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No Fear Translations of Shakespeare’s plays (along with audio!) and other classic works
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For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither.
That he, as 'twere by accident, may here
Affront Ophelia. Her father and myself,
We'll so bestow ourselves that, seeing unseen,
We may of their encounter frankly judge,
And gather by him, as he is behaved,
If 't be th' affliction of his love or no
That thus he suffers for.
In this quote from Claudius early in Act 3, Scene 1, he tells Gertrude that he and Polonius plan to spy on Hamlet and Ophelia to try to discern what Hamlet’s motivation is. This is just one example of the many intrigues and plots small and large that occur throughout the play, with Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet generally being the chief plotters. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Character: Claudius (the second quote).
To be, or not to be? That is the question—
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them?
In a play with numerous famous quotes, “To be, or not to be? That is the question” is the most well-known of them all. It comes in Act 3, Scene 1 at the start of a long soliloquy by Hamlet in which he philosophically weighs the question of whether he should commit suicide. SparkNotes offers a detailed explanation of the entire quote in Famous Quotes Explained as well as briefer explanations of two excerpts: the lines above are discussed in Quotes by Theme: The Impact of Uncertainty (the second quote) and the opening line is discussed in Quotes by Character: Hamlet (the fifth quote).
You should not have believed me
Hamlet cruelly says this to Ophelia near the start of their painful exchange in Act 3, Scene 1. As the explanation of this quote in Quotes by Theme: The Impact of Uncertainly (the third quote) discusses, Hamlet reveals a lot about himself in the play, but unfortunately for anyone trying to understand him, what he most clearly reveals is that he is a figure shrouded in doubt and uncertainty.
I was the more deceived.
After Hamlet spitefully tells Ophelia, “You should not have believed me” (about him saying he loved her), she quietly implies that he does not believe him when she says, “I was the more deceived.” You can read more about this quote and how there is often only a thin line between love and hate in Quotes by Character: Ophelia (the fourth quote).
Get thee to a nunnery.
In the unsettling encounter in Act 3, Scene 1 in which Hamlet attacks Ophelia’s character (someone he seems to have loved at one time and perhaps still does), he says “get thee to a nunnery” or a variation of that four separate times. The phrase’s meaning has long been debated, particularly since the word “nunnery” had two starkly different meanings in Shakespeare’s times—a convent and a brothel. Since Hamlet is such a puzzling character, it isn’t clear which meaning he intends, and it’s possible that he means both. Whatever sense of “nunnery” he is evoking, the overall comment he seems to be making is that Ophelia is unfit for marriage, a sentiment that seems tied to Hamlet’s growing misogyny.
If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell.
Early into his angry confronting of Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet said “You should not have believed me,” which is the same as saying, “I never loved you.” While cruel and spiteful, that was mild compared to the full-on attack on her virtue and character in these lines. As the explanation of this quote in Quotes by Motif: Misogyny (the second quote) discusses, the more Hamlet continues talking in this scene, the more he reveals what seems to be a long-simmering contempt for women in general.
I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I’ll no more on ’t. It hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live. The rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.
By the point in Act 3, Scene 1 when Hamlet concludes his tirade against women in general and Ophelia in particular with these lines, he appears to have completely lost control of his emotions as he weirdly inveighs against women wearing make-up. Significantly, with this quote he blames his madness on women. You can read more about this quote in Quotes by Motif: Misogyny (the third quote) and in Quotes by Character: Hamlet (the seventh quote).
Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!—
The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword,
Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
Th' observed of all observers, quite, quite down!
This quote about Hamlet towards the end of Act 3, Scene 1 puts Ophelia on the “he is truly mad and not just pretending to be” side of the debate about Hamlet’s sanity. As the explanation of this quote in Quotes by Character: Ophelia (the fourth quote) discusses, her admiration and affection for the man that Hamlet was prior to the start of the play are touching and made even more sad by the fact that they portend her on path to madness.
