Final answer:
In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the quote "Denmark's a prison" encapsulates Hamlet's sense of psychological entrapment within Elsinore, symbolizing his deep discontent and the pervasive surveillance he experiences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The quote "Denmark's a prison" comes from William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. It signifies the title character's feelings of entrapment and lack of freedom within his own country, as well as his claustrophobic existence in Elsinore. This metaphor is used by Hamlet in a conversation with his college friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, where he expresses his profound frustration and the existential imprisonment he feels, despite Denmark ostensibly being a free state.
The panoptic nature of Elsinore is likened to a prison in that everyone is being watched, much like in the theoretical Panopticon. Additionally, the play frequently returns to the theme of all of Denmark as a prison, emphasizing the feeling of constant surveillance and restriction at Elsinore. While Hamlet himself does not physically reside in an Elsinore jail, his sentiments reflect a deeper sense of psychological Elsinore incarceration, as if the very state of existing in Elsinore is equivalent to being in prison.