Crazy and Inspiring Quotes from Hamlet and To Kill a Mockingbird - An analysis of some of the most popular quotes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
|
|
Business Related Topics...
Computer Related Topics...
Entertainment, Recreation & Sports Related Topics...
Health & Fitness Related Topics...
Home & Family Related Topics...
Shopping Related Topics...
Would you like to submit articles to our site? Have a question or a problem?
You are here: DIME Home > Books and Reviews > Crazy and Inspiring Quotes from Hamlet and To Kill a Mockingbird
An analysis of some of the most popular quotes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
Author: Paul Thomson
Date: Nov 29, 2009 - 11:53:11 PM
"The Tragedy of Hamlet" is one of those plays that hovers around a thousand on the quotability meter. "To be, or not to be" and the ensuing inner debate on suicide is one of the earliest and most important moments of existentialism in Western literature. Hamlet's soliloquy is so good, in fact, that sometimes one forgets how brilliant the rest of the play is.
In fact, Prince Hamlet is arguably at his best when he's in the room with other people. Never has the description "crazy smart" been more applicable; pretending to have lost his mind, Hamlet manages to squeeze in serious accusations and veiled threats amidst his ramblings, which the court stupidly assumes are meaningless. Take, for example, the scene where he reminds Claudius that worms democratically eat beggars and kings alike:
Hamlet: "A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm."
King Claudius: "What dost thou mean by this?"
Hamlet: "Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar."
There's crazy, and then there's threatening-the-leader-of-your-country-with-indirect-cannibalism crazy.
Another highlight is when Hamlet infamously barks at his poor ex-girlfriend, "Get thee to a nunnery." What really irks people on either side of the Did They / Didn't They debate is that since nunnery was slang for brothel when Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet," the young prince is either calling Ophelia an ice queen or a whore. So much for putting that one to bed. Er, rest.
And then there's "to thine own self be true," of course, which is probably the most feel-good of the Hamlet quotes. What we forget, however, is that this line is not only spoken by Polonius, the play's least intelligent character, but also followed by the lines, "And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man" – which is laughable, considering that Polonius is also one of the play's most deceptive characters. There goes that affirmation.
If you're looking for quotes a little more on the uplifting side, look no farther than Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, whose courtroom speech alone has a reputation for inspiring young idealists to study law. Atticus famously declares, "I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality." Right before getting his ass handed to him, of course, but you get the idea.
Actually, the fact that Atticus never stood a chance is precisely what makes him so awesome; according to his philosophy, courage is "when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." No wonder Scout thinks her dad is "the bravest man who ever lived."
Scout is another great source of To Kill a Mockingbird quotes. Her level-headedness allows her to spout off some true gems of 8-year old wisdom, like this criticism of school: "I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did not believe that twelve years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me." Good on ya', Harper Lee, for making those years just a little bit brighter.
Old Money vs. New Money in the Great GatsbyMar 21, 2011 - 8:12:20 AM The concept of “new” and “old” money is hard for the average modern reader to understand. In most parts of the country, the term “nouveau riche” isn’t often used, and with the onslaught of new Internet millionaires and billionaires in the last decade, the judgment is certainly no longer there. Today’s America values the self-made man or woman, the “rags to riches” story. A person who makes her own fortune is smart and innovative, an entrepreneur. She’s someone to be admired.... [Read the full story] |
Imagination and Story TellingDec 30, 2010 - 5:22:45 AM A major benefit to encouraging storybook creation and writing in your kids? It stimulates their imaginations.... [Read the full story] |
Joining Online Book ClubsOct 29, 2010 - 5:59:09 AM We all know that books are an important part of our lives. They give us knowledge and information that we need to be able to have a more enriching existence. They can be able to enrich our imagination and creativity and our character as a person. People read because of many reasons. There are those who read to get rid of boredom and be entertained while others do it to gain more knowledge about a certain topic.... [Read the full story] |
Modern-Day Anxieties in T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”Feb 12, 2010 - 7:37:11 AM "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is one of those poems that can seem horribly sad one day, and incredibly absurd the next. Written by T. S. Eliot and published in 1915, it addresses the themes of isolation, industrialized cities, and great unease with the world. You might have encountered this in a unit on poetry, and like many students, you might not have been impressed by its long-windedness. For all its over-the-top wallowing around, though, there is a lot in the poem that speaks to anxieties we have today.... [Read the full story] |
Search for articles: |
Latest Articles in All Categories |
Putting Up a Small Commercial Printing Business |
So You Might Be Unemployed And Desire To Become A San Francisco Real Estate Investor Now |
Meditation and Mindfulness: Dealing With Emotion |
CPA Websites: Five Essential Ideas for Composing Convincing Articles |
Set Goals In Order to Come Up With Your Action Plan |
Is the Air in Your Home Safe to Breathe? |
Coarse Fishing Tackle Review: The JW Young 13ft Trotter Rod |
Section 1031 Exchanges For San Diego Real Estate Investors |
Phoenix Real Estate Investing For Highest Possible Earnings |
Legendary are the Volk Racing TE37 Wheels |
Developing the Next Generation Wall Station (ChaseDesk™) for Healthcare - A Case Study |
What are step down transformers? |
Introducing Sharehype, the Revolutionary Tool for Online Marketers |
Rewards To Shopping For Austin Real Estate On The Web |
Hydroponics for Beginners |
Would you like submit your articles and have them approved on a priority status? Find out more about how you can become a Priority author for pennies a day! Click here.
Dime-co.com Home |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disclaimer: Dime-Co.Com is an online information article and video article network. All articles, video articles, comments, and other features herein are for informational purposes only and are provided "as is" without warranties, representations or guarantees of any kind. The views and opinions expressed in an article, comments, links or blogs are the author's own, and not necessarily those of dime-co.com's owners. For full disclaimer, please read our TOS.