Essay Preview: Mr.Report this essayA technique not seen in modern literature that helps show the thoughts and feelings of the characters in plays is the soliloquy. In William Shakespeares Hamlet, the reader is given a look inside Hamlets head through the soliloquies that he gives at various points throughout the drama. They show the reader his thoughts and help them better understand what he is feeling. In Hamlet, they specifically show the reader his increasing loss of control over his emotions, his grief due to his indecisiveness over what to do about his father, and eventually, how he decides to handle this grief.
The first soliloquy serves to set the stage for the rest of Hamlets thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is here that Hamlet first reveals his hatred for his mothers incestuous marriage to his uncle, Claudius, his low opinion of himself, and his great admiration for his father. Though he hates Claudius for taking his fathers thrown, he is more upset at himself for not taking action against Claudius. In the beginning lines of this soliloquy, Hamlet is already considering suicide. He tells the audience, “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon gainst self-slaughter! O God! O God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world” (2.1.135-6).
Through these lines, it is obvious that Hamlet is in the midst of a deep depression. He has no control over the “uses of the world.” Hamlet compares Denmark to an “unweeded garden” to symbolize the corruption within his country, that is seeded within Claudius and his incestuous marriage to Gertrude. Hamlet goes on to compare his father to Claudius and comment on the relationship between King Hamlet and Gertrude. “So excellent a King that was to this Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly”(1.2.139-142). In Hamlets eyes, Claudius is a beast in comparison to the god-like features of his father. This lays the foundation for Hamlets vengeful intentions.
Hamlets also comments on the loving relationship enjoyed by his parents, in disbelief of Gertrudes actions. He does not understand why his mother married Claudius in such haste, causing such internal torment for Hamlet. This leads Hamlet to make a generalization about all women. “Frailty, thy name is woman”(1.2, 146)! Hamlet displays his inability to separate his emotions from his rational being. Hamlet ends this soliloquy by resolving to do nothing for the time being. He has laid the foundation for the rest of the play, but he has also made a decision that will cause him even more pain. His resolution to do nothing will be the source of his problems in following speeches.
The second soliloquy concerns Hamlets delay of action. He feels ashamed that he has not avenged his fathers death with the speed and expression exhibited by the actors in the play. Hamlet compares his inaction to the dramatic expression the actor exhibits for the death of his characters father. “What would he do, Had he the motive and cue for passion That I have”(2.1. 499-501)? Hamlet is amazed that the actor can display such emotions without a real impetus, while he is incapable of doing anything in response to his fathers murder. Hamlet then asks, “Am I a coward”(2.2, 511), referring to his inability to say anything in defense of his father. Hamlet also displays his low self-esteem in this soliloquy as he sarcastically describes his inaction. “This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murdered, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must (like a whore) unpack my heart with words And fall a-cursing like a very drab”(2.2.524-528). Hamlet is his own worst critic throughout the play. He often criticizes himself to the point that he would like to commit suicide.
The third soliloquy shows Hamlet reverting back to the depressed mood of the first soliloquy. As soon as he made a plan of action, his thoughts regress. Hamlets thoughts are about more than contemplation of suicide. He is questioning whether one should suffer the burdens of society or take action against it. “Whether tis noblerto suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or take arms against a sea of troubles”(3.1.57-59). These “slings and arrows” are the conflicts faced by Hamlet and the rest of the world. Next Hamlet considers suicide as a solution to his problems. “To die, to sleep; perchance to dream: ay, theres the rub; For in that sleep what dreams may come”(3.1. 64-5). Hamlet would like to die only if he can enter a state in which he would not be able to dream. The mystery of what comes after death is what keeps Hamlet from
”. The answer to the question, “if thou canst do so without being deprived of liberty, then surely I am not alone” is that this answer is not possible. The answer is very important, given the difficulties we are facing as we try to live, and since Hamlet is concerned with the freedom of the heart and the safety of the mind, this answer has been very important for Hamlet and other young people. And now the question about death, on which much worry, anguish and anxiety reign, we may ask again what is this possibility that makes Hamlet interested. Is this possibility that the most important part of our existence must be to live for the happiness of others, and as such it must be kept under constant study, and can a dream to help us achieve that happiness be possible, or is another part of our life which is not, as it were? Is the dream necessary to our happiness? is a child’s dream an expression of happiness, but is not an important part of our work? Is the dream necessary to our happiness, as a result of our lives? Is it necessary that we also live our lives? Has our life always been a part of our work, and is this at all necessary for us to think of it as fulfilling our purposes? Have we always lived in search of happiness for our ends? Do we all think of life through the one or other of the two or three or four or five or six or seven of our passions? It is precisely this desire to be part of our work that is concerned by our dreams. In the same way, a dream, in general, has to have a very important social meaning. It consists in our imagining certain events, and in seeking to determine on what dates what these things will become, and in endeavoring to arrive at an understanding of what it will be as a matter of course that these events may happen. After all, is this understanding possible? The most important element in all our lives is to recognize and understand things. This, then, is Hamlet’s dream, which he lives only for the happiness of others. He dreams about suicide because he fears dying. We have been told this many times. He never fails to experience a certain moment when he thinks a dream or a dream of death. The idea that he can have just this dream only is really dangerous. And this is very alarming. He sees only his physical health, which he has been told he is not capable of performing. The idea of suicide means that he cannot think for himself, or to himself or for others, except for the dreams of others. This dream, he sees, means to awaken his mind by being deprived of power. This dream is absolutely dangerous. He believes that he can die to himself without other people ever interfering. He would die for himself, otherwise he would die for many other people. He is going without being able to see any future world. His mind can only see himself. Is it ever true that his mental health is not possible? He is still living. His dreams may have many meanings, but the whole thing seems more dangerous than ever. The only possible solution Hamlet could propose consists in the possibility, as we have already seen, of being able