“the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” (II, ii, 330-2)

This quote is a line spoken by Hamlet in scene 2 of Act II, during the dialogue between Hamlet and his two old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Here, Hamlet addresses Rosencrantz. The entire quote is about man; Hamlet describes man as “the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals” and then questions this earlier view of man by asking himself “and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” Paragon literally means “a model or example of excellence” and quintessence: “the very essence.” Quintessence is a word used to describe that which transcends “the four earthly essences” (glossary’s definition), and here it therefore degrades man by describing the human race as nothing but the tiniest, smallest particle or piece of dust. Hamlet sees that one the one hand, all others view man as some amazing, wonderful creature, yet he is unable to do so himself: the dash between the two parts of the quote reflects this troubling difference. Moreover, Hamlet has no answer to his question: he can only wonder what man is to him, but he does not give a clear response to this.

This quote is an important one, because it is central to understanding how Hamlet sees man in general, as well as himself and the other characters of the play. Hamlet even becomes something of a misanthrope, rejecting those around him and isolating himself in his pain and in order to complete his mission. It continues with the general theme of his depression and of his questions about life, about action, about the point of life. This conception of man as nothing but the “quintessence of dust” shows that for Hamlet, life may be futile, since humans are nothing. Royalty and titles are but names given to pieces of the earth; worthless. The idea of man being equated with dust recalls well-known religious sayings that also emphasize the futility of man and the ephemerality of life itself: “ashes to ashes, dust unto dust,” “vanity of vanities, all is but vanity.” These are mirrored by the end of the play, with the deaths of all those who seemed central and important: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Polonius, and Ophelia. After having followed them for these 5 acts, all that they amount to is dust, fated to being forgotten.