One of the most used quotes in the English language it is part of the famous soliloquy by Hamlet on the moral legitimacy of suicide in an unbearably painful world. #1 “To be, or not to be: that is the question” The phrase has become so popular that many people have printed it on their body as a tattoo. It simply says that the most important thing for a person is to be true to oneself. This is part of fatherly advice given by Polonius to Laertes. – Polonius (Act I, Scene III) ‘To thine own self be true’ is a popular tattoo #2 “This above all: to thine own self be true” and is considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest. The quotation has been referred to umpteen times in films, serials etc. But then he adds that to him humankind is merely dust. He first glorifies a man by praising his reason, faculty, form, movement etc. Perturbed by his father’s death, Hamlet speaks these lines to his friends. #3 “What a piece of work is 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?” Phrases from Hamlet in common English As the mote is to trouble the minds eye (Minds eye, though it did not originate as a phrase in this play, was. A more recent expression equivalent to it would be: ‘It never rains but it pours’. It basically means that when bad things happen they don’t come one at a time like an enemy spy but all at once like an army. #7 “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions”Ĭlaudius says this line to Gertrude while pretending to be concerned about Ophelia. It might say that Claudius is not a blood relative (kind: belonging to same class or character) and it might refer to Claudius’s unnatural lust (kind: natural) and it might imply that Claudius is inconsiderate in marrying his brother’s wife so soon after his death (kind: considerate). ‘Less than Kind’ can be interpreted in multiple ways as is often in Shakespeare’s plays. He is replying to Claudius who refers to him “my cousin Hamlet, and my son.” Hamlet is saying that Claudius is more than kin as he is now not merely his uncle but also his stepfather. – Hamlet (Act I, Scene II) Nikolai Massalitinov as Claudius #8 “A little more than kin, and less than kind” While borrowing money ‘dulls the edge of husbandry (economic money management)’, i.e.
When you lend money you often loose not only the sum but the friend to whom you lend it. He is telling his son not to borrow or lend money. #9 “Neither a borrower nor a lender be For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry” The lines simply mean that doubt whether stars are fire or the sun moves across the sky or truth itself be a liar but never doubt whether I love you. These lines are spoken by Polonius while he reads to Gertrude, Hamlet’s letter to Ophelia. – Polonius (Act II, Scene II) A stained glass representation of Polonius #10 “Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move.
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