“shuffled off this mortal coil”

The coil in this quote is referring to the lamps used at the time that hamlet was written. These lamps burned this coil this is used to describe life, each minute that the coil burns could be compared to a year of somebodies life, eventually the lamp will burn out similar to a person’s life that will also end at some point. this is why mortal is used, which tells us that Hamlet or Shakespeare is talking about people (or mortal beings) rather than something else. “shuffled off indicates” that we (or hamlet) will move from living to dead in a slow way. The coil could also be compared to a spring, the spring will work properly until it eventually wears out.

The quote is euphemistic, this is because Hamlet is not able to deal with the thought of killing himself and has to say it in a way that he can cope with. The quote is also not talking about death directly and is talking about it in an indirect way. It is a metaphor about death as it Hamlet’s way of describing death (and the fact that it is not literally applicable ).

Metaphors are used many time in this play, another example of one is:

“her garments heavy with their drink, pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious lay ”

“Heavy with their drink” will be focused on first. The clothes are being described as heavy with drink like they are a person who has drunk too much and are now weighed down by the liquid. This quote is part of the description of how Ophelia, Laertes sister died. It could also be euphemism as it is not just saying that she drowned.

This is personification of the clothes, comparing or describing them like a human. It is also a metaphor as it is not being literal.