Hamlet Soliloquy Analysis

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 this soliloquy we also observe the use of sensory imagery to spearhead the theme along. Hamlet paints an image of a river that is weakened by changing the direction of the current. He declares, “With this regard their currents turn awry/ And lose the name of action,” (III.i.88-89). We have visual imagery of a river whose current has begun to flow differently. This river can no longer move with the power of a raging rapid, they are weakened due to this massive change in their life. Hamlet is similar to this river; his father has been killed and his uncle is now his step-father. This is a colossal change in his life that has drastically weakened him. He must make a giant change to his life yet again and he will never know how this will turn out for him. We see his attentiveness in the quote: “And by a sleep say we end / The heart-ache and thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to,” (III.i.62-64). Contemplating killing himself we notice that all he truly wants is for the heartache to end. With organic imagery Shakespeare makes this incredibly relatable to most audiences. The majority of people have had – or will have - a

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

I Hamlet's second soliloquy, we face a determined Hamlet who is craving revenge for his father. “Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat/ In this distracted globe. Remember thee!” Hamlet feels sorry for his father who was unable to repent of his sins and is therefore condemned to a time in purgatory. He promises his father that in spite of his mental state (he is distracted, confused and shocked) he will avenge his death. He holds him in the highest regards because he sees his father as a role model. “Yea, from the table of my memory/ I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,”. He’ll erase all prior Knowledge and experience and leave only his father’s “commandment”. He will engrave it in the front of his mind to show his

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

Shakespeare's main character Hamlet is a victim of both internal and external conflict. His conflict includes a physical nature as he goes about to avenge his father's death. Shakespeare translates further the idea of internal versus external conflict by giving it a physical nature. Shakespeare also uses soliloquies to emphasise Hamlets inner thoughts and conflict. This stands in contrast to the way he acts amongst others; with the intention of highlighting the inner turmoil he is experiencing. The infamous quote, "To be or not to be: that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer…." (Act III, scene i, 58-90). It is during this soliloquy that

Soliloquies are used by writers because they offer the reader or audience the opportunity to know more about the character, his true self and inner thoughts, as well as pieces of information that cannot be revealed through a normal conversation between characters. Shakespeare uses this method with his characters very often to provide a deeper understanding of his characters, and Hamlet speak seven of this, being each one necessary and important for the plot development. Each of this soliloquies gives a deeper understanding of Hamlet’s ideas and feelings, as well as the changes he goes throughout the play.

Hamlet Soliloquy Analysis As Act I of Shakespeare's Hamlet concludes, a conversation between the protagonist Hamlet and the ghost of his deceased father, King Hamlet occurs. In response to the ghost's request for Hamlet to take revenge, Hamlet shares his thoughts with the audience in a soliloquy. Through vows and promises, Hamlet's oral reaction to the King's request exposes his full will for revenge. In addition, Hamlet's word-choice begins to exhibit the blind passion and zeal that characterizes his actions throughout the remainder of the play.

The "To Be or Not To Be" speech in the play, "Hamlet," portrays Hamlet as a very confused man. He is very unsure of himself and his thoughts often waver between two extremes due to his relatively strange personality. In the monologue, he contemplates whether or not he should continue or end his own life. He also considers seeking revenge for his father’s death. Evidence of his uncertainty and over thinking is not only shown in this speech, but it also can be referenced in other important parts of the play.

Perhaps the most important part of the soliloquy is when the question is introduced “To be, or not to be-that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (3, 1, 59-61), hamlets asks himself the question of whether life is meaningful to him or not if killing his uncle was the only answer to him, as much as try’s avoiding it he can never. Hamlet goes deeper in his imaginative portrayal of death, he believes his death only but sleep and can easily subdue his fear from it, “To die- to sleep- No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks” (3, 1, 63-65) his feeling towards death has changed due to his past experience, although he further on in the soliloquy speaks of how his dreams are like death to him he imaginatively sees the afterlife and doesn’t know if he wants to depart to such a place “To die- to sleep. to sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub! for in that sleep of death what dreams May come” (3,1, 68-69).

In Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare portraits the transition from a young mindset to a more mature one in Hamlets "My thoughts be bloody" soliloquy. (iv.iv 34-69) Shakespeare uses Hamlet to show us the role maturity plays in the human decision making process. The soliloquy can be seen as a call to action, Hamlet shifts from inaction to action and stops making excuses. He was always intelligent but didn’t have the ability to make decisions in proper time. He over thought and frustrated himself with things he had the ability to change. Hamlet also couldn’t accept that he was the biggest barrier in his revenge for his father’s death. In this soliloquy, Hamlet started seeing things from different perspectives, it helped him grow

During the fight, Gertrude takes the fatal drink, he says ‘I dare not drink yet, madam, by and by’. It is possible that Hamlet didn’t want the wine to interfere with his ability to spar. He does not attempt to stop his mother drinking the wine so I don’t believe he knew it was poisoned. Is it possible though that Gertrude knew the wine was poisoned? Maybe she committed suicide to save her son. Gertrude’s last words are “No, no, the drink, the drink! Oh, my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I’ve been poisoned.” Once Gertrude dies, this motivates Hamlet to finally kill Claudius. Laertes’ then reveals the murder plot and this results in Hamlet killing Claudius by forcing him to drink the poisoned wine.

Hamlet’s soliloquies which, like any other soliloquy, reveal the thought processes behind his planned courses of action provide further insight into Hamlet’s emotional disposition with the usage of both specific audiovisual cues, as well as environments which emphasize the main point of each soliloquy. For example, Hamlet’s “To be” soliloquy, which focuses on both the nature of death and its aftermath, takes place within what appears to be a catacomb. Considering how Hamlet had recently accepted the task of killing Claudius (given to him by the supposed ghost of his father), it is only natural that the director (Franco Zeffirelli) would choose such a scene. Not only that, but as this soliloquy in particular is a moment of quasi-enlightenment -- since Hamlet is unable to answer the question, “To be, or not to be” at that point -- Mel Gibson shows Hamlet as a character reminiscent of a scared, wide-eyed child, and makes use of lengthy pauses in order to emphasize further that this soliloquy is Hamlet’s stream of consciousness put into words. Another example is Hamlet’s “Am I a coward” soliloquy in Act II. This soliloquy can, in one sense, simply show Hamlet as perturbed due to doubts over the truthfulness of the late king’s ghost. But Mel

The Kenneth Branaugh version of the To Be Or Not To Be soliloquy done by Hamlet most closely resembles how the scene should be portrayed because of the resigned and confused persona Hamlet takes on through his whispered thoughts and limited body language. Whispering adds to Hamlet’s resigned persona as it creates the image of him being tired or giving up. He emphasizes his resignation in his speech when he pulls the dagger to his neck, but when he continues to speak and pulls the dagger away, he is once again confused on what his action should be. This confusion portrayed with whether he should act on his desire or listen to the thoughts that plagued him and prevented him from acting, is what sets the main question for Hamlet. To act or not

By Hamlet’s third soliloquy he still has not taken action to avenge his father’s death and hates everyone around him, including himself. He begins his soliloquy with the famous line “To be, or not to be?” With this line Hamlet is asking whether is it better to be alive or to be dead. In this soliloquy Hamlet contemplates suicide and discusses the trials of life. He wishes not to have to deal with the hardships of life, but realizes that he is not brave enough to take his own life. Not only is he, like most humans, afraid of the unknown, but he is also afraid of committing a sin and damning his soul. At the end of his third soliloquy Hamlet has yet to do as his father’s ghost told him and Hamlet is still angry with himself for being such a coward.