Hamlet – Interesting Literature

A Short Analysis of Hamlet’s ‘’Tis Now the Very Witching Time of Night’ Speech

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Although it is not his most famous soliloquy from the play, Hamlet’s ‘’Tis now the very witching time of night’ speech, which brings Act 3 Scene 2 to a close, is notable for the imagery Hamlet uses as he prepares to go and speak to his mother, Gertrude.

Indeed, as the very phrase ‘witching time of night’ suggests, this speech is one of the reasons Hamlet is so often considered a ‘Gothic’ play, along with its castle setting, its Ghost, and its dark secret threatening to tear the family and kingdom apart.

A Short Analysis of Hamlet’s ‘What a Piece of Work is a Man’ Speech

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Hamlet’s ‘What a piece of work is a man’ speech is among the most famous prose speeches from Shakespeare’s play. It has become well-known, and is sometimes used in television and radio adverts; it was also memorably recited by Richard E. Grant’s character Withnail at the end of the British cult film Withnail and I (1987).

The Meaning and Origins of ‘Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark’?

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ is a famous line from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, but since Hamlet is positively brimming with famous lines, it doesn’t get as much attention as other famous quotations from the play.

Many of us know, and some may use, phrases such as ‘to the manner born’, ‘cruel to be kind’, ‘neither a borrower not a lender be’, ‘hoist with one’s own petard’, ‘in my mind’s eye’, ‘primrose path’, ‘shuffle off this mortal coil’, ‘method in one’s madness’, and many more.

A Short Analysis of Ophelia’s ‘O, What a Noble Mind is Here O’erthrown!’ Speech

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Ophelia’s ‘O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!’ speech occurs in Act 3 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, just after one of Hamlet’s most famous speeches from the play. What inspires Ophelia’s words, and what are we to make of them? They constitute, along with her famous tragic ‘mad’ scene, her best-known moment in all of Hamlet.

The Key Quotations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

As Hugh Leonard once said, ‘Hamlet is a terrific play, but there are way too many quotations in it.’ So many lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet have become famous to people who have never read, studied, or watched the play.

As a result, these quotations are often misquoted, taken out of context, or misinterpreted. So let’s take a closer look at some of the most important quotations in Hamlet, offering an explanation of each quotation as we go.