and loss of life - numbing himself to the world?
86
"I will not speak with her"
THEME OF NEGLECT - Said by Gertrude to Horatio about going to help Ophelia - Act 4 Scene 5 - refusing to help bring her off the verge of insanity
87
**"Enter Ophelia, distracted"** **"She sings"**
THEME OF INSANITY - Stage Direction - Act 4 Scene 5 - shift in her behaviour - she's said to be "playing on a lute with her hair down" - indicates female madness from repressed sexual desire and rejection - lost touch with reality
88
"He is dead and gone Lady"
THEME OF HEARTBREAK - Sung by Ophelia - Act 4 Scene 5 - metaphor for Hamlet's lost personality and insanity? - foreshadowing for Hamlet? - talking about her father? - is Ophelia's madness caused by her grief at the person she 'loves' killing her father OR a rebellion against patriarchal norms? - caused by lack of voice? - can't express desires (grief, guilt and abandonment communicated through song)
89
"before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed"
THEME OF BETRAYAL AND INTIMACY - Sung by Ophelia - Act 4 Scene 5 - speaking of Hamlet betraying her after intimacy? - processing her shame caused by his sexual innuendo?
90
"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions"
THEME OF PAIN AND MOURNING - Said by Claudius about Ophelia to Gertrude - Act 4 Scene 5 - metaphor connotes to attacking nature of mourning and battle with insanity - interesting that it's said by the murderer- indicates his own struggles?
91
"O thou vile King, Give me my father"
THEME OF POWER - Said by Laertes to Claudius - Act 4 Scene 5 - insulting him, but maintains his superior title... - intriguing, as he uses the title as an insult, linking to Hamlet claiming that to be King is to be 'Nothing'
92
"Let him go, Gertrude"
THEME OF LOYALTY - Said by Claudius to stop Gertrude from restraining Laertes - Act 4 Scene 5 - implies she's physically trying to protect the King, despite what she knows of him (also defends him by immediately telling Laertes that Polonius was killed "Not by him (Claudius)") - Claudius allowing angry Laertes to confront him could be courage or calculated, in trusting his own ability of deception to turn him against Hamlet
93
"I dare damnation (...) I'll be revenged"
THEME OF RELIGION AND REBELLION - Said by Laertes to Claudius - Act 4 Scene 5 - shows deep fury, with a single-minded aim of revenge - irony- he mirrors Hamlet
94
"we shall jointly labour with your soul To give it due content"
THEME OF CONTROL - Said by Claudius to Laertes - Act 4 Scene 5 - ruthlessly exploiting and manipulating him against Hamlet
95
"He is gone, he is gone (...) And all of Christian souls, I pray God. God buy ye"
THEME OF INSANITY AND LOSS - Sung by Ophelia (her final line) - Act 4 Scene 5 - about her father? herself? Hamlet? - fragmented singing - loss, social pressure, female vulnerability and insanity
96
"The Queen his mother, Lives almost by his looks"
THEME OF LOVE - Said by Claudius - Act 4 Scene 7 - aware of Gertrude's love for Hamlet - plans against him without hurting her (same as Hamlet is doing)
97
"even his mother shall uncharge the practise And call it accident"
THEME OF CORRUPTION - Said by Claudius to Laertes - Act 4 Scene 7 - plans on manipulating and controlling the beliefs of everyone into thinking Hamlet's death was an accident
98
"Revenge shall have no bounds"
THEME OF VENGENCE - Said by Claudius to Laertes - Act 4 Scene 7 - ironic, as Hamlet is seeking revenge against him - does he know that?
99
"I'll anoint my sword"
THEME OF RELIGION AND CORRUPTION - Said by Laertes to Claudius -Act 4 Scene 7 - religious connotations in murderous act - irony - poetic justice is served when he's murdered by his own poisoned sword
100
"willow (...) hoar leaves in the glassy stream (...) crow flowers, nettles, daisies (...) down her weedy trophies, and herself Fell in the weeping brook; her clothes spread (...) mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up (...) chanted snatches of old tunes (...) her garments (...) Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodius lay, To muddy death"
THEME OF DEATH AND BEAUTY - Gertrude describing Ophelia's death/ suicide (?) - Act 4 Scene 7 - tender lines - constant focus on natural beauty - 'daisies' - she spoke about - irony, the thing that saved her, dragged her to death (interesting social constructions about clothes women must wear of the time) - seeming lack of struggle... - shift at end from tender to seemingly resentful - significant that GERTRUDE tells the story, because she refused an opportunity to save Ophelia
101
"How much I had to do to calm his rage!"
THEME OF GENDER - Said by Claudius to Gertrude - Act Scene 7 - telling her off? - blame instantly falls on women - lying, as he had just spurred him into anger against Hamlet
102
"he sings at grave-making?"
THEME OF RESPECT - Said by Hamlet - Act 5 Scene 1 - shows reverence towards death, potentially contradicting suicidal behaviours
103
"Alas, poor Yorrik, I knew him Horatio (...) he hath borne me on his back a thousand times"
THEME OF NOSTALGIA - Said by Hamlet in a monologue - Act 5 Scene 1 - accepts inevitability of death in this monologue - father-figure?
104
" her death was doubtful, And but that great command o'ersways the order"
THEME OF CLASS - Said by the Priest at Ophelia's funeral - Act 5 Scene 1 - indicates her class over-rules her actions
105
"from her fair and unpolluted flesh May violets grow"
THEME OF INNOCENCE - Said by Laertes at Ophelia's funeral - Act 5 Scene 1 - referencing her virginity? - significant, as her violets wouldn't grow following her father's death
106
"I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife"
THEME OF LOVE - Said by Gertrude at Ophelia's funeral - Act 5 Scene 1 - Discover her (supposedly) true views towards Ophelia - contradicted by her refusal to help her - Oedipus complex ('MY Hamlet')
107
"They are not near my conscience"
THEME OF DISREGARD AND EVIL - Said by Hamlet to Horatio about the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Act 5 Scene 2 - furthers his shift towards villainy in his supposed attempt at heroism
108
"if it be not now, yet it will come"
THEME OF ACCEPTANCE OF DEATH - Said by Hamlet to Horatio about him dying - Act 5 Scene 2 - he's come full circle, from being afraid of death to being ready for it - he's calm and has accepted it - his idea of 'it will be' contradicts 'to be or not to be' - putting God in control, instead of himself - religious journey, but he becomes more evil on it... (Shakespeare's religious uncertainty...)
109
"What I have done, that might your nature, honour and exception Roughly awake (...) was madness"
THEME OF INSANITY - Said by Hamlet to Laertes - Act 5 Scene 2 - Blames his insanity on his actions
110
"Gertrude, do not drink" "I will my Lord; I pray you pardon me"
THEME OF DEATH - Between Gertrude and Claudius - Act 5 Scene 2 - he clearly warns her - degree of care - my 'Lord' - dual meaning - King or God (disobedience - is she knew it was poisoned, it was suicide - protecting Hamlet? escaping? redeeming herself?
111
"O villainy!"
THEME OF CARE - Hamlet's reaction to Gertrude's death - Act 5 Scene 2 - Hamlet reacts, Claudius doesn't...
112
"the King's to blame"
THEME OF REVENGE - Said by Laertes to Hamlet - Act 5 Scene 2 - He does what Hamlet never could, and openly exposes the King - ultimate revenge hero?
113
"Follow my mother"
THEME OF DEATH - Said by Hamlet when killing Claudius - Act 5 Scene 2 - does he want his mother to be with him? believes she too will go to Hell? wants them both to be damned?
114
"Exchange forgiveness with me, Noble Hamlet"
THEME OF FORGIVENESS - Said by Laertes right before he dies - Act 5 Scene 2 - He initiates reconciliation - Hero - better?
115
"in this harsh world draw your breath in pain, To tell my story"
THEME OF IMMORTALITY - Said by Hamlet to Horatio whilst he's dying - Act 5 Scene 2 - selfish? - wants to prevent repetition? - fear of death - needs to be immortalised?
116
"On Fortinbras, he has my dying voice (...) The rest is silence"
THEME OF PROTECTION - Hamlet's last words to Horatio - Act 5 Scene 2 - Is he trying to save or destroy Denmark? - enemy in charge, but one he admires...
117
"Now cracks a noble heart: good night sweet Prince"
THEME OF MOURNING - Said by Horatio after Hamlet dies - Act 5 Scene 2 - referred back to sleep - only Hamlet said that...
118
"prov'd most royally"
THEME OF POWER - Said by Fortinbras about Hamlet - the tragedy of his death is that he believes he would have made a strong ruler - corrupted royal view - removes significance of bidding 'the soldiers shoot' - mourning his potential, not who he is - Hamlet was AGAINST war, and he immediately claims that "the rites of war Speak loudly for him" - his immortalisation, like everything is destroyed and corrupted = CYCLICAL
a-level lit
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