What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me; no, nor woman neither, though, by your smiling, you seem to say so.
– William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2. A melancholic Hamlet is not seeing seeing the world and people as others do. He begins by saying that there so much beauty in a human, a masterpiece with unlimited abilities, angelic in action, godlike in understanding. That’s the appearance. To him in reality humans are just a "quintessence of dust." He feels betrayed a number of people close to him, who are not what they seem to be. He doesn’t trust Claudius, his mother, Polonius, he knows Ophelia is likely being used as a pawn against him, and "friends" Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spying on him for the King.