48 pages 1 hour read

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1609

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“Who’s there?”


(Act I, Scene 1, Line 1)

As is frequently the case with Shakespeare, the first line addresses one of the play’s central themes: Questions of identity and selfhood will become critically important to the story. In particular, Hamlet will address the difficulty of establishing who one “really” is.

Quotation Mark Icon

“Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not ‘seems.’”


(Act I, Scene 2, Line 76)

In one of Hamlet’s first lines, he lays out an important tension between what is real and what only appears to be real. By insisting that his outward shows of mourning truly reflect his inner grief—with an implied criticism of his mother’s speedy recovery from her husband’s death—Hamlet observes that it’s very easy to pretend to feel something you don’t. 

Quotation Mark Icon

“From this time / Be something scanter of your maiden presence [...] For Lord Hamlet, / Believe so much in him that he is young, / And with a larger tether may he walk / Than may be given you. In few, Ophelia, / Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers”


(Act I, Scene 3, Lines 119-126)

By discouraging Ophelia from taking Hamlet’s professions of love too seriously, Polonius lays out a number of the play’s dilemmas, and foreshadows later tragedy. Words, Polonius says, are not worth much, and women, in particular, must beware the cajoling words of men. Hamlet is much freer than Ophelia; he can do what he likes, while her safety and well-being in society depend on a public perception of sexual purity. Polonius’s warning is both stern and truthful.

Related Titles

By William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Coriolanus

William Shakespeare

Coriolanus

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry IV, Part 2

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 2

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Henry V

William Shakespeare

Henry V

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VI, Part 3

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 3

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

King John

William Shakespeare

King John

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

King Lear

William Shakespeare

King Lear

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Love's Labour's Lost

William Shakespeare

Love's Labour's Lost

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare

Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Othello

William Shakespeare

Othello

William Shakespeare