Analysis Of Hamlet's Second Soliloquy

In Hamlet’s soliloquy in act IV scene iv, he brings up the question of “what is a man?” Hamlet does this while looking upon the over powering army that is lead by Fortinbras. His army was passing through Denmark to fight over an insignificant piece of land in Poland. Hamlet then thinks about his lack of action with his mission to kill Claudius. While he is seeing this massive army marching, going to war over something so insignificant he realizes that he must try to make his “thoughts bloody” (4.4.64). In this soliloquy, we learn that through Hamlet’s inaction he sees himself no better than a beastly animal where he should see himself as a man that takes action into his own hands which, makes him as the same level as the gods.

In the soliloquy it is shown that while Hamlet does not like his uncle he blames his mother for all that has happened especially her weak disposition that caused her to marry Claudius as seen in the line “frailty thy name is women”. In the line Hamlet generalizes all women showing his instability as he does not understand the difference between his mother’s actions and all women. His anger towards his mother is also shown in his comparison of her being “like Niobe all tears” because like the mythological figure Niobe she also mourned however Niobe was turned to stone and kept weaping which suggests that he considers her to be hypocritical because while she cried and mourned she remarried only a month after her husband died. This idea is also shown in the line “a beast would have mourned longer” showing that because of her betrayal he considers her to be an unfeeling animal. Hamlet’s anger builds throughout the soliloquy until he comes to the realization that he cannot reveal his true thoughts to anyone “but break my heart for I must hold my tongue.”

Hamlet is considered to be Shakespeare's most famous play. The play is about Prince Hamlet and his struggles with the new marriage of his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle and now stepfather, King Claudius about only two months after his father’s death. Hamlet has an encounter with his father, Old King Hamlet, in ghost form. His father accuses Claudius of killing him and tells Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet is infuriated by this news and then begins his thoughts on what to do to get revenge. Hamlet and Claudius are contrasting characters. They do share similarities, however, their profound differences are what divides them.Hamlet was portrayed as troubled, inactive, and impulsive at times. Hamlet is troubled by many things, but the main source of his problems come from the the death of his father. “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon 'gainst self-slaughter” (Act 1, Scene 2). In this scene, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, which is caused by the death of his father and the new marriage of Gertrude and King Claudius. This scene shows the extent of how troubled Hamlet is. Even though Hamlet’s father asked him to avenge his death, Hamlet is very slow to act on this throughout the play. “Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do ’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (Act 3, Scene 3). This scene shows King Claudius praying, while Hamlet is behind him drawing his sword but decides not to kill

Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.

The use of attitudinal tones makes Hamlet react in a way that develops his character to dislike his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet’s opening statement in Act 1 Scene 2, displays a sarcastic tone and his inner struggles surrounding his mother’s remarriage shortly following the death of her former husband, which is considered incestuous in his perspective. He describes his uncle as “a little more kin and less than kind” (I.2.65) which displays hatred towards his uncle and emphasizes the discomfort in their relationship. There is outward conflict between them as there is tension in the air whenever Hamlet and King Claudius are present together. He first expresses suicidal thoughts in a melancholic tone, when he describes the corrupted world he lives in as an “unweeded garden/ That grows to seed; things to rank and gross in nature/ Possess it merely” (1.2.135-136) where he wishes his “too sullied flesh would melt,/ Thaw and resolve itself into dew” (1.2.129.) He expresses his disappointment in his mother for marrying too soon and describes his father as “So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr” (1.2.138-140.) He explains how his father was by far a better king than his uncle. This betrayal exposes Hamlet’s repressed feelings about his mother, and the impact of his father’s death is increased through his perceived betrayal to faithful marriage and family ties. His tone changes in Act 3, Scene 3 as he is now exposed to Claudius’ confession of being responsible for the

By so doing it was believed that the sins of the dead person would be

Hamlet is dissatisfied with his inability to kill Claudius, thus allowing him time to rewrite his wrongs. Unable to muster up the courage to carry out his envisions of murdering Claudius, Hamlet calls himself “a dull and muddy-mettled rascal” (2.2.526) that is “unpregnant of [his] cause”. (2.2.527) In both the soliloquies Hamlet stands around dreaming of completing the act, but pushes aside his outraged feelings toward Claudius. Hamlet is mad at himself as he pretends he is unaware of the treason. The soliloquy “what is a man” starts out with “how all occasions do inform against me, and spur my dull revenge!” (4.4.31-32) By “spur my dull revenge” Hamlet is stalling and much like a dull revenge a dull knife would do little to help achieve a stout revenge. This soliloquy also ties in with the

Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays, portrays the story of a young man’s quest to avenge his murdered father and his quest to find his true identity. In his soliloquies, Prince Hamlet reveals to the readers his personal perceptions of the events that take place in his homeland, Denmark, and of which are either indirectly or directly tied to his father’s murder. Many critics and scholars agree that while Hamlet’s soliloquies reveal the search of his identity and true character, his soliloquies universally illustrate man’s search for his true identity.

In the first place, the opening lines of Hamlet’s soliloquy uncovers his innermost feelings about all the events that are occurring around him. His father’s death and his mother remarrying his uncle, have all impacted him so much that he is thinking about ways to escape this world. “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt (…), / Or that the Everlasting had not fixed / His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!”

When analyzing Shakespeare's Hamlet through the deconstructionist lens various elements of the play come into sharper focus. Hamlet's beliefs about himself and his crisis over indecision are expounded upon by the binary oppositions created in his soliloquies.

As the act progresses, Hamlet encounters the Ghost of his father, King Hamlet, who confessed the man who murdered him was not Fortenbraus but, his own brother, Claudius. The Ghost orders Hamlet not to permit "the royal bed of Denmark [to be] a Couch for luxury"(1.5.82). His father then vanishes and Hamlet enters a state of great rage and drives to complete his father’s task in aniliating Claudius. He is young so his “sinews, grow not instant old”(1.5.94) which gives him the physical strength. Hamlet is so focused on his task, he agreed to, "...wipe all trivial fond records"(1.5.99) and replace them with "...[King Hamlet's] commandment all alone..."(1.5.101). Shakespeare elaborates on the characterization of Hamlet in this soliloquy. The author not only displays Hamlet's anger and depression but, his determination in vanishing the injustice in his kingdom. To summarize, Shakespeare characterizes Hamlet by using imagery to express how Hamlet was originally depressed but, turned towards anger that later lead him to become vengeful.

King Claudius's contribution to the conversation exacerbates the tension in the scene. When he refers to Hamlet as “my son “ Hamlet immediately rebuffs him, saying that he is “a little more kin and a little less kind”. The young prince feels aversion towards his malevolent stepfather who has taken over the role of the king and has also married his mother. Claudius does not try to console Hamlet or offer him any support. Instead he criticises behaviour and treats him like a stubborn ignorant child. In Claudius's long speech, refers to Hamlet’s grief as “unmanly“ suggestion that his actions are and fitting for a man. He also declares that his step-sons behaviour is “It shows a will most incorrect to heaven”. This is very offensive as he is saying that Hamlet is going against God's wishes. The sentences Claudius use in his speech clearly imply that his relationship with Hamlet is very distorted.The antagonist continues by adding “why should we in our peevish opposition/ Take it to heart?”. Claudius is acting in a very philosophical and inhuman as if his brother has not died recently. He sees death as a meaningless phase in life and that Hamlet should move on like he did. Two bold words jump out of his speech “unprevailing well“. He can’t feel the pain Hamlet is enduring and that’s why he thinks Hamlet is overreacting. Shakespeare has successfully sent us the message that Claudius is a very insensitive man and that Hamlet is feeling great aversion towards him and this is a reason why their relationship is very weak.

Coming immediately after the meeting with the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, Shakespeare uses his second soliloquy to present Hamlet’s initial responses to his new role of revenger. Shakespeare is not hesitant in foreboding the religious and metaphysical implications of this role, something widely explored in Elizabethan revenge tragedy, doing so in the first lines as Hamlet makes an invocation to ‘all you host of heaven’ and ‘earth’. Hamlet is shown to impulsively rationalize the ethical issues behind his task as he views it as a divine ordinance of justice, his fatalistic view reiterated at the end of scene 5 with the rhyming couplet ‘O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right’. These ideas are

talks of actors on the stage and says ‘Had he the motive and the cue

In Hamlet’s first soliloquy he shows that he is angry with his mother and upset over his father’s death. Hamlet, however, does not think about taking revenge against his uncle for marrying his mother, instead he is just furious at his mother for being