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That both the worlds, I give to negligence, / Let come what comes; only I’ll be reveng’d / Most throughly for my father.

Act IV, Scene 5 · Laertes

Quote Type: DialogueDifficulty: ★★☆Quotability: ★★★☆☆

Context

Laertes continues his vow of revenge, declaring that he will disregard both this world and the next in his single-minded pursuit of vengeance for Polonius.

Analysis

The phrase 'both the worlds' collapses earthly consequence and eternal damnation into a single dismissal ('I give to negligence'), emptying them of weight through sheer rhetorical force. The plain, blunt syntax of 'only I'll be reveng'd / Most throughly' after this cosmic renunciation makes revenge sound like the one solid fact left in Laertes's universe.

Essay Tip

Support a thesis that Laertes represents the seductive clarity of revenge—this quote shows how single-minded purpose can feel liberating after moral confusion, but Shakespeare presents that clarity as a dangerous simplification that ignores the complexity Hamlet struggles with.

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