Don't mention it. I've never seen a world
So festering with damnation. I have left
Rings of beer on every alehouse table
From the salt sea-coast across half a dozen counties,
But each time I thought I was on the way
To a faintly festive hiccup
The sight of the damned world sobered me up again.
In this line from Thomas, we discover his disillusionment and cynicism about the world. He believes that the world is "festering with damnation," and gets drunk often to escape the reality of the world. However, he is sobered up by "the sight of the damned world." Later in the play, Thomas confesses to a murder that he did not commit, and we learn that he does this because he is depressed and disillusioned with the world, and wishes to die by hanging.
"To be - want to be hanged? How very drunk you are after all. Whoever would want to be hanged?"
Here, Richard discovers that Thomas wants to be hanged, as do the audience. He cannot understand why Thomas would want to endure such as fate and believes that he is drunk for having said such a thing. Thomas' desire to be hanged is a key plot point in this play and allows many of the events to transpire.
