Literary Devices in Hamlet

To be "armed to the point" means to be dressed in armor from head to toe. Shakespeare went to a great deal of trouble in the first scene to establish that this is, indeed, dead King Hamlet's Ghost, and in so doing makes it easier for the audience to understand what is happening. If he had waited to introduce the Ghost until it spoke with Hamlet, it would have lessened the dramatic tension since the audience would not anticipate their meeting or understand its potential significance.

Shakespeare uses the long em-dash here to indicate that Hamlet either has been interrupted by or is surprised to see Marcellus, whom he hadn't noticed before. This, and Hamlet's greeting to Bernardo in the following lines, should indicate that Hamlet has been in a state of reverie or introspection and is a little startled to be thrust back into a social situation, unable to get the timing of his greetings quite right. Shakespeare uses this to build his character and set the tone for this conversation.

In Greek mythology, Hyperion was considered the "High One," Lord of the Light and the Titan of the East, one of the twelve titans that ruled the earth before Zeus and the Olympians fought them for control. Hamlet draws parallels between Hyperion and a satyr (a lustful, drunken god) and between King Hamlet and Claudius, forming an analogy that makes his father look like a saint and Claudius a depraved drunkard.

In gardening terminology, "rank" things are low-lying vegetation like untended grasses mixed with overgrown weeds. "Gross" things are then tall, individual weeds like milkweeds that grow up in the middle of lawns or walkways. This phenomenon occurs in any untended garden and functions as a metaphor for Hamlet's view of the world, in which the masses are "rank," while individuals like Claudius are "gross." Notice, too, how these lines deliberately break the patten of iambic pentameter and contain more than ten syllables, as if to suggest the tangled, disordered, and overgrown condition of a neglected nation or garden.

Notice that Claudius has forty lines and Gertrude only has fourteen lines. This disparity speaks to the different gender roles in the play, emphasizing that though Claudius refers to Gertrude as the "imperial jointress," she holds precious little sway over the court. However, it is not Claudius that Hamlet addresses his response to but Gertrude. This emphasizes Hamlet's preoccupation with his mother, who he views as having betrayed both the deceased King and him by entering into an incestuous marriage with Claudius.

The "dejected havior of his visage" refers to the dejected behavior or the dejected expression on Hamlet's face. In this passage, Hamlet refers to his black clothes, his heavy sighs ("windy suspiration"), and his tears, their "fruitful river" flowing in the wake of his father's death. His use of the word "fruitful" suggests that the tears are both plentiful and productive, meaning that his grief has a purpose and a meaning. Like many people, he believes that sorrow can teach him something about the world.

Here Gertrude makes a pun on the word "nighted," using it to suggest that Hamlet is wearing all black while also comparing him to a knight that has declared his loyalty to the deceased King. There's some anxiety in this, because Hamlet disapproves of his mother's marriage and doesn't appear willing to accept Claudius as the new ruler of Denmark. Gertrude takes on the role of an exasperated mother as she chides her son for his stubborn refusal to move past his father's death and encourages him to adopt a more cheerful, friendly bearing.

Hamlet is famous for its use of soliloquies, a dramatic device where a character speaks their thoughts out loud. Hamlet's soliloquies (performed in private, for the most part) rely on language that is full of allusions, innuendos, and double-meanings in order to allow an audience access to his inner thoughts. Unlike novels, where the interiority of a character can be explored at length, plays must rely on the actors and dialogue to drive the story. Hamlet's soliloquies provide a break from the action and allow him to express the thoughts he has to hold in around other characters. Interiority versus exteriority is one of the central conflicts of the play, with Hamlet's internal conflict manifesting in his inability to take decisive action.

Hamlet cuts right back to talking to Horatio as soon as the pleasantries are over. His repeated question might just be inquisitive, but, in the light of his long speech about Claudius and his mother, it seems like Hamlet is suspicious of Horatio, as he will be of many characters in the play. This should indicate to the reader that Hamlet's mental health has begun to deteriorate.

Polonius shows us he's well aware of the mileage he's getting out of this phrase and, in doing so, highlights his wit. He chastises Ophelia even more harshly than Laertes did, echoing the idea that Hamlet's affections are not genuine and that Ophelia would be a fool to be taken in by his romantic gestures. Much like Laertes, Polonius does not take Ophelia's feelings into account in his criticisms of Hamlet. Both men believe that they are protecting Ophelia but end up hurting her instead, inadvertently setting up a conflict where Ophelia must choose between her love for Hamlet and her duty to her family.

Polonius does not reveal who has reported to him about Ophelia's relationship with Hamlet. It's unlikely that he would've spoken to the King or Queen about it, and he hasn't spoken with Hamlet, which suggests that either he heard from another nobleman in the court or from a spy he's planted to keep tabs on his son and daughter. Polonius is preoccupied with appearances, so keeping track of what his children are doing is consistent with his characterization.

This line closely parallels Hamlet's request that Horatio and the officers give their sightings of his father's ghost "an understanding, but no tongue." The two lines in concert lend themselves to an atmosphere of willful silence and of distrust, which solidifies the audience's suspicion that Elsinore isn't a safe place for Hamlet or for anyone who has reason to suspect the King and his guards.

For modern readers and stage actors, the stage directions function as a way of establishing the key relationships in this scene: brother, sister, and father. For the audience, however, the stage directions aren't available, and these relationships have to be established through dialogue. Laertes and Polonius were already introduced in the previous scene as father and son, so this scene functions as a way of introducing Ophelia and adding depth to the relationships between the characters.

Given what happened in the last scene, the audience might reasonably expect the action to jump right to Hamlet meeting the Ghost. Instead, Shakespeare provides a chronological account of the day and introduces some other important characters. This scene, like the one before it, establishes some of the key relationships in the royal court. It also builds anticipation for when the Ghost does eventually appear.

In the previous scene, Laertes was given permission by Claudius to leave Denmark and return to France. Since Shakespeare's plays were written for the stage, keeping track of characters could prove difficult for live audiences, especially if characters were absent from the story for long stretches of time. Shakespeare responded to this problem by reinforcing the importance of certain characters with multiple appearances, as he does here. This scene makes Laertes more memorable by exploring his relationship with his father and sister, contextually foreshadowing that he'll return later in the play.

Ophelia, one of the few female characters in Hamlet, is a classic example of the ingenue, a Latin-derived stage term meaning "guileless." It is used to describe a young, innocent woman. It is common for Shakespeare's ingenues to meet tragic ends, as Desdemona does in Othello and Juliet does in Romeo & Juliet.

In this extended metaphor of Hamlet as Jesus drawn into the wilderness by the Devil, Horatio likens Hamlet to the Son of God, which reinforces both Hamlet's goodness and his father's saintliness for the audience. Conventional wisdom holds that the closer one gets to God, the greater the temptations of evil are, which makes any madness Hamlet experiences a byproduct of his holiness and his relationship with his father.

Horatio attempts to minimize the unpleasant and ostentatious nature of Claudius' drinking by asking if it's customary for a king to behave this way (thus drawing a parallel between Claudius, the drinker, and King Hamlet, the somewhat less heavy drinker). It's a kind gesture on Horatio's part, but even as he says it he knows the truth of the matter, making this question, in the end, unnecessary, except to embarrass Claudius.

Notice that, in spite of all this, Horatio and Marcellus never swear, at least not out loud. It's possible that in his state of agitation Hamlet didn't realize that they didn't swear, or that he believes they did simply because he's demanded it so many times, but, regardless, the two men haven't been bound to any oath, and it remains to be seen what they'll do with their relative freedom.

Remember that earlier in Act I, Scene VI, Hamlet used the phrase "mole of nature" to refer to a spot on one's character or a negative aspect of one's personality. Here, "mole" refers both to the animal, a creature that burrows underground, where the Ghost appears to be, and to this "mole of nature," which doesn't tarnish the Ghost's character but rather tarnishes Hamlet's by forcing him to lose himself in revenge.

Hamlet has very literally circumscribed Claudius, writing down who he is and what he's done as if taking a definitive measure of his character. Claudius, though a cunning, complex, interesting character, will nevertheless never be more than what Hamlet has inscribed him to be: a villain. His character development, in effect, ends here.

Keep in mind that this is Act I, Scene V, and there are still four more acts in this play. Though Hamlet professes that his thoughts are swift, the audience knows from experience that he spends a lot of time brooding and that his meditations are in fact slow and measured. Curious that he would also call his "thoughts of love" swift, which would appear to give credence to Laertes' earlier assertion that Hamlet's interest in Ophelia is just a passing ("swift") fancy.

"Fellies" are sections of a wheel's rims. Fortune was often depicted in art and literature as a woman who controlled fate by spinning an enormous wheel. In the play within the play, the character here performed wants to break the Wheel of Fortune in the hopes that this will destroy (or "take away") her power.

"As hush as death" refers to the calm before the storm, or to the eye of the storm, where the winds die down and all appears to be calm, at least for the moment. These lines liken Pyrrhus' fury to a storm and give readers the impression that it's uncontrollable and that there can be no defense against it.

Ilium, another name for Troy and the source of the title of Homer's The Iliad. Here, Ilium begins to fall around Pyrrhus as he strikes at Priam, causing him to pause and listen. The word "senseless" directly contradicts the next line, in which the city seems to "feel" Priam's hurt.

“to gather/So much as from occasion you may glean.” The King’s request here bears a great deal of similarity to the exchange we just observed in Act II Scene I between Polonius and Reynaldo. Just as Polonius asked Reynaldo to bring back information about Laertes, so does the King asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to bring back information about Hamlet.

Hamlet kindly allows his friends to keep their promise to the king and queen by not forcing them to tell him why they're spying on him. Instead, he tells them what he's already figured out, allowing their oath (here personified as a bird) to remain intact without molting or losing a feather.

Recall that Hamlet has just likened beggars to "bodies," or to people whose ambitions consume them. Remember also that he's said that fishmongers and poor men, like beggars, are the most honest of men, in that their desires are so pure. By equating himself with this class of people, Hamlet implies that his plan to kill Claudius is righteous and not self-serving.

Notice Polonius' ham-fisted tautology: he defines madness simply as the quality of being mad, which uses a thing to define itself and thus becomes an ineffective description. Polonius has been attempting throughout this speech to be witty and intelligent but instead comes across as a buffoon.

Note that this "business" with Norway and Fortinbras has been over for the audience since Act I, Scene V, when the Ghost revealed that he wasn't here to talk about an upcoming war. Shakespeare used the threat of war to pique the audience's interest but then resolved the conflict once they were emotionally invested in the true subject of the play: Hamlet's madness and revenge.

Here, Ophelia mourns not only the loss of her love but the loss of Hamlet's example for the rest of the men in Denmark. Courtiers and noblemen would model their behavior on that of the royal family. In going insane, Hamlet robs the courtier his eye, or perception, the scholar his tongue, or discourse, and the soldier his sword, or prowess. He is no longer the paragon, or glass of fashion, on which others can model their behavior, but a fallen man. Ophelia mourns both for herself and for all of Denmark.

This image is of a chicken or a bird sitting on its eggs, or its brood of chicks. Hamlet's melancholy appears to be weighing on him, as Ophelia noted when she said Hamlet was "quite, quite down," as in depressed. Claudius thinks that by sitting on this brood, Hamlet is also hatching a plot against Claudius. Realizing this, Claudius decides to take action against the prince.

Here, Hamlet uses the plural "you" to refer to all women, who make men into "monsters" or cuckolds (men whose wives have cheated on them). Hamlet may also be speaking metaphorically, saying that women make men into monsters or terrible people with their dishonest ways and their deceptive beauty.

Shakespeare never established how much time passed between Act I and Act II and here implies that it's been a number of days, perhaps even weeks. Ophelia hasn't been talking to Hamlet, per her father's instruction, and wants to know how he (his "honour" because he's the prince) has been. She may also be wondering if he's been honorable or faithful to her since they last spoke.

Shakespeare uses a familiar metaphor where the afterlife is a place that people can travel to, and from which no traveler returns. Many writers have written of this "undiscover'd country," including Dante in his Inferno, where the narrator travels through the underworld, guided by the Roman poet Virgil.

"Fardels" means bundles, parcels, or baggage (of the literal and emotional kind). Hamlet answers his question with another question, asking if anyone would bother to work so hard or "bear" the "fardels" of life if they weren't afraid of what would happen to them after they die.

Shakespeare may be using a mixed metaphor here: one cannot take arms against (or fight with) the sea. But if we assume that the "sea" of troubles is actually an onslaught against which he has to defend himself, the image becomes clearer, and we can see that Hamlet is at war with himself and the world.

Shakespeare often closes scenes with rhyming couplets, as he does here in the King's closing words. Shakespeare's intention may have been to remind the audience that the actors have been speaking in poetic verse, though usually in lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter. The effect here is to make Claudius' words seem like a nugget of real wisdom instead of a self-serving critique of Hamlet.

Hamlet likens himself to the recorder, using the language of music ("stops," "note," "pluck," "sound") to indicate that he knows very well that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are trying to play on his affections as their former friend to more effectively spy on him. He asks Guildenstern to play on the recorder to prove to him that he's no good at "playing" people or instruments.

Recall that in Act II, Scene II Gertrude told Polonius to speak with "more matter, with less art." Both that line and this one mean to get to the point. Hamlet unwittingly echoes his mother, revealing how much closer they are in intelligence and temperament than either will ever know.

Shakespeare interrupts Guildenstern here to give his words a sense of urgency. He and Rosencrantz have just come from Claudius' side, worried about what effect the king's distemper will have on Hamlet. Guildenstern rushes to tell him because he still thinks of Hamlet as a friend and wants to warn him of the danger. Hamlet's interruption, then, is very rude.

Recall that when the players were first introduced, Hamlet recited for them a piece of a play about Pyrrhus, Achilles' son, whose arms were black as sable (or fur). By likening himself to Pyrrhus, Hamlet implies that he's a fearsome warrior and that he'll soon be covered, as Pyrrhus was, in the blood of his enemies.

Hamlet likens himself to a magnet attracted to certain metals. In this case, his mother doesn't hold a strong pull over him, but Ophelia does, and he makes a very blatant and embarrassing ploy for her affections in front of everyone (probably to throw them off).

In other words, let a pompous or pretentious person sugarcoat whatever they want. Recall that Polonius expressed much the same sentiment in Act III, Scene I, when he said that words could "sugar o'er" the Devil himself. This repetition draws an uncomfortable parallel between Hamlet and Polonius, who are each, after all, trying to maneuver against the other.

This line doubles as Shakespeare's own thoughts about acting and playwriting: that the words are more important, and that the actions should be suited to them, not the other way around. This gives precedence to what the writer intended rather than to the actor's interpretation, which suggests that everything you need to understand the play is right here on the page.

The "groundlings," or members of the pit, were a notoriously rowdy bunch, prone to violent and ridiculous outbursts ("dumb-shows") that were often crude and sexual in nature. Some even went so far as to jump up on the stage. To subdue them, Shakespeare had to keep the action tight, but that didn't keep him from poking fun at the pit a little.

When graves open and the spirits of the dead are released into the night air. Notice the alliteration of "Y" sounds in "churchyards yawn." This emphasizes the "yawning" or opening of the churchyards so that they seem to yawn even wider.

Recall that in Act III, Scene II, Hamlet likened himself to an instrument with strings and notes that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were incapable of playing. Shakespeare repeats the image to show that Claudius can be played like an instrument, unlike Hamlet, and that he already has been, in responding so dramatically to the play within the play.

"Gilded" meaning golden. Claudius speaks both generally (in saying that the world is corrupt and people often get away with their crimes) and personally (referring to his own hand as gilded because now he's the king and presumably wears rings and carries a golden scepter). It makes Claudius' sins seem at once common and singularly offensive.

Rosencrantz inverts a sentiment expressed by Hamlet in his "To be, or not to be?" soliloquy in Act III, Scene I: that it's nobler in the mind to suffer in silence. Rosencrantz instead says that we shouldn't suffer and that we're bound to rid ourselves of any annoyances ("noyance"), such as Hamlet and his apparent madness.

Hamlet means that it's particularly gratifying when two plans at cross-purposes meet and only one is successful. On a metafictional level, Shakespeare uses this line to speak to the joys of verse dramas, in which two major "crafts" or plot lines can meet in a single line of poetry.

An "adder" is a snake or a serpent-like creature that is often used to describe a deceitful or untrustworthy person, like Claudius. Hamlet compares his old friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to adders so Gertrude will know that he's already figured out Claudius' plan and is making moves against it.

In other words, Hamlet urges his mother not to think him mad, especially when it is her actions that have made him behave the way he has. It would be a lie (or "flattering unction") to believe that Gertrude's marriage to Claudius (her "trespass") hasn't had any effect on what's happening. What follows is an extended metaphor about wounds, unctions (anointing oils or medicines), and infections.

Hamlet puns on the idea of a heartbeat as music, suggesting that a healthy or normal heart "keeps time" like an instrument maintaining a rhythm. He insists that he isn't mad at all and that his pulse is completely normal (which is unlikely considering how angry he's been with Gertrude throughout this scene).

Note the violence of this dash, which cuts between two actions. In the first lines of this passage, Hamlet points to the Ghost, in effect saying, "He's here! Right here, Mom! Can't you see him?" When he realizes that she can't, he snaps at her, telling her not to look at him that way (with such sadness). In all likelihood, this only makes her feel sorrier for him.

Like fire, frost or snow burns to the touch, since it's so cold that it hurts. Hamlet tells Gertrude not to be ashamed of desire or the loss of virtue, because being virtuous (or cold) burns just as terribly, as we see with Ophelia. Likely, Hamlet says this to console his mother and to try to get her to confess.

To be "apoplex'd" means to suffer from apoplexy, a debilitating illness that arrests or halts sense and motion. Hamlet has punned on the word "sense," first saying that Gertrude must have her senses intact, otherwise she wouldn't be able to move, then saying that her senses have been apoplex'd, meaning that she doesn't have good sense or faculties of reasoning.

"Moor" in this context most likely refers to a piece of marshland, but its capitalization in the middle of a line implies that Hamlet may also be using the word in its derogatory sense to suggest that Claudius has darker skin than his brother, like a Moor (Shakespeare's Othello was called a Moor because his skin was black). In either case, Hamlet intends this word to denigrate Claudius, who is nothing compared to King Hamlet.

Hamlet has been haranguing Rosencrantz in this speech, but in these last words relents and says that some day Rosencrantz will be dry (or free of the secrets and lies he's had to tell) again. In this way, Hamlet finally admits that his friends have been put in an impossible position and that it's not their fault Claudius asked them to spy on Hamlet.

Hamlet probably means that Polonius is now with the true king, now that they'd both dead. The present king is not with Polonius because Claudius is still alive. He then describes Claudius as "a thing-- / Of nothing." In true Shakespearean word play, Hamlet expresses his bitter disdain of Claudius by denouncing his very humanity ("a thing") and expresses his contempt for his position as King ("Of nothing").

Recall that in act II, scene II, Hamlet asked what this "quintessence of dust" means to him. It's an allusion to the biblical book of Genesis 3:19: "For dust thou art, and unto dust though shall return." Shakespeare repurposes this line to suggest that Polonius was never anything more than dust, and now that he's dead he's where he always belonged.

Hamlet hasn't assassinated the king or given any clear indication that he intends to do so, but he has succeeded in making Claudius into a nervous wreck. Claudius figures his fear of Hamlet as an "illness" that needs to be cured, likening himself perhaps more than he intends to his stepson, whose madness he intends to "cure" by killing him.

Pelicans were then believed to feed their young with their own blood. Laertes thus figures himself as an altruistic person willing to "feed" or protect his father's friends by taking up their cause. In this way, he also presents himself as a wise and powerful man with the status to treat his father's friends like children. Given that he intends to kill the king, this arrogance isn't surprising.

Claudius (perhaps accidentally) gives himself away, evoking King Hamlet's murder by referring to an ear infection that is not unlike being poisoned. Gertrude witnessed a similar poisoning in the play within the play, but either doesn't make the connection to Claudius or chooses to look away. Knowing this, it's hard for the audience to justify her taking his side now.

Notice the similarities in this line and Hamlet's speech about "bestial oblivion." Shakespeare draws this parallel to underscore the fact that Hamlet and Claudius are both intelligent men and that, unlike Polonius, Claudius may be a match for the prince.

It's funny that Claudius would say this, given just how many spies he's enlisted to keep tabs on Hamlet. In addition to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he's used Polonius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and of course himself, which makes a small battalion of "sorrows" for Hamlet, who's been stripped of all his dearest relationships because of it.

Think of guilt as a cup or a bowl filled with water. When we try not to spill it, we become so shaky and afraid that the water spills anyway. This metaphor is easily overlooked, but neatly characterizes Gertrude as someone who tries very hard to be careful but can't, in the end, conceal the guilt that Hamlet has accused her of already.

Notice how this construction figures Hamlet as a "part of the world," like Denmark. Horatio means that he can't think of anyone who would write to him except Hamlet and that, because Hamlet is on his way to England, the letter must come from that part of the world, but equating Hamlet with a place has the (perhaps unintended) effect of enhancing his isolation.

Most likely, this sliver or branch is envious of the higher branches, which receives garlands that the sliver itself doesn't. This sliver may also be envious of Ophelia herself, who, before she went mad, was extremely beautiful, innocent, and pure (enough so that even nature would be jealous of her beauty).

In Hamlet's time, sighs were thought to cause injury by drawing heat from the blood. Thus, a spendthrift (or wasteful) sigh needlessly hurts someone, making the idea that we "should" have done something we didn't end up doing especially painful, because it is both physically and psychologically injurious.

In general, to "qualify" something means to describe it or to attribute a certain quality to it. In this case, that quality is brevity or, in other words, the capacity to fade like a flame over time. Claudius uses the metaphor of a candle with a wick to mark an exact beginning and end to love, thus making it possible for Laertes to stop loving his father in a natural way that does not feel premature.

Notice that a painting is a form of art, and that Laertes' swordsmanship was previously referred to as artful. After flattering Laertes, Claudius questions whether Laertes is really the man everyone says he is, forcing Laertes to defend his sorrow, which isn't just a performance or mask ("painting") but is instead a very real grief.

Notice that Claudius doesn't say "fight" or "spar" with you, as would be the appropriate term for a scrimmage in fencing. He instead uses the word "play," which subverts the earlier musical metaphor into one that makes Hamlet and, by extension, Laertes into children playing at being warriors. Claudius says all this to make Laertes think Hamlet will be easy to kill in battle.

A "brooch" is an ornamental piece of jewelry fasted by a pin, with the brooch itself usually taking the shape of a ring, a shield, or whatever the artist desires. Brooches are typically jewel encrusted and appear to be large clusters of gems, making Lamond the jeweled brooch fastened to the lapel of his country's jacket.

"Incorpsed" means to have been made into a body, where "corpse" is a body, but in this case not a dead one. "Demi-natured" means to be double natured, where "demi" means half. In this case, the French gentleman has been made into a new creature, half man, half horse, not unlike a centaur.

As an adjective, "gallant" describes someone who is brave, courteous, and often showy. In its noun form, it stands in for that person, who in this case would be considered a gentleman or a noble. Here, Claudius uses the word "gallant" to indicate that the gentleman and his horse are as one, and that the creature they form is brave (preternaturally so, given that it has "witchcraft" in it).

Claudius picks up on the metaphor of being an instrument and says that Hamlet was "plucked" or played into being envious of Laertes by a quality that Claudius hasn't yet stated, but which has been spoken of very highly in court. Hamlet wasn't envious of any other "part" or characteristic of Laertes, but is envious of this.

Here "organ" means "instrument," in the sense that Laertes wants to be the instrument in Claudius' plan to kill Hamlet. Though he's asking for the opportunity to be used, it should be noted that Claudius has manipulated him into doing so. In reality, Laertes has already been "played" like an instrument in a way that Hamlet can't be.

Note that Laertes doesn't say that Hamlet's return warms his heart, but rather that it warms the sickness in his heart, which we can here assume to be his hatred and thirst for revenge. The knowledge that Hamlet will return has spurred him on and "warmed" (or heightened) his desire to kill Hamlet.

This line seems especially sinister when you remember that Laertes originally intended to exact his revenge on Claudius. Now that he knows the "truth" about Polonius' murder, he's just as likely to kill Claudius as he is Hamlet, making this line dark and foreboding.

This is an allusion to Ptolemaic astronomy, which postulated that each planet (or "star") was carried around Earth in its fixed orbit in a crystalline sphere. Claudius uses this figurative language to imply that he could no more go against Gertrude's desire than a "star" could go out of its fixed, predetermined orbit.

Claudius uses an extended archery metaphor to refer to his intended punishment for Hamlet as arrows which are made of too weak a wood ("slightly timber'd") to stand up to such a "loud" wind as the public's love. He claims that their love for Hamlet would've turned the wind against him, reversing the arrow's course and sending it back to its bow (and, therefore, to Claudius himself).

This insult underpins the main action of the scene so far: the clowns mock death as they dig graves in order to push thoughts of mortality away. The Second Clown cannot think of the answer to this riddle, even though he is in the process of digging graves, because his mind suspends thoughts of his own death.

While the Priest refuses to say Christian burial rites for Ophelia because she appears to have committed suicide, Laertes is indignant, insisting that his sister's purity will turn her into an angel. A "ministering angel" is one thought to help individuals find salvation. With this rhetoric, Laertes swaps Ophelia and the Priest's roles: Ophelia will become an angel and save souls while the Priest howls in hell as punishment for his sins on earth. Ironically, this outburst of emotion calls attention to the reality that Ophelia would be the one "howling" in hell because of her suicide.

Given that Gertrude was the last character to speak and that Hamlet has never loved either Claudius or Laertes at all, we can assume that Hamlet is actually speaking to God in these lines, asking God why He has treated Hamlet this way, not unlike Christ asking, "Why have you forsaken me?" Hamlet acts like a martyr even as he plots like a murderer, which underscores the changes he's gone through in the course of the play.

Pelion and Olympus are both mountains in Greece. In ancient Greek mythology, Pelion was the birthplace of Chiron, the wise centaur and tutor of heroes like Jason and Achilles, while Olympus was the home of the gods. Laertes wants Ophelia's grave to be an even greater mountain than these, if not in size than in its place in his heart.

Notice that Hamlet picks up an AABB rhyme scheme in these lines, making these lines seem sing-songy and immature by comparison. He appears to be doing this to make fun of Horatio, who criticized him for thinking too much about death. By speaking in such melodic, rhyming couplets, he attempts to appear logical and precise even as he speaks with a kind of manic intensity.

Recall that in Act III, Scene I, Hamlet chided Ophelia in particular and women in general for using "paint" or makeup to attract men. He says it in such a way that makeup becomes in itself a "face" that hides the real one underneath, making the "paint" a kind of performance. Thus, this line reads, "You can pretend all you want, but no matter how much makeup you wear, you're still going to die."

Hamlet has noticed a trend in the last few years of peasants becoming so witty that they can hold their own while bantering with nobles. Hamlet, as a Prince, would likely not have had a lot of contact with the common people. For the gravedigger to be "absolute" means that he is relying purely on the literal. Hamlet, in a show of both frustration and respect, indicates to Horatio that they too must "speak by the card" or else the gravedigger will continue to talk circles around them.

Hamlet puns on the French "fin," meaning end, and the English "fine," meaning in this context either a fine he exacts on his tenants as a great landowner or his fine qualities as a man, which are no longer relevant now that he's dead. Hamlet has already made this point several times. The fact that he continues to discuss it implies that he's having a hard time wrapping his head around it (perhaps because he's afraid).

Shakespeare's use of the conjunction "and" indicates that Hamlet has picked up another skull, presumably a woman's, that appears to have a worm inside it. The skull itself is "chapless" (has lost its jaw) and has been knocked on the head ("mazard") by a spade or shovel belonging to an officer of the parish ("sexton"). This is all to say that the bones of a noblewoman lose some of their grace once they're buried.

To "unyoke" means to relieve one's self of one's yoke or burden. In the context of this scene, that burden means his shovels and digging tools, with which the Second Clown will help dig Ophelia's grave. Shakespeare uses this command like stage direction to inform the Second Clown and the audience alike of where Ophelia will be buried.

The right to "bear arms" means the right to carry a weapon. The First Clown uses this phrase to mean that Adam was the first man to have arms, but the Second Clown understandably interprets this to mean that Adam carried weapons. This comedic misunderstanding serves to lighten the mood after Ophelia's death.

Notice how the First Clown prevaricates here: in his mind, someone who goes to the water and drowns has ended their own life. In order for it to be considered an accident, the water would have to come to the person or the person would have had to make an effort to stop their death. The phrase "will he, nill he, he goes" means that whether the person drowning likes it or not, they are "guilty" of their own death since either way they allowed it to happen.

Hamlet indulges in hyperbole, stating that Laertes' love for Ophelia is no match for his. Hamlet has been repressing this love for so long, focusing so intently on avenging his father's death, that he can't hold his love in any longer now that Ophelia's dead. Being unaccustomed to expressing his emotions this way, he does so in an over the top way that's out of character for him.

A woodcock is a migratory bird known for its large eyes and long bill. In literature, writers often play on the fact that the woodcock can be easy to snare, as Shakespeare does when Laertes has been caught in his own "springe" or trap. In this scene, bird metaphors have been used to indicate that a character is foolish, and Laertes is no exception.

Recall that in Act IV, Scene VII, Claudius told Laertes that if he had attempted to punish Hamlet for Polonius' murder, that arrow would have "reverted to [his] bow." Shakespeare uses a similar image here to underscore the similarities between Claudius and Hamlet, who have become more and more alike as the play has progressed.

An augury is a prophecy, particularly one divined from reading the flight patterns of birds. Osric was compared to two different birds (the "chough" and the lapwing) and has thus become the "augur" from which Hamlet divines that he is in danger. He now knows that he's not supposed to survive this fencing match, but intends to defy the prophecy anyway.

It's unclear how much time has passed in the play, but one can safely assume that it has been a mere matter of weeks. In all that time, Hamlet has been plotting against Claudius, trying to save his own life, and hasn't appeared to have had any time to spar. Shakespeare knew that Hamlet wouldn't be a match for Laertes otherwise and included this line so the audience wouldn't think his defeat was a foregone conclusion.

To "edify" means to teach or instruct, whereas "margent" means "in the margin" of a page or marginal. Horatio jokes that he knew Hamlet would get tripped up someday if he kept teasing people like this, and now it's finally happened. The irony is that it happened over something so small and worthless.

To list or take inventory of all his fine qualities would be too taxing on one's memory, because there's just so much to say about Laertes. In these lines, Hamlet makes use of hyperbole to both humiliate Osric and subtly undercut Laertes, who can't possibly be as good as Osric says he is.

A species of bird in the crow family, also sometimes applied to a loud bird like a Jackdaw, whose chattering annoys Hamlet. Shakespeare mixes metaphors here, describing Osric as both a water-fly (a small insect) and a bird (with an irritating voice). He does this to diminish Osric and succeeds without the audience much caring about the mixed metaphor.

Hamlet feels that it's righteous to kill Claudius. He's said this before, with various supporting arguments, and here likens Claudius to a canker or sore to make it seem like he's obligated to get rid of this disease. That he feels the need to justify his actions underscores the fact that he's had to think his way out of feeling guilty about the murder he intends to commit.

Hamlet appears to revel in having bested Claudius' plan and saved himself. Shakespeare repeats the word "leisure" to indicate that his protagonist has bought himself more time by averting his own death. Hamlet not only enjoys being alive now, but enjoys living in spite of Claudius. He tells Horatio, "Take all the time you need," because he feels no particular rush.

Notice the irony in this swift aside: Hamlet very rashly got out of bed, but we don't learn about this until after Horatio's line of dialogue, because Hamlet gets caught up in a semantic analysis of what it means to be rash and how this either affects or doesn't affect his plan. Thus, we see that even when he does behave impulsively, his intellect keeps him from being entirely spontaneous.

Recall that a "foil" or "rapier" is a thin blunted fencing sword, unlike a real sword with a broad blade. Hamlet says that he's such a terrible swordsman that Laertes will be able to use him like a foil, or in other words beat him easily. He may also be suggesting that Laertes can use him like a weapon to get at their real enemy, Claudius.

An "umbrage" is a shadow (in this case, Laertes' shadow). Hamlet is being sarcastic, saying that Laertes can only be matched by his own reflection in a mirror and that anyone who tried to be like him ("trace him") would be nothing but a shadow of Laertes, or that they would pale in comparison to the great nobleman. Osric doesn't understand that Hamlet is being sarcastic, however, which makes it all the funnier.