Act 2
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GUILDENSTERN Prison, my lord?
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GUILDENSTERN Prison, my lord?
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HAMLET Denmark’s a prison.
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HAMLET Denmark’s a prison.
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ROSENCRANTZ Then is the world one.
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ROSENCRANTZ Then I guess the whole world is one.
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HAMLET A goodly one, in which there are many confines, wards, and
dungeons, Denmark being one o' th' worst.
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HAMLET Yes, quite a large one, with many cells and dungeons, Denmark
being one of the worst.
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ROSENCRANTZ We think not so, my lord.
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ROSENCRANTZ We don’t think so, my lord.
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HAMLET Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.
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HAMLET Well, then it isn’t one to you, since nothing is really
good or bad in itself—it’s all what a person
thinks about it. And to me, Denmark is a prison.
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ROSENCRANTZ Why then, your ambition makes it one. 'Tis too narrow
for your mind.
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ROSENCRANTZ That must be because you’re so ambitious.
It’s too small for your large mind.
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HAMLET O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself
a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad
dreams.
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HAMLET Small? No, I could live in a walnut shell and feel like the king
of the universe. The real problem is that I have bad dreams.
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GUILDENSTERN Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very substance
of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
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GUILDENSTERN Dreams are a sign of ambition, since ambition is nothing more than
the shadow of a dream.
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HAMLET
245A dream itself is but a shadow.
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HAMLET But a dream itself is just a shadow.
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ROSENCRANTZ Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quality
that it is but a shadow’s shadow.
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ROSENCRANTZ Exactly. In fact, I consider ambition to be so light and airy that
it’s only the shadow of a shadow.
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HAMLET Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and
outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. Shall we to
th' court? For by my fay, I cannot reason.
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HAMLET Then I guess beggars are the ones with bodies, while ambitious
kings and heroes are just the shadows of beggars. Should we go
inside? I seem to be losing my mind a bit.
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ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN We’ll wait upon you.
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ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN We’re at your service, whatever you say.
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More Help
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Character List
CHARACTERS -
Hamlet: Character Analysis
CHARACTERS -
Plot Analysis
MAIN IDEAS -
Is Hamlet really mad?
MAIN IDEAS -
Quotes by Theme
QUOTES -
Themes
MAIN IDEAS -
Review Quiz
FURTHER STUDY
