Hamlet Quotes Act 1 Sc 4 Flashcards
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (1.4.90)
• After the death of their true king, a false king has rose
• Denmark is slowly rotting over time - it was initially a prosperous place under King Hamlet’s rule but now under Claudius’ rule, Denmark is going to be the embodiment of hell - this is shown through the fact that Denmark appears to be a dark and gloomy place
• Denmark is decaying and will continue to until order is restored
• Double meaning - talking about C being rotten as well - foreshadowing
• Corruption in the country
• We as the audience are immediately put into the position of detective - in the lens of crime it tells us already that a crime has been committed
• “rotten” alludes to criminal underbelly that is Denmark
• Collective social deviance
• Semantic field of decay
• The killing before the play begins sets into motion the descent of the whole country
Foreshadows the lack of truth between the characters makes us question who to believe
“I do not set my life at pin’s fee”
Hamlet uses hyperbole, an exaggeration, saying he doesn’t value his life even at the price of a pin. In other words, Hamlet is saying he has nothing to lose. If he valued his life, he might be a little more cautious about following a ghost.
“Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned”
H’s confusion of what he is seeing - does not know if it is friend or foe
Hamlet will be preoccupied with this conflict for most of the play. Will this ghost make his situation worse or better? Could be a devil impersonating his father which is immoral. Moral ambiguity of the play
‘So horridly shake our disposition.’
Hamlet feels uneasy around the ghost
’ Angels and ministers of ghost, defend us.’
Calling for protection from the supernatural. Divine protection - confusion of the identity of the apparition - Begins the question of if the ghost is setting H on a right path of revenge - alludes to the moral ambiguity of H’s revenge throughout the play
’ Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell.’
the Ghost brings neither. There is no deliverance in revenge, but no repentance in living in the knowledge of Claudius’ actions for Hamlet henceforth. All of his actions, and more importantly his speech, are “airs” and “blasts” with no room left for any sort of emotional yielding to the morality of revenge with which Hamlet spends the duration of the play contemplating, leading to the infamous question of “to be or not to be”.
’ Why thy canonised bones cursed in death…’
Why his church-buried bones have come back - Christian belief of death being laid to rest but clearly KC has unfinished business
“complete steel”
reference to his father’s physical prowess - burial in a suit of armour showed he was viewed as a strong and typically masculine leader
“King, father, royal Dane”
juxtaposes to Hamlet’s previous recognition of Danes (Claudius) as drunkards. The triplet links to terms of positive acclaim - King is closest to heaven and God.
