hamlet quotes— death Flashcards
Claudius chides Prince for…
“unmanly grief”
“…” is “…” Claudius points out and not to accept it as most unreasonable
“death of fathers’” is “a common theme”
Gertrude’s view of death is simple— “…”, she asks Hamlet why he cannot accept this and why he’s taken father’s death so badly
“all that lives must die”
Horatio as an educated man from Wittenberg, tries to dismiss Ghost— believes in it’s existence once he sees for himself, fears it may be … comparing to those that appeared in streets of Rome before murder of Julius Caesar
“prologue to the omen”
Hamlet views death as a welcome release from the troubles of the world and sees little point in living, wishing to fade away or that God had not forbidden suicide
“O that this too too solid flesh would melt/ Thaw and resolve itself into a dew”
Polonius takes leave of Hamlet later in play, Prince replies…
“You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will not more willingly part withal- except my life”
Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern he has lost joy in life and as living things doomed to die— he wonders what the point of life is…
“to what is this quintessence of dust?”
In Hamlet’s soliloquy, he wonders if he is better off dead, and comes to conclusion that people prefer life to death because they fear the unknown
“To be, or not to be”
Hamlet calls death “…” , despite discussing suicide as an option
“a consummation/ Devoutly to be wished”
When Hamlet kills Polonius, he tells Claudius the corpse is “…”— he explains Polonius is being eaten rather than eating, and points out there is no difference between kings/beggars when they die
“At supper”
both beggars and kings will be eaten by maggots and worms, eventually a man may eat fish that has eaten a worm that has eaten the body of a king…
“a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar”
Hamlet reflects on the bones scattered about graveyard , how they were once living people, all made equal by death despite differing stations in life
“Here’s a fine revolution, an we had the trick to see’t”
Gravedigger shows Hamlet the skull of Yorick, a court jester in Hamlet’s youth, who he says he knew well
“a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy”
Even the mightiest of men eventually become to nothing more than bones and dust Hamlet reflects…
“Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust”
for Hamlet, the graveyard scene is pivotal— he realises all men like Alexander, Yorick etc come to dust eventually, and once accepted everyone will be “…”, Hamlet becomes more resigned to fact death is inevitable
“turned to clay”
