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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

Literature

The story behind the card

In Act 2, Scene 2 of Hamlet, the prince greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old school friends whom the new king, Claudius, has sent for to find out what is troubling him. Disgusted by his mother's hasty marriage to Claudius, Hamlet calls Denmark a prison. When Rosencrantz disagrees, Hamlet answers with this line: to them it is no prison, but to him it is one. The idea is ancient: around AD 100 the Greek philosopher Epictetus taught that people are upset not by things but by their judgements about them.

Türkçe oku
İyi ya da kötü diye bir şey yoktur; onu öyle yapan düşüncedir.
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 2. perde, 2. sahne

Hamlet'in 2. perde 2. sahnesinde prens, eski okul arkadaşları Rosencrantz ve Guildenstern'i karşılar. Onları, Hamlet'i neyin bu kadar sıkıntıya soktuğunu öğrensinler diye yeni kral Claudius çağırtmıştır. Annesinin Claudius'la aceleyle evlenmesinden tiksinen Hamlet, Danimarka'nın bir hapishane olduğunu söyler. Rosencrantz buna katılmayınca Hamlet bu cümleyle karşılık verir: Danimarka onlar için hapishane değildir, ama kendisi için öyledir. Fikir çok eskidir: Yunan filozof Epiktetos MS 100 dolaylarında, insanları şeylerin kendisinin değil, onlar hakkındaki yargılarının huzursuz ettiğini öğretiyordu.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: William Shakespeare
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