nothing either good or bad

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.’
Is this sentence OK?
What is the meaning of this sentence?
Thanks.

2

Nothing in this world is essentially ‘a good thing’ or ‘a bad thing’. It all depends on how one views it.

3

Why not There is nothing like good or bad, but only (your) thinking makes it so?

4

The original is a quotation from Shakespeare (with a missing word)

Hamlet, Scene II.
Hamlet holds the view that Denmark is like a prison. Rosencrantz indicates that he does not feel the same.
Hamlet says:
Why, then, 'tis none (not a prison) to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me it is a prison.

5

When some portion of a quotation is detached and presented for explanation, the context ceases to matter. The answer needs to be given in a simpler manner and in tune with the need of the 21st century, not the 16th. By the way, can we approach Great Shakespeare without being conscious of the concept of ‘willing suspension of disbelief’?

Now, what’s wrong with ‘There is nothing like good or bad, but only (your) thinking makes it so’? That was my suggestion. Why do you keep commenting meaninglessly? Can’t you brook others offering their own comments? Don’t try to be ‘Oxbridgean’ for everything? Many people on the forum are much better at English and more decent in response than you. No perfume of Arabia can sweeten your little mind. LUSH.

6

Good grief! I give you some background information and even that is unacceptable to you. It’s hardly a meaningless comment to provide the origin of a phrase. Nothing ‘Oxbridgean’ about the explanation, whatever that is meant to convey. Do you think that only people who go to Oxford or Cambridge access classical literature?

The phrase is used in modern English, as are many other Shakespearian quotes.

I didn’t say there was anything wrong with your suggestion, though I find it overlong and, given that there is a standard literary phrase in common use, I would not expect the sentence to be mangled so much if the original were not what was intended.