I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
Act II, Scene 2 · Hamlet
Context
Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he has lost his ability to take pleasure in life, and describes how the world now appears to him.
Analysis
The syntax piles up lavish descriptors—'goodly frame,' 'excellent canopy,' 'majestical roof fretted with golden fire'—only to invert them all with 'foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.' The same object is described twice in opposite terms, showing how completely Hamlet's perception has reversed: what should inspire awe now only disgusts him.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Hamlet's melancholy is not a mood but a total re-seeing of the world—the same reality that others find beautiful strikes him as corrupt, isolating him from everyone around him.