As with any assassination, a nation is effected negatively. King Hamlet's ghost uses metonymy to stand in for the entire nation of Denmark. The serpent - Claudius - has stung his ear, and as he represents the entire kingdom, all his subjects were equally poisoned, though metaphorically.

Here, Claudius is referring to Ophelia's cause for madness after it is  presented to him. He is saying that when pain and suffering come, they are overcoming and powerful. Ophelia has lost both her father and the man she loved most, and this has combined with her own personal guilt to form a sort of madness. This is a very  common response to such things, and so Claudius' statement remains true, even to modern audiences.

This quote is spoken by Hamlet during his famous "O! that this too too solid flesh would melt" soliloquy. Hamlet is talking about his mother here. Hamlet cannot believe that his mother, who was so in love with King Hamlet, so quickly turned on him and entered an incestuous relationship with Claudius. His mother's actions lead Hamlet to classify women as inconsistent and frail. This line is essentially an outburst of disbelief within Hamlet's realization that his mother's apparent weakness led her to so quickly marry after losing her husband.

I would have put Hillary's most recent fall but this one was too good. (Also, nothing against Hillary! Just went perfectly with the quote.)

Hamlet is making fun of the King of Denmark to Rosencrantz (uknown to him). His speech seems as if he is praising men, though that is what Hamlet want Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to gather. In Elizabethan time, angels were never associated with action. In fact, they were known to not act, but apprehend. Therefore, Hamlet understands what he is saying is in order to put down man and his abilities. Yet, the final sentence of this quote reflects a true sadness in Hamlet's heart. It is a wondering of how man could have come from an incredible dust to this wonder.

Hamlet explains to Polonius that there are not very many honest people and he values the very few that are (equivalence to the modern saying "one in a million"), especially with all the circumstances he is currently in. This is almost ironic as Hamlet is saying this to Polonius, as Polonius agrees, but Hamlet and the audience know that Hamlet is intending this to poke fun at Claudius and Polonius. Hamlet's tricky yet upfront observations are an on going theme throughout Hamlet's decent into madness, as he continues to reveal his knowledge to Polonius, but Polonius fails to put one and one together. 

Easily being one of the most distinguishable quotes in the play, Polonius is commenting on the uncanny slyness behind Hamlet’s guise. The closer he comes to executing his revenge on Claudius, Hamlet feigns being absolutely mad in order to create believable excuses for treason so brave no sane person would attempt themselves. Essentially, this ruse highlights just how tactically competent, as well as intelligent Hamlet is in staging an upbringing.

This quote is given when Hamelt is mocking Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. In it's literal context, Hamlet is quipping that Denmark is a prison because he thinks it so. This is not without reason, Hamlet is stuck in a terrible situation in which his father has been murdered, and his mother may as well have been taken from him by his uncle. His two old acquaintances have been sent by the king to spy on him and he knows it. His lover has begun to shut him out and ignore him. Hamlet wishes he could take all of this information and simply ignore it or acquire a blissful ignorance of it. He is also subtly throwing hints in the face of his former friends that only he understands, toying with them for his own pleasure. This quote makes a lot of sense in context, but it has great universal truth to it as well. We do not look at things and see them as they are, we see them as we are. There exists no definitive it, just our perception of it.

In this scene, Gertrude and others are watching the players' performance that Hamlet has secretly changed in order to reveal his knowledge of hoe his father truly died. In the play the Queen is reluctant to remarry unlike Gertrude who remarries very quickly thus Gertrude saying that the Queen in the play "protests too much." The irony is seen in Gertrude's response as she is watching herself and protesting. The oblivious nature of the novel/play is seen in various characters such as Polonius' blindness towards Hamlet's "mad" revelations.

In Act I Scene III, Polonius speaks to Laertes briefly before he leaves for Paris. Polonius gives his son these last minute words of wisdom in order to help him. His words are still applicable in modern day. Breaking down the quote, Polonius tells his son that in order to be true to oneself, he must be true and honest. Truth and honesty are typically hard to come by. However, Polonius tells this to Laertes because truth and honesty is a reflection of one's character and worth the extra effort in the long run. Polonius's advice for Laertes runs parallel to today's concepts of karma, integrity, and reputation. All of these factors are quintessential to a person's identity and Polonius wanted Laertes to understand that concept.

In Hamlet's "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy (3.1) Hamlet ponders the "sleep of death" and what lies beyond. He reasons that man's fear of the unknown, especially regarding death, is what makes people choose to bear an unfortunate circumstance rather than try to change it. Hamlet overcomes that fear and his actions ultimately lead to his death. In that same soliloquy, he wishes that suicide were not a sin, so that he could end his life. In Shakespeare's time, revenge was also a sin, and could only be resolved by the death of the person seeking revenge. Hamlet's death by Laertes hand saved him from going to hell by resolving his revenge with a death that was not suicide. Therefore, he can peacefully greet the sleep of death.

     In Act II Scene II of Hamlet, Polonius is revealing to Claudius and Gertrude why he believes Hamlet has gone mad. Polonius dances around the main purpose of his visit with sophisticated wording before finally claiming that Hamlet is mad due to his love for Ophelia. Polonius's quote ironically asserts that concise and brief language demonstrates intelligence, yet throughout the play he tends to act superior to others through lengthy and extravagant explanations. The idea that briefness demonstrates intelligence applies broadly to society in the past and present. Those who speak or act concisely gain more respect other than those who waste others' time for the sake of gloating. Time is valuable to mortal beings, especially in Shakespeare's period where life expectancies were significantly lower than they are today, so people value those who act quickly with sense. This connects to Hamlet's theme of time and mortality.

  This quote is from Claudius after he was struck with guilt by the play. He has become reflective on how terrible his actions were and decides to pray, but finds that as hard as he tries to repent, he feels no shame in his actions. The Bible condemns this kind of prayer. In fact, Jesus says in Revelation 3:15, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!" One cannot be saved by words alone, but need to also repent truly in their hearts. At the same time, Hamlet watches him, ready to strike him down, but thinks to himself that to kill Claudius while he repents would be to send him to Heaven, and so decides against it. What Hamlet realizes is that Claudius knows he cannot receive salvation because he has not truly repented of his sins, highlighting Shakespeare's true knack for using dramatic irony to create tension. 
  This quote still holds meaning today because people want to trust others, but can't do it if other people spew out empty words. Being honest and sincere is still one of the most valued qualities in a person today.

   Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.” 

The speaker of this line is Hamlet after Gertrude and Claudius’ wedding. He is upset and commenting on how his mother remarried Claudius so fast (two months) that they pretty much used the same meat that they used for King Hamlet’s funeral again at the wedding.  He means to be hostile towards them both, especially his mother for her hasty and incestuous actions.  This image relates to popular culture because traditionally there was a 6 month to a year mourning period for husbands that died, and their widow would wear black. The widow also wouldn’t remarry for a while in his honor.  This quote shows the absurdity of the marriage then, and also comments on how in current times people are less likely to take time to abide by the old customs and will move on too quickly from misfortune.