“Sweets to the sweet.”

Gertrude says this about Ophelia right after she commits suicide.

Gertrude is saying in this that only sweet things should happen to sweet people and that Ophelia really shouldn’t have died. This applies to our world today because we most often hope for the best for the people who have been nice to us. When someone isn’t very nice to us we usually don’t care very much what happens to them. We also are usually sadder when sweet people have losses to because we feel they deserve only the best.

“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all…”

Hamlet says this as he watches the King pray and thinks about killing him right then.

When Hamlet says this I think he means that our conscience sometimes stops us from doing things that we may think are necessary. Hamlet thinks he needs to kill the King to get justice for his father, but his conscience doesn’t want to let him. I think this applies to us today because sometimes we may be just about to do something when our conscience comes and makes us feel differently. I think usually our conscience is a good thing though because it stops us from doing what we normally would have just gone ahead and done.

“Though this is madness, yet there be method to it.”

Claudius says this about Hamlet who had just gotten mad at Ophelia for no apparent reason.

I think when Claudius says this he means that even when Hamlet looks completely insane he does have a reason behind why he’s doing what he is. I think this applies to the world today because there is always a meaning to everything a person says and does even if you don’t quite understand what it is at first. I think we need to try to find out why a person may be acting crazy because then we can try and solve the problem. Instead of just using “they’re crazy” as an excuse as to why we can’t help them. There is always a reason why people are doing what they do and we shouldn’t just overlook those things.

“To thine own self be true and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

This is Polonius giving advise to his son Laertes.

Polonius is saying by this that we each need to be true to ourselves and live with integrity. I definitely think this is still true today. When we are being true to ourselves we will make better choices. Every choice we make has a consequence and if we live with integrity we will be making choices that will ultimately make us happier. I think that if you are living with integrity you wouldn’t ever want to be dishonest with another person because then you’re also being untrue to yourself as well.

"To be or not to be, that is the question."

"Whether 'tis nobler in the nink to suffer the lings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms agianst a sea of troubles and by opposing end them."

Hamlet says this as he speaks to himself looking into his father’s tomb.

Hamlet is saying in this quote that one of the toughest questions in life is whether to fight against something terrible or to leave it alone but have it haunt your mind for the rest of your life. This relates to the world today because I think that we all will one day have to make a hard decision about something where both sides of it look pretty bad. And we each will have to decide whether or not to act against it. Hamlet asks a really good question in this quote though, one that we all have to find an answer to at some point in our life.

“To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick’d out of ten thousand.”

Hamlet says this to Polonius while they are in a library.

Hamlet means by this that to find an honest person is a very rare thing. I do think this is true today because it’s hard to find someone who is perfectly honest all the time. I think lying is very bad habit because once you start it’s hard to stop and just a little lie can soon become a very big one. I think even if you’re lying about just a small thing it still is lying and it’s best to just never lie at all.

“Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice.”

This is another piece of advice that Polonius gives to his Laertes and Ophelia.

Polonius means by this that talking a lot isn’t always the smart thing to do, but listening all the time is always a good idea. I think this is still true today because there is a lot you can learn through just listening. I also think we should always be careful what we say because once you say something you can never take it back and you may regret saying it later. I think we can learn a lot more through listening that through talking.