Read the excerpt from Act IV of Hamlet.Hamlet: Rightly to be great Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw When honour’s at the stake.

Shakespeare repeats “great” while shifting its meaning: it can suggest importance or nobility, and “greatly” means acting with greatness of spirit. This wordplay emphasizes Hamlet’s point that true greatness is not acting over a major cause, but being willing to defend one’s honor even over something seemingly small, “a straw.” The repetition therefore strengthens his argument rather than showing that he lacks one.

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