"To thine own self be true" This quote was said by Polonius to Laertes and it has been used not only to help move the plot line of the play Hamlet by Shakespeare but also throughout our everyday lives.
In the play, we see Hamlet engaged in a fierce internal struggle with his morals and his actions. He wants to take action and kill Claudius to get revenge for his fathers death but he also has morals that he manipulates to reach his end game. Although Polonius's famous quote says "Own self be true," we see Hamlet, the main character of the play, struggling with that throughout the entire plot. He acts foolish to trick others but in all the while losing sight of himself as well. Hamlet doesn't know how to be true to himself and in turn can't show his true self to others.
In our society today, we as individuals have placed a higher value on the idea of putting on a mask of makeup to make ourselves "better" for others. Polonius's quote has been manipulated to say "Be true to yourself." This quote is broadcasted across billboards for makeup or plastered on Facebook by someone that is hiding behind a mask. What Polonius said has lost its true meaning.
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" was said by Marcellus. Here we see a character other than Hamlet realize that something wrong has occurred here. This is unique because of how all other characters see to think that all is keen until Hamlet starts behaving irrational. By having Marcellus say this before the Ghost tells Hamlet of his murder, Shakespeare foreshadows the idea that lies and injustices are running the kingdom.
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