Introduction and Reflection
Even though not everyone has read Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, I bet everyone has heard at least a quote from it used in conversation or quoted in a TV show. I have always been akin to collecting quotes. I like that in a few short words a larger message can be represented. I use my collection of quotes as a reminder of lessons and ideals that I stand for, and for inspiration. However, quotes are highly subjective. When you take words out of their context the inherent nature of their assemblage is changed. Many of the quotes that I have saved in my library come from Hamlet, and here I am challenging myself to look both within and beyond the context of the play. When I have them saved as short lines they mean everything to me, but when spoken in their true context they almost have a reciprocal meaning. A writer who loves quotes just as much as me gave this statement about Shakespeare: “He gave us common stories, common characters, common culture, and uncommon brilliance. Remember to quote him well, but wisely” (Jolliffe). Here I will try to bring some wisdom to commonly said Hamlet quotes.
“To thine own self be true”
One of the most famous Hamlet quotes is Polonius’ “To thine own self be true” (1:3:67). It’s quite interesting because in the translation that we read in class, Lisa Peterson makes the choice to take out the word thine and replace it with your, so the full quote reads, “This above all, to your own self be true” (Peterson 1:3:67). To break this quote down let’s look at the context from which Polonius is delivering the line. The scene starts with Laertes and Ophelia getting ready for Laertes departure. Polonius, being his father, comes in and gives him a long winded speech about how to behave. He concludes his advice with this main point about being honest to yourself because, “you cannot then be false to any man” (1:3:69). The irony in this is that we are talking about Polonius, an incredibly deceptive individual. Coming from Polonius the advice is hypocritical. After his farewell to his son, all his talk about loyalty is cast aside when spies on Ophelia which does not reflect the actions of a loyal, trusting father. In another great point, “It is a tribute to Shakespeare that he can produce a speech that is quoted for four hundred years as definitive wisdom about human behavior although it comes from a character who is a disreputable and hypocritical empty vessel” (No Sweat Shakespeare). It’s almost as if Polonius just wanted to hear himself give this advice to sound smart, which plays into the recurring behavior of Polonius saying whatever he needs to say to please the person in front of him. Lee Jolliffe makes the point, “But the fact is, it does not “follow as the night the day” that being true to yourself makes you true to others. If you’re true to yourself, you’re .. . well. . . selfish” (Jolliffe). They go on to say, “His words were never meant to be immortal. They were meant to be puerile, infantile, sycophantic, and, on their face, ridiculous.” (Jolliffe). If everyone is in agreement that Polonius’ words are deeply ironic, then I can applaud Shakespeare for being able to write such profound lines, while at the same time using the morals behind the words to mock the very character saying them.
Taking into consideration the character of Polonius, I am tempted to read through it to mean something a little more, “be true to only yourself”. With this reading I feel like it is very representative of the deceit and lies within the play. Between the main characters we never really know where people’s intentions lie. In this way, “To thine own self be true” can be read as an echo to the play itself, in the way that each character, especially Hamlet, is making moves behind the scenes that are only understood to them. However, if we take the quote at face value, “Shakespeare’s Hamlet offers an example of how attempting to change one’s true nature in order to please others often comes at a high cost, not only to oneself, but to others as well” (Price). To that point, the play would have been very different without all of the plot that is created through Hamlet’s deception.
“Words, words, words”
One of my favorite Hamlet quotes of all time is Polonius asking Hamlet, “What do you read, my lord” and Hamlet responding “Words, words, words” (2:2:165). It is so simple, such a small three word quote yet I feel like it holds a lot of significance. I must confess part of my obsession with this quote comes from my high school British Literature teacher who told me that if she ever got a tattoo it would be “Words words words” inscribed on the back of her ear. I asked her “Why behind your ear?” and she told me that it’s because that is all we hear. We don’t hear actions, we don’t hear feelings, we hear words. We read words. For all their significance, or lack thereof, words are just words. If we let them, they can hold power and influence our ways. However, what is noticeable to me is Hamlet repeated the word “words” three times. He simply could have said “words” or “a book”, but his repetition implies that there is no meaning to what he says or the words that come out of his mouth.
From a broad view, I think it is worth noting that Hamlet loves words. Hamlet, “the guy who is all about words, whose soliloquizing is world famous! Words are his bread and butter. Therefore, he could be saying that even words—something he really cherishes—is just not sufficient to help him negotiate his existential crisis and that has him scared.” (Sween). However, given the context in which this quote is prompted, I’m swayed to read this as Hamlet mocking Polonius. Hamlet has little respect for Polonius and even calls him a “fishmonger”. Hamlet thinks Polonius is dishonest and sees through his lies. By responding with “words words words”, Hamlet is taking away the power behind words, the same power that Polonius feeds on to deceive and manipulate people. This can even relate back to my conversation on Polonius from the first quote, that all Polonius is, is his words. He has no morals and no faith, just empty words.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. Such a profound quote. Is there truth to it? I guess if I think there is truth to it then there is, according to the quote. I love this quote because it makes me think that I have power over a situation. On the other hand, it also reminds me how our minds have a tendency to fixate on black and white, “good or bad”. That’s what Shakespeare is trying to point out here, in reality a situation is never 100% good or 100% bad because it all depends on how we view it. It tries to bring to light the fact that we have control on how we view a situation. Another way to view this quote is through the lens of subjectivity. It’s commenting on the way we let our feelings sway our perception of reality. While subjective thinking is unavoidable, I can learn from a quote like this to at least be aware that my thoughts and feelings influence my reality and that the compulsion to label things as “good” or “bad” comes from us humans. To look at this quote out of context, “we really don’t have the knowledge to say that certain events really are good or bad, and moreover that labeling things as good or bad and getting worked up about the “goodness” or “badness” really isn’t conducive to living more peaceful, happier, and fulfilled lives” (Kwakyi).
In the case of Hamlet, he is talking to his friends Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz about the state of Denmark. Hamlet, living in despair and anger over the murder of his father, believes Denmark to be a “prison” while his friends assure him that Denmark isn’t that bad. Hamlet knows things that Guildenstern and Rosencrantz don’t know, they are also being influenced by the Queen to check in on Hamlet, but either way, their differing thoughts on the situation come from their subjective point of views. Hamlet seems to understand their differences which is why he delivers the infamous line, “Why, then, it isn’t one to you; for there is nothing neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison” (Peterson 2:2:206-207). The funny thing about the context here is that Rosencrantz doesn’t see the wisdom in this quote that history has. He retorts back with Hamlet for many more lines, wit being thrown around between the two of them. This leaves me wondering if Shakespeare was intentional in writing great quotes, and then purposely having the characters look past their wisdom, or, do we as people just find meaning and significance in the most random places? The truth of it probably lies somewhere in the middle, and I highly doubt that society will stop quoting Shakespeare anytime soon.
Works Cited
- Jolliffe, Lee. “Shakespeare’s Words: Quotes, Misquotes, and Lost Contexts”, ETC: A Review of General Semantics, Vol. 66 Issue 3, p345-348. 4p. Jul 2009.
- Kwakyi, Gabriel. “What William Shakespeare means by “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so””, The Musing Mind, April 2023.
- Price, Courtney. “To Thine Own Self Be True: The Use of Binary Opposition in Interpreting Shakespeare’s Hamlet”, LOGOS: A Journal of Undergraduate Research, Vol. 8, p32-39. 8p. Fall 2015.
- Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet”, translated by Lisa Peterson. ACMRS Press, 2021.
- Sween, Gretchen. “Words Words Words”, True Complaint–Shakespeare, Law, and Other Whimsies, July 2012.
- “‘To Thine Own Self Be True’, Meaning and Context”, No Sweat Shakespeare.
Sprockets and Springes 