What William Shakespeare means by “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”

What did one of history’s great authors, William Shakespeare, mean when he penned the following sentence:

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

The line occurs in his play, Hamlet, during an exchange between the characters Hamlet, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz. At the time of the quote Hamlet has called the country of Denmark a prison and the three are in a disagreement over whether or not Denmark really is a prison. Hamlet believes it is, while the other two disagree.

What does it mean for there to be nothing good nor bad, but for things to be made good or bad by the thinking mind?

For millennia, philosophers have repeated this same wisdom in different words, with the hopes of empowering us with wisdom that can help us to live more peaceful, happier, and fulfilled lives.

The quote, “ignorance is bliss,” by Publilius Syrus is also apt as a synonymous quote to Shakespeare’s.

The modern-day philosopher, Eckhart Tolle also shares an anecdote that illustrates how what we think of as good or bad cannot really be labeled as such.

One day a wise man won an expensive car as a result of a lottery.