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In order to understand this quotation, you must do three things. First you must go to a dictionary and look up "quintessence". Go ahead. I'll wait.
OK, now you know what the word means, you need to know that according to Christian teachings, the first man was made from dirt. And essentially, according to Christian thought, people are nothing more than animated bags of dust. And after we die, we go back to being dirt, hence the line from the funeral service "ashes to ashes; dust to dust".
Now read the whole passage the quotation is taken from, starting with the words "What a piece of work is a man?" (It's about halfway through the immensely long Act 2 Scene 2 of Hamlet, if you are looking) What does that first bit mean? "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; the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals . . ." Yes, you may have to look up "paragon", but even if you don't you should get what Hamlet is talking about here. He's praising the human race. In fact he's heaping praise on humanity, saying how wonderful people are as a species. And then he drops the other shoe: "and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?" Hamlet doesn't care how great the human race appears to be. To him it's just the "quintessence of dust." And you know what that means.
As always, however, when looking at lines from a play, it is not enough just to understand the words and how they fit into the context of the sentence, but we have to look at the character who is saying them, and who he is saying them to. At this point in the play, two of Hamlet's schoolfellows, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, have been hired by the King to spy on Hamlet. But Hamlet has outed them and is messing with their minds so they will tell the King what Hamlet wants the King to hear. Therefore he tells them that he is terribly depressed, that he has "foregone all custom of exercise" (which we know to be a lie--he tells us in Act 5 that he has "kept in continual practice") and that "Man delights not me", which is the line immediately after "What to me is this quintessence of dust?" Basically this is all a show for the benefit of Ros and Guil.
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Who says thy mother poisoned in hamlet?
She does. She says: No, no, the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,--The drink, the drink! I am poison'd.
Who said this and What is it mean I'll call thee hamlet king father royal Dane?
Hamlet says this in Act I Scene 4 of Hamlet. He is talking to the ghost of his father who up to this point hasn't said a word. Hamlet is trying to figure out how to address him in order to make him speak. If he calls him by his name, Hamlet, will he respond? How about father? King? Royal Dane? Whatever he says, the ghost starts talking right away.
In hamlet there is a quote that says Her clothes spread wide And mermaid-like a while they bore her up what does the quote mean?
he was ready to get some
Who says bow stubborn knees in Hamlet?
Claudius.
What contrast does Hamlet note between fortinbras and himself?
hamlet says that he would never betray one of his friends.
What does Will say after her transformation in witch?
In season 2 she says "Quintessence"
Who says to be or not to be out of Shakespeares plays?
Hamlet says it to himself in the play: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke
What does it mean when shakespeare says what a piece of work is a man?
Shakespeare doesn't say this: Hamlet does, in Act II of the play Hamlet. It is part of a speech he makes to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He has just sussed them out as spies for the King and Queen and makes a guess out loud as to why they are supposed to spy on him: He is depressed, he doesn't laugh, he doesn't exercise, and as far as he is concerned the earth is a "sterile promontory" and the sky is "a pestilential congregation of vapours." And how does he feel about the human race? Listen up. "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! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me." Human beings are the best of God's creation, his best "piece of work" but as far as Hamlet is concerned, they are just piles of dust. He doesn't care about men (stop smirking--that includes women).
What does Tubman mean when she says that freedom is not brought with dust?
It's means that freedom is not cheap or useless like dust.
Who says thy mother poisoned in hamlet?
She does. She says: No, no, the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,--The drink, the drink! I am poison'd.
Who said this and What is it mean I'll call thee hamlet king father royal Dane?
Hamlet says this in Act I Scene 4 of Hamlet. He is talking to the ghost of his father who up to this point hasn't said a word. Hamlet is trying to figure out how to address him in order to make him speak. If he calls him by his name, Hamlet, will he respond? How about father? King? Royal Dane? Whatever he says, the ghost starts talking right away.
What does it mean when someone says eat my cosmic dust?
When someone says, "Eat my cosmic dust!" It usually means that he or she thinks that they could beat you at something or can do something better than you. (e.g. soccer)
Who says O Hamlet what a falling off was there?
The Ghost, in Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 5
What explanations does Gertrude offer for Polonius murder?
Hamlet was crazy. She follows Hamlet's instructions and says that "Hamlet hath in madness Polonius slain."
In Hamlet by William Shakespeare Yorick has been dead for 23 years Hamlet knew him when Hamlet was a child Hamlet is 17 this makes no sense?
Who says Hamlet is 17? The gravedigger says (V,i, 150) that he started work as a gravedigger "the very day young Hamlet was born", and later (V,i, 164) "I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years". Which means of course that Hamlet is 30.
In hamlet there is a quote that says Her clothes spread wide And mermaid-like a while they bore her up what does the quote mean?
he was ready to get some
Who arranges for Hamlet to be killed in England?
Claudius arranged for Rosencrantz And Guildenstern to take Hamlet to England with a letter that says to kill Hamlet. The letter is to be given to the King of England, but Hamlet steals the letter on the boat ride over, and replaces it with one that says to kill the bearer of this letter.
