In his first line, Hamlet alludes to and plays on the Elizabethan proverb, “The nearer in kin, the less in kindness,” which means our closest relatives often treat us the worst. In this line, he suggests that now Claudius is his kin twice over—first his uncle, and now his stepfather. Hamlet does not seem to have taken too kindly to that development.

When Claudius asks him why he’s still in such a cloudy mood, Hamlet plays on the word “sun” (or “son”) while alluding another common expression of the time: “to be in the sunshine of the king’s favor.” His clever wordplay in these two lines sets a tone of tension in his relationship with Claudius.