Hamlet’s “How all occasions do inform against me” speech is the turning point in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In it, Hamlet responds to Fortinbras’ soldiers blindly following their leader into a battle over a worthless, infertile piece of land. This is similar to his earlier soliloquy where Hamlet asks how an actor can shed tears over a false situation (the death of Hecuba) when Hamlet cannot shed tears for his father. About the army, Hamlet says, “Witness this army of such mass and charge…/ Exposing what is mortal and unsure / To all that fortune, death and danger date, / Even for an egg-shell” (4.4.47&51-53). Hamlet cannot understand why the people around him can risk so much for so little. This causes Hamlet to reflect upon himself and his actions up to this point, and venture into the question of what is more important: thought or action.

Hamlet begins by wondering what makes man more than just an animal. He says that a man who just exists, who simply eats and sleeps, is nothing more than a beast. He states that since god gave humans the ability to reason, humans should use it. He even equates those capabilities to divinity, “godlike reason.” Yet Hamlet turns around and says that thinking too much is an activity that is composed of “one part wisdom / And ever three parts coward” (4.4.42-43). It is interesting to hear this coming from Hamlet, whose greatest strength is his ability to reason, even though that ability alone cannot accomplish his revenge.

Hamlet seems almost jealous of Fortinbras’ “divine ambition.” Fortinbras had enough spirit not only to die for honor, but to drag thousands of men with him into what could very well be their graves. Once again I liken this to Hamlet’s “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” speech in Act 2 Scene 2. Hamlet is much harsher on himself in this speech, calling himself “an ass,” “a dull and muddy-mettled rascal” and a “villain,” declaring himself “pigeon-livered.” He says he lack the “gall,” the conviction to take up his sword for his cause. Most importantly, he asks, “Am I a coward?” a question he answers later in the “all occasions” speech (2.2.571).
In the “all occasions” speech, Hamlet decides that, yes, he has been a coward up to this point. He says:

Rightly to be great
is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honor’s at the stake. (4.4.53-56)
He means that those who are truly great will find a reason to act and follow through with it, and so Hamlet, with all his pressing reasons, reasons of such great importance, is all the more a coward for not acting.
…while to my shame I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves…” (emphasis added 4.4.59-62)
He is ashamed of himself and his inaction.

Hamlet’s speech started like many of his proclamations throughout the play. “How all occasions do inform against me, / And spur my dull revenge!” is just another of Hamlet’s lines declaring his outrage and new resolve to kill Claudius (4.4.32-33). It’s a meaningless statement. But his final line “O, from this time forth, / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” have real conviction, and mark the turning point of the play (4.4.65-66). Through the speech, Hamlet has realized that thought without action is nothing. Thought has failed Hamlet, it led only inaction. Hamlet now slips into the bestial existence of Fortinbras’ soldiers. His thoughts, his “godlike reason” that have defined him are cast aside and, like a fallen angel, shall only be focused on those who have wronged him. Any fear for Hamlet’s soul being forfeit are gone, and all will be bloody, for all else is worthless.