That it should come to this: Meaning Then

What was Big Willy Shakes going for?

If Hamlet were a real person and alive today, he'd probably be diagnosed with clinical depression. But in Shakespeare's day, if someone had melancholy, he'd probably just roam around being bummed and telling everyone about it.

And that's exactly what Hamlet does. He doesn't ever mind telling people how bad his life is. We lucky audience members get to hear about it a lot. A whole lot.

To be fair, Hamlet does have a lot going on. His mother's hasty marriage to his uncle has ripped apart the foundations of his universe. She seemed like she really loved his father and acted heartbroken when he died, but she must have been faking it. How else could she have remarried so quickly?

If his own mother is selfish and deceitful, then obviously the world and all the people in it suck. Since everything and everyone is corrupted, Hamlet thinks suicide would be a good idea.

You might have caught on to the fact that he's frustrated in this soliloquy. Make that super frustrated. He says "that it should come to this" out of exasperation, or irritation that his own family has put him in this situation. He can't believe how much things stink for him right now.

The words "come to this" make an appearance in a lot of other plays: Antony and Cleopatra, Henry VI, Part I, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Othello, and Much Ado About Nothing, but this is the first time Shakespeare tested out "that it should come to this."