Hamlet (5.1)

"No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither, / with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it, {as, / thus:} Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alex-/ander returneth to dust; the dust is earth; of earth / we make loam; and why if that loam whereto he was converted might not stop a beer barrel?" (5.1.214-219)

Again, Hamlet is comtemplating what death is like, but this time, he is talking about the cycle of a decaying body. He uses an allusion to Alexander the Great, the famous Greek warrior who conquered most of the Middle East and Asia before dying of fever in Babylon. After his death, he was buried underneath the earth. Hamlet says that even someone like Alexander the Great dies and becomes a part of the earth. He then goes on to alude to his next train of thought: what happens next? Bodies turn to dust and become a part of the earth; this same earth can be made into loam, which can then be distilled into beer. So Hamlet is thinking: is the cycle of death merely where what he eat and drink is a product of the earth from which the dust of dead bodies had lain. It is a very morbid thought, but then again, Hamlet has been depressed within the whole play, that seeing his mind turn to something like this is no real suprise. Now, is it possible that his death may be coming near, and will Hamlet be able to accept death when it comes to claim him?