In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Denmark’s prince spends most of the play trying to determine what he should do after he has a conversation with the supposed ghost of his father. By Act 4, Scene 4, Hamlet has been convinced that the ghost was correct - that his father was murdered by his uncle, who had been in an immoral relationship with Hamlet’s mother that had started possibly even before his father was killed. Although the ghost told Hamlet to avenge him, Hamlet has not yet followed through, and the only person who has died by Hamlet’s hand is Polonius, an important court official who was listening in to a conversation between Hamlet and his mother, the Queen. As Act 4 progresses, Hamlet has a conversation with a captain from Prince Fortinbras’
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“Rightly” is defined by Online Etymology Dictionary to mean “properly” or “correctly”; stir is defined as “move; rouse, agitate, incite…” and “argument is defined as meaning “cause, reason [for a dispute]” (Harper, Crystal). With these meanings in mind, the first phrase can be deciphered as this; “to be properly great is not to move (or take action) when you do not have a significant reason”. This phrase makes sense. Don’t do something, i.e. start a fight, when you don’t have a major reason to, if you want to be great. However, Shakespeare does not let Hamlet stop here. He has more to say. In the second phrase, the important words can be defined as this; “find” can mean “discover the reason for”; “quarrel” can be defined as “cause of complaint, reason for hostility,…claim”; “straw” means “trivial matter”; “honor” means “reputation”; and finally, “stake” might mean “that which is placed at hazard” (Harper, Crystal). Thus, the second phrase could be read as this; (to be properly great is to) “discover the reason for (or of) a cause of complaint or reason for hostility in a trivial matter, when reputation is that which is placed at hazard”. Taking these two phrases together, it appears that they mean this; if you want to be rightly great, you should not take action when you do not have a great reason (if you’re great it is a given that you will take action when you …show more content…
He sees Fortinbras finding quarrels in a straw, whereas he cannot seem to take any action and he knows he has a much greater cause than Fortinbras does. This section highlights a change in Hamlet – he gains more courage and incentive both to tackle his greater cause as well as to find quarrels in less important matters and to do more than just simply take revenge on his uncle. It also may cast some light on Claudius’ actions and motives for killing the king prior to the play beginning – to preserve his honor or make himself happier, he may have found a “quarrel in a straw” by which to justify his brother’s murder. In Shakespeare’s world, as in ours today, there were most likely many “great people” who spent their time fighting ferociously over very small things. When confronted by Fortinbras’ example of doing this, it seems silly, foolish. But, like Hamlet and Claudius, it is very easy for us to act in this way. However, in the end, does it matter that much where exactly a border is? That an English king may have a weak connection to the throne of France? Whether a company is run this way, or slightly differently? Whether the new office looks like this or that? Even though it is extremely
“Rightly” is defined by Online Etymology Dictionary to mean “properly” or “correctly”; stir is defined as “move; rouse, agitate, incite…” and “argument is defined as meaning “cause, reason [for a dispute]” (Harper, Crystal). With these meanings in mind, the first phrase can be deciphered as this; “to be properly great is not to move (or take action) when you do not have a significant reason”. This phrase makes sense. Don’t do something, i.e. start a fight, when you don’t have a major reason to, if you want to be great. However, Shakespeare does not let Hamlet stop here. He has more to say. In the second phrase, the important words can be defined as this; “find” can mean “discover the reason for”; “quarrel” can be defined as “cause of complaint, reason for hostility,…claim”; “straw” means “trivial matter”; “honor” means “reputation”; and finally, “stake” might mean “that which is placed at hazard” (Harper, Crystal). Thus, the second phrase could be read as this; (to be properly great is to) “discover the reason for (or of) a cause of complaint or reason for hostility in a trivial matter, when reputation is that which is placed at hazard”. Taking these two phrases together, it appears that they mean this; if you want to be rightly great, you should not take action when you do not have a great reason (if you’re great it is a given that you will take action when you …show more content…
He sees Fortinbras finding quarrels in a straw, whereas he cannot seem to take any action and he knows he has a much greater cause than Fortinbras does. This section highlights a change in Hamlet – he gains more courage and incentive both to tackle his greater cause as well as to find quarrels in less important matters and to do more than just simply take revenge on his uncle. It also may cast some light on Claudius’ actions and motives for killing the king prior to the play beginning – to preserve his honor or make himself happier, he may have found a “quarrel in a straw” by which to justify his brother’s murder. In Shakespeare’s world, as in ours today, there were most likely many “great people” who spent their time fighting ferociously over very small things. When confronted by Fortinbras’ example of doing this, it seems silly, foolish. But, like Hamlet and Claudius, it is very easy for us to act in this way. However, in the end, does it matter that much where exactly a border is? That an English king may have a weak connection to the throne of France? Whether a company is run this way, or slightly differently? Whether the new office looks like this or that? Even though it is extremely