“
What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!
HamletAct II, Scene 2
2
Act 2, Scene 2
Rising Action
Claudius has sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet sees through them and, in a moment of dark wit, delivers this speech — praising humanity’s nobility while confessing that the world and its people have lost all delight for him.
Why This Matters
A Renaissance celebration of human potential — undercut by Hamlet’s depression. "Man delights not me."
humanitymelancholyrenaissance idealism
Hamlet and Guildenstern (Act III, Scene II)
Eugène Delacroix, 1843 · Public Domain