Hamlet
Prompt #8 · Hamlet
Prompt Type: Scene Analysis
In the 'How all occasions do inform against me' soliloquy, Hamlet reflects on Fortinbras's army marching to fight over a worthless patch of land and questions his own delay in seeking revenge. Analyze how Shakespeare uses this moment to deepen the theme of action versus inaction and examine the nature of honor and purpose. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“How stand I then, / That have a father kill’d, a mother stain’d, / Excitements of my reason and my blood, / And let all sleep, while to my shame I see / The imminent death of twenty thousand men / That, for a fantasy and trick of fame, / Go to their graves like beds,”
Act IV, Scene 4
Argument
This quote functions as the emotional and thematic climax of the soliloquy, using vivid juxtaposition to contrast Hamlet's paralysis with Fortinbras's soldiers who march toward death 'like beds' for a meaningless cause, thereby exposing the paradox that drives Hamlet's self-condemnation: he has genuine reasons for revenge yet remains inactive while others act on trivial pretexts.
Quote 2
“Rightly to be great / Is not to stir without great argument, / But greatly to find quarrel in a straw / When honour's at the stake.”
Act IV, Scene 4
Argument
This quote establishes the soliloquy's central meditation on the nature of honor, redefining greatness through paradox—true nobility lies not in acting only when reasons are substantial, but in finding 'quarrel in a straw' when honor demands it, which directly challenges Hamlet's earlier rational hesitations and reframes action as a matter of honor rather than logic.
Quote 3
“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 from an earlier soliloquy provides essential contrast to the Fortinbras moment, as Hamlet previously blamed overthinking ('conscience does make cowards') for inaction; the later encounter with Fortinbras's army forces Hamlet to confront that even thoughtless action ('fantasy and trick of fame') surpasses his paralyzed contemplation, deepening the play's exploration of whether any action is better than perpetual delay.
Quote 4
Act IV, Scene 4
Argument
This quote functions as the soliloquy's resolution, where Hamlet's encounter with Fortinbras's purposeful army catalyzes a decisive shift from contemplation to commitment—the imperative 'bloody' thoughts transform his earlier philosophical paralysis into a vow of action, marking the scene's pivotal role in propelling Hamlet toward his tragic conclusion.
Quote 5
“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?”
Act III, Scene 1
Argument
This quote from an earlier soliloquy establishes the baseline of Hamlet's paralysis through the central question of action versus inaction ('to take arms' or 'to suffer'), providing essential contrast to the Fortinbras scene where Hamlet witnesses soldiers who have already answered this question by choosing action over contemplation, regardless of the cause's merit.