Purpose is but the slave to memory, / Of violent birth, but poor validity: / Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree, / But fall unshaken when they mellow be.
Act III, Scene 2
Context
In the play-within-a-play, the Player King philosophizes that intentions ('purpose') are easily forgotten, comparing them to unripe fruit that falls when it ripens.
Analysis
The simile of unripe fruit that 'sticks on the tree' until it 'mellows' and falls unshaken perfectly captures how resolve weakens over time—not through active change but through passive ripening into forgetfulness. This directly mirrors Hamlet's own paralysis: his purpose to avenge his father is 'of violent birth' but proves to have 'poor validity,' constantly deferred. The Player King's speech thus becomes an unwitting commentary on Hamlet's predicament, making the audience watch Hamlet watch a performance of his own failure.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that the play-within-a-play inadvertently diagnoses Hamlet himself—this line about purpose decaying into inaction is a mirror Hamlet holds up to his own face, not just Claudius's.