Hamlet 1.4 Quotes

Question 1

shrewdly

Answer 1

The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold. - ham

Atmosphere of actual ‘cold’ - clear metaphor for political paranoia both of Ghost and war with Norway (Fortinbras)

Question 2

breach

Answer 2

More honored in the breach than the observance. - ham

Hamlet explains the seeming moral and social corruption of Denmark in its excessive partying (revelry) - everyone else in “other nations” call us “drunkards”

Question 3

traduced

Answer 3

Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations - ham

Hamlets bitterness directed towards Claudius for dismantling the good reputation which Old Hamlet created- Denmark seen as weak and susceptible to attack

Question 4

pales

Answer 4

(Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason), - ham

pales and forts = places of military protection, against physical assault

Reason = an abstract quality in people&raquo_space; Perhaps Hamlet wishes that ‘reason’ (especially since he’s a uni student) could be as powerful as arms&raquo_space;> perhaps an anxiety that rationality ultimately has no guard other than human faith, ironically, in it

Question 5

dram

Answer 5

The dram of evil / Doth all the noble substance - ham

original sin, hobbes - evil

Question 6

look

Answer 6

HORATIO Look, my lord, it comes.

Dramatic/theatrical significance of Horatio’s rather simple statement:
Horatio, the archetypal rational sceptic, functions as verbal confirmation of supernatural presence – seen to all, not just Hamlet or audience

Question 7

goblin

Answer 7

Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned, - ham

Antithetical phrases - the nature of the ghost is continually questioned. “the dead King is undeniably there in some way. Because of this similarity, Hamlet addresses the Ghost as his father. He will not deny the likeness, no matter what the message may be, hellish or heavenly.”

Question 8

airs

Answer 8

Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from /
hell, - ham

Juxtaposition in direction, questioning intention (thanks Amelie Cicirello) + moral extremes of ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ as well as the peace of ‘airs’ and the violence of ‘blasts’Could be argued to show Hamlet’s rather extreme paranoia - everything is either purely holy or purely evil - or just common sense: he’s considering all the possibilities. A rational mind in the face of irrational power

Question 9

dane

Answer 9

. I’ll call thee “Hamlet,”

“King,” “Father,” “Royal Dane.” - ham

Rapid asyndetic listing of four titles - personal, political, familial, national - deliberate intermeshing of the personal and the political reflects Hamlet’s confusion ‘thought-out-loud’.

Question 10

death

Answer 10

Why thy . bones, hearsèd in death,

Have burst their cerements; why the sepulcher,

Wherein we saw thee quietly interred,

Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws - ham

Semantic field of the ceremonial containment of death: “hearse,” “cerements” “sepulchre,” “interred” metaphor of “marble jaws” being “burst open” – implies ghost’s rejection of the ceremonies of burial – bitter unfinished business! You’d certainly get points for identifying ‘death’ as the S.F., but try to make your S.F. identification and precise and interesting as possible. Those words are all to do with the ceremonies/rituals performed upon someone’s death, not really the death itself.
[why has your tomb, where we saw you buried, opened its huge marble jaws to throw you out] > reversal of the normal permanency of death, being ‘interred’ > considering the clear deliberate personification of ‘jaws’ - suggests King H’s Ghost has been regurgitated/vomited back to the world; reverse of normal process of consumption&raquo_space; visceral disgust for a spiritual challenge

Question 11

steel

Answer 11

What may this mean

That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel, - ham

“Steel” armour is meant to protect living human beings, but here protects nothing but a “dead corse” (early modern English for ‘corpse’) >”Steel” armour meant as symbol of living soldierly vitality, not for useless a “dead corse”» King H had “complete steel,” thus metonymically a ‘complete’ soldier; yet this failed to protect him, in life, from becoming “a dead corse”

Question 12

we fools of nature - ham

Answer 12

fool next to power of ghost, supernatural

Question 13

wherefore?

Answer 13

With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls?

Say, why is this? Wherefore? What should we do? - ham

Long series of complex, excessively syntactically complex sentences of “what may this mean…” and “tell why thy canonised bones” have risen > gives way to three questions in one frustrated line of pentameter, going through several of the major interrogative words of English: ‘why’, ‘wherefore’, ‘what’&raquo_space; ends on the most frustrating and dangerous of all - not the philosophical ‘why’ but the practical ‘what should we do?’&raquo_space;> Hamlet’s confidence but also genuine frustration at the ghost’s wordlessness

Question 14

beckons

Answer 14

*Ghost beckons.

Beckoning - universally understood, without need for language&raquo_space; ghost maintains his inscrutability while still guiding the hero to the revelation of information

Question 15

means

Answer 15

MARCELLUS But do not go with it.

HORATIO No, by no means.

Split lines of pentameter indicates their urgency and coordination in trying to restrain Hamlet

Question 16

follow

Answer 16

It will not speak. Then I will follow it. - ham

The line follows a natural iambic rhythm, reinforcing the conversational yet dramatic tone of the moment. Shakespeare’s use of rhythm here contrasts with Hamlet’s later soliloquies, which are often metrically more irregular, signaling internal conflict.

Themes of Action vs. Inaction: Hamlet’s immediate response to follow contrasts with his later hesitation in other critical moments.
Exploration of the Supernatural: The ghost’s silence heightens its mystique and challenges Hamlet to interpret its purpose.
Psychological Depth: The moment signals Hamlet’s emotional vulnerability and his readiness to engage with forces beyond human understanding.

Question 17

pin’s

Answer 17

I do not set my life at a pin’s fee. - ham

casual metaphor of life being nothing but a pin’s fee – both heroic and reckless: suggests a tragic hero must have both qualities

Question 18

flood

Answer 18

What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord? - horatio

Biblical echoes of ‘flood’ gives ghost an almost godlike power, the sublime nature - Horatio’s loyalty to Hamlet and his knowledge of the dangers associated with spirits indicate sincere concern, even as he uses striking imagery to emphasize the potential risks.

Question 19

horrible

Answer 19

And there assume some other horrible form …
And draw you into madness? - Hor

> “horrible form” - nasty, incomprehensible vague shape or outline (‘form’) - “sovereignty” - normally a political term applied to country but double meaning here: Hamlet IS the rightful ‘sovereign’ or supreme ruler of Denmark, but also has ‘sovereignty’ or supreme self-control and free will, of ‘reason’ (rationality)&raquo_space;» i.e. every person is like a mini-state, governed, ideally, by reason

> > Ghost threatens not only political stability, but mental and spiritual free will as well, according to Horatio’draw’ you - pun on ‘drawing’ as in hanging, drawing and quartering.

Answer 20

MARCELLUS You shall not go, my lord. *They hold back Hamlet

Split lines of pentameter signify the urgent, and ultimately irreconcilable conflict (classics fans, ask me what Fagles says) between the rational Horatio/Marcellus (saving their friend from a ghost!) and the emotional Hamlet (I want to follow this ghost who looks like my recently deceased Dad) &raquo_space;> “my fate” - a personal pronoun for an ultimately depersonalising concept ‘fate’ - separate to you and thus that which displaces personal responsibility onto a cosmic force

Question 21

lets

Answer 21

By heaven, I’ll make a ghost of him that lets me! - ham

Hamlet’s last metaphor indicates the extent to which the non-speaking visual presence has changed, even infected, his spoken language

Question 22

thee

Answer 22

I’ll folow thee - ham

Generously: Hamlet’s heroic focusLess generously: Hamlet’s reckless obsession The refrain ‘follow’ comes despite Horatio’s extended dialogue reasoning AND Hamlet’s friends’ physical restraint AND their repeated verbal pleas - Hamlet defies every type of salvation, again demonstrating his heroic trajectory towards the necessary information to spur his revenge, and his single-minded rashness and recklessness.