Hamlet Quotations Essay

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Part A: Quotations Act 1 1. “ A little more than kin and less than kind” a) Speaker: Hamlet b) Meaning in modern language: Too many family ties there for me c) Significance: Claudius refers to Hamlet as a cousin and now son. Hamlet replies saying that there relationship is more than a “kin” or cousin relationship. His distaste of this “kin” represents Hamlet’s refusal to accept Claudius as his step- father. 2. “Frailty, thy name is woman” a) Speaker: Hamlet b) Meaning in modern language: Women are so weak c) Significance: Hamlet is angry that his mother, Gertrude, has gotten married to his uncle a month after his father’s death. He blames this on the weakness of women and refers to his mother as a stereotypical female. 3. “The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables” a) Speaker: Hamlet b) Meaning: The leftovers from the funeral dinner made a convenient wedding banquet. c) Significance: Hamlet bitterly jokes that the reason that his mother got remarried so soon is so she could serve the leftover food from the funeral as refreshments at the wedding. This quote displays his resentment towards his mother’s marriage to his uncle. 4. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” a) Speaker: Marcellus b) Meaning: It means something is rotten in the state of Denmark c) Significance: There are suspicious events occurring in Denmark under the management of Claudius 5. The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” a) Speaker: King Hamlet b) Meaning: The real snake that his poisoned your father is now wearing the crown c) Significance: Hamlet ‘s suspicions of his uncle are confirmed when the ghost of king Hamlets tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. 6. This above all: to thine own self be true” a) Speaker: Polonius b) Meaning: Above all, be true to yourself c) Significance: Polonius advises

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