Hamlet Soliloquies and Their Analysis

He cannot take revenge on the man who got rid of his father and took his place with his mother. The horror could awaken Hamlet’s violence, which is replaced by remorse and scruples of conscience. Scruples in the consciousness that correspond to something that goes beyond it, that is, in the unconscious.

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.

Hamlet is very private with his grief. His mourning for his father is long and drawn out. He mulls over how he is going to act and defers action until a perfect moment.

Hamlet recognizes that suicide is a sin in the eyes of God, so consequently wishes that he could simply cease to exist. In doubting that life is worth all the hardships one must face, Hamlet briefly relishes in the concept of death, equating it to nothing more than a sleep wherein one can be rid of the “heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks” of physical life (III.i.70). Though immediately thereafter Hamlet acknowledges the startling unknown, and the fact that one does not know what comes after death. Hamlet feels a great deal of uncertainty, which surely enhances his overall frustration. Herein lies Hamlet’s reservations in regards to committing suicide: it is a sin, and the afterlife may prove to be more unpleasant than life itself.

The way that Shakespeare portrayed Hamlet’s soliloquy touches on a global issue of suicide. While Hamlet considers his suicidal thoughts it reveals inklings about his character. Hamlet’s soliloquy advances the tone of the play because of

“To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (3.1.64). This famous line in William Shakespeare's Hamlet perfectly encapsulates Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play. Hamlet tells the story of the young prince of Denmark and his desire for revenge on the uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father. As is the case in many works of literature, Hamlet changes greatly throughout the play. However, because of his attempts to act insane, it can be difficult to precisely map the changes in Hamlet’s character. By carefully investigating his seven soliloquies, where he is alone and has no need to “put on an antic disposition,” one can understand and interpret how Hamlet’s character develops throughout the play.

When Hamlet is set up and spied on by Claudius and Polonius, he examines the moral aspect of suicide in a painful world. He opens his soliloquy with asking a simple question, "To be, or not to be:that is the question:" (III. i. 58), that is, whether to live or to die. He then begins to question whether it is nobler to suffer life and the, "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," (III. i. 66), or to take ones life and end one's suffering. He compares death to sleep and at first thinks that

Next, in one of the most famous soliloquies in the English language, Hamlet again contemplates the subject of suicide, but he does not do so on impulses of emotion. Instead, his contemplation is based on reason. “To be or not to be, that is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer outrageous fortune…or end them. To die, to sleep- no more- and by a sleep to say we end the heartache…’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time…who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler

Hamlet also manages to both degrade himself and his uncle in another comparison, saying his uncle was “no more like my father / Than I to Hercules” (1.2.152-3). Though such strong comparisons to romanticized and mythical figures could are partially simple hyperbole, they also underscore some of the insecurity in Hamlet’s character. The value in recognizing this comes as Hamlet descends into his madness, whether real or imaginary, where the reader can see that, even before Hamlet deliberately decides to appear to be “mad” he has certain issues and insecurities with his own feelings. Even more significantly, this passage begins to elaborate on Hamlet’s relationship with his mother. Gertrude represents an interesting dilemma for the deconstructionist critic, as she does not create or involve herself in many conflicts or oppositions. She manages to significantly affect the plot and the subtext of the play while seeming almost insignificant as a character at first glance through the deconstructionist lens. She does not overtly affect events, and often plays the victim of circumstance. This very insignificance creates an issue for Hamlet, who is clearly quite disgusted with her behavior. He vehemently disapproves of the speed of her marriage to Claudius, saying that “a beast, that wants discourse of reason, / Would have mourned longer” (1.2.150-1), but can find no other strong criticism of her other than how fast she remarried. This strikes at the

Hamlet’s character drastically develops over the first four acts of Hamlet, and his character development is most evident through the soliloquys he delivers throughout the play. The most character development can be seen from the first soliloquy, to the second, the third, the sixth, and the seventh and final soliloquy. Hamlet’s inner conflict with his thoughts and his actions are well analyzed in his soliloquys, as well as his struggles with life and death, and his very own existence. He begins the play wondering what purpose he has in life now that his father is dead and his mother has remarried to his uncle. After finding out foul play was involved in his father’s death, he is motivated by revenge. Finally, he wonders how he can enact his revenge while continuously overthinking and overanalyzing his actions.

In William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, the author writes about the Prince who seemingly goes crazy and kills many people that were once close to him after his uncle kills his father only to marry his mother. Shakespeare tends to have his characters talk through soliloquies in his plays to provide specific details about what that character is feeling. Shakespeare is known for his depressingly gruesome writings and Hamlet is definitely in that category. In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet has seven soliloquies to continue the plot and reveal Hamlet’s emotions along with creating a proper feeling for the play. In Hamlet’s soliloquies, he reveals that he is virtuous, yet indecisive, he thinks about

It is this mourning that becomes the foundation of conflicts to come. After an encounter with his father’s ghost, Hamlet learns of his uncle’s treachery and is at first filled with rage, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift, as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” (Hamlet aside, Act I, Scene V, p.1651), but it is Hamlet’s struggle with himself that leads to not act upon his words as fast as he had clamed to.

Shakespeare’s employment of dramatic struggle and disillusionment through his character Hamlet, contributes to the continued engagement of modern audiences. The employment of the soliloquy demonstrates Shakespeare’s approach to the dramatic treatment of these emotions. The soliloquy brings a compensating intimacy, and becomes the means by which Shakespeare brings the audience not only to a knowledge of secret thoughts of characters, but into the closest emotional touch with them too. Through this, the audiences therefore gain a closer relationship with Hamlet, and are absorbed by him because they are able to resonate with his circumstances, as he is faced with enduring truths of the human condition. Through these, the struggle and

The play Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most psychological plays. There is a lot that goes into understanding the characters and the reasoning for their actions. The soliloquies in Hamlet are crucial to understanding the meaning of this play. There are so many soliloquies that once you can decipher what they are saying, you can find the deeper meaning and reason for the play. Hamlet is depressed throughout the whole play, always dressed in black, sulking around the castle. He is mourning the death of his father. “That Shakespeare was profoundly influenced by such a play in the structural part of Hamlet there can be no doubt, and modern students find the explanation of many difficulties, inconsistencies, and discrepancies.” (Carroll) The most popular soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, maybe even the most

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