Hamlet

act 2 scene 2

What is Hamlet's conception of man in his famous "what a piece of work is a man!" passage? and what is the significant shift that occours towards the end of this speech?

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Hamlet launches into a speech about being God's chosen life forms, "the paragon of animals". He extolls mans virtues, grace, and reason. Hamlet then adds that man "delights him not" mostly because of spies and disloyal friends like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. His speech is performed to illustrate his intense melancholia which, by this time, boarders on his own brand of madness.