Hamlet
Prompt #11 · Hamlet
Prompt Type: Character Arc
Trace Hamlet's evolution from the melancholic prince of Act I who wishes 'this too too solid flesh would melt' to the resolute figure of Act V who declares 'the readiness is all.' Analyze how Shakespeare uses Hamlet's transformation to explore the relationship between thought and action. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“O that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! / Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d / His canon ’gainst self-slaughter. O God! O God!”
Act I, Scene 2
Argument
This quote establishes Hamlet's early baseline state of paralyzed melancholy, where his desire for self-annihilation reveals complete passivity and an inability to act, even on his own behalf. Shakespeare's metaphor of flesh melting into dew captures the prince's wish to dissolve rather than confront his circumstances.
Quote 2
“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, / And thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, / And enterprises of great pith and moment, / With this regard their currents turn awry / And lose the name of action.”
Act III, Scene 1
Argument
This quote marks a crucial turning point where Hamlet diagnoses his own paralysis, using the metaphor of thought 'sicklying o'er' resolution to articulate the central conflict between contemplation and action. Shakespeare's personification of conscience as a force that transforms would-be actors into cowards reveals Hamlet's growing self-awareness of how excessive thinking prevents decisive action.
Quote 3
“Not a whit, we defy augury. There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.”
Act V, Scene 2
Argument
This quote represents Hamlet's final state of resolution, where he replaces his earlier obsessive planning with acceptance of providence and readiness for whatever comes. Shakespeare's anaphora and parallelism in the conditional clauses demonstrate how Hamlet has moved from overthinking to embracing the present moment, achieving the capacity for spontaneous action that eluded him throughout the play.
Quote 4
Act II, Scene 2
Argument
This quote captures a pivotal middle stage where Hamlet transitions from passive contemplation to active planning, using the mousetrap play as his first concrete step toward action. Shakespeare's rhyming couplet signals Hamlet's newfound resolve to test Claudius through theatrical means rather than remaining paralyzed by doubt.
Quote 5
Act V, Scene 2
Argument
This quote from the final act demonstrates Hamlet's evolved philosophy that accepts divine providence shaping outcomes regardless of human planning, marking his shift from the earlier belief that excessive thought could control events. Shakespeare's metaphor of rough-hewing versus divine shaping encapsulates Hamlet's transformation from overthinking strategist to one who trusts in forces beyond rational control.