Quote Analysis

When Gertrude invites Hamlet to sit beside her, he declines and chooses to sit near Ophelia instead, saying she is 'more attractive' metal (punning on 'mettle').

The pun on 'metal/mettle' (substance / spirit, but also magnetic attraction) lets Hamlet insult his mother by praising Ophelia—he is drawn to Ophelia not by love but by the chance to publicly reject Gertrude. The word 'attractive' carries the period sense of magnetic pull, as if Hamlet is a compass needle swinging away from his mother toward a younger woman, re-enacting the very betrayal he condemns Gertrude for. This makes his choice of seats a performed allegory of displaced desire.

Support a thesis that Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia is inseparable from his obsession with Gertrude—this quote shows him using Ophelia as a prop to stage his mother's sexual betrayal.