Hamlet & Philosophy

Day 1: Below are 7 quotes from Hamlet. Please complete columns one and two today. For each quote, paraphrase & contextualize the quote: what does it mean, and in what context is it said in the play? In the second column, respond to the quote—is this an idea with which you agree or disagree? Why?

Day 2: After the presentation of philosophical schools of thought, complete the 3rd column and submit to turnitin.com by Friday morning at 7:00 A.M.

1) "'Tis a fault to Heaven,
A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,
To reason most absurd." – Claudius, on Hamlet’s mourning

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote

2) "This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man." – Polonius to Laertes

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote

3) "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." – Hamlet to Horatio

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote

4) "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." – Hamlet

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote

5) “What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” – Hamlet

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote

6) "A ministering angel shall my sister be.” – Laertes on Ophelia

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote

7) "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will." – Hamlet

Paraphrase/context of quote / Your opinion: do you agree or disagree with the idea(s) represented here? Why? / Philosophical school of thought associated with the quote