Juxtaposition In Hamlet's First Soliloquy

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a timeless play which continues to remain relevant across all generations due to its presentation of ideas that are fundamental to humanity. The play highlights aspects that relate to the society of not only Elizabethan England but also that of our modern society. Hamlet, as a character, considers ideas from outside his time and is somewhat relatable to modern day man. By drawing from ideas of archetypes and the human psyche, it reveals that Hamlet relates deeply to the elements of humanity.

Because of the anger Hamlet feels at his mother’s remarriage he compares his uncle to his father the late king Hamlet. His comparisons are quite harsh such as “Hyperion to a satyr” this classical allusion shows his prejudice against his uncle by considering his father a god and his uncle to be half goat. The comparison as well as others seen in

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.

Hamlet is undeniably an epic among all plays. Shakespeare’s command of storytelling and the meticulously sculpted layers of the play add to the sheer grandeur of the life of Hamlet and the multitude of forces acting against him. The complex dialogue, the magnificent story arches, and the archetypal themes are all essential to the understanding and enjoyment of Hamlet, but there is one particular subject matter that The Bard placed at the center of all the conflict and emotion of the play: grief. The Prince of Denmark’s burdened life after his father’s death is completely coerced by the tearing force of grief throughout his mental and emotional state of being. His purpose, his insanity, and ultimately his downfall stemmed from this encumbrance.

Much has been has been discussed of Hamlet’s madness and insanity. There have been endless arguments of whether his madness is feigned or unfeigned. Although, minimal arguments have been made about Hamlet’s pessimism. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare 's most pessimistic plays, and as such it delivers the message that in a fallen world, reality often fails to match the ideal. The human experiences held up for pessimistic contemplation in Hamlet includes death, grief, loneliness, insanity, loss of meaning in life, breakdown of relationships, and the corruption of the basic institutions of life. Hamlet, as the main character, is the embodiment of such pessimism throughout the play.

Depression is the first emotion that begins to sway Hamlet’s outlook on how he should respond to his father’s murder. The first appearance of Hamlet shows his inner turmoil and depressive thought that if, “Too too solid flesh would melt/ Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,” meaning that Hamlet wishes that his flesh was not so solid that death was such a difficult result to come by (1.2.129-30). The use of the impersonal terms “melt” and “thaw” both allude to the thought that Hamlet views his body more as a vessel than his actual being. Hamlet continues his soliloquy by questioning God’s Commandment against suicide; for if there were no consequences, Hamlet would willingly leave this “stale” world (1.2.131-34). By viewing the world in such a negative way, Hamlet is changing his mental state and conscience from one that acknowledges possible consequences and avoids the sinful act of suicide to one where any consequence is ignored for the world itself is “an unweeded garden” (1.2.135). This change of outlook is seen in Hamlet’s aside when he says, “A little more than kin, and less than kind,” where he openly states his distaste in his uncle and now step-father Claudius (1.2.65). Hamlet held great respect for his father’s ability to hold the throne with such confidence, and, for him to see Denmark fall into a state

In Act I, Hamlet expresses his intense grief for the death of his father and describes the world as an “unweeded garden” in his first soliloquy. Hamlet seems to be severely depressed and is lacking the motivation to do anything. However, when he learns of the details of his father’s murder, he becomes enraged and determined to avenge his death. In Act II, the reader is able to realize the change in Hamlet’s formerly desolate

From this the reader can infer that Hamlet wants to commit suicide but cannot act upon it because of it being forbidden by God. Shakespeare uses allusion to convey how Hamlet knows suicide is outlawed by God. As in the bible it is talked about how God frowns upon it and Hamlet in this case knows and does not want to rebel against this law set by God. Shortly after this Hamlet describes life as being “an unweeded garden” (1.2.135) After Hamlets father dying and his mother remarrying to his uncle, he says this to give us a visual of how he sees the world in its crooked and messy ways. This is another example of when Shakespeare uses a literary device of a metaphor by comparing Hamlet’s corrupted life with a corrupt unweeded garden.

Hamlet expresses his frustration with his mother for incestuously marrying Claudius by exclaiming, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” which names his mother weak. Hamlet explains his anger towards his mother with strong and sharp word choice like “little”, “discourse”, “unrighteous”, “dexterity”, and “incestuous” to show how bitter he is about his mother’s marriage (I.ii.149,152,156,159). The audience witnesses Hamlets dejected state of mind turn to infuriated

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.

Hamlet dives into what it means to be mortal in the very beginning of his soliloquy. Hamlet describes life as a mortal being in the early lines proclaiming “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” (III.1 58-59). The first line shows how Hamlet views life as a painful journey (slings and arrows indicates getting hurt) while simultaneously having little to no agency. By describing life with words such as “outrageous fortune” it indicates that one can not change their own fate, but rather cope with what fortune has in store. This is important terminology because agency is a key factor in Hamlet’s internal culpability for the task he was given to avenge his father by murdering his uncle.

Continuing, Hamlet is using a metaphor to describe his world as corrupt. His feelings can also be described as a cry for help. Hamlets love and respect for his father is shown as he compares him with his uncle, using the “Lord of Sun” Hyperion as his father and his uncle as a satyr.

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

Hamlet is an intensely cerebral character marked by a desire to think things through and pick situations apart. As such, for the first three and a half scenes of Hamlet, Hamlet broods over his father’s death instead of taking action against Claudius, his father’s murderer. Hamlet finally acts because he experiences three intense emotional jolts that allow him to view his situation from a new perspective and spur him to action. Together, these emotional experiences alter his personal philosophy about the nature of death and God’s relationship with creation, and compel him to finally take decisive action.

The death of King Hamlet effected many individuals lives to the point where great changes were made. Especially in regards to his son, Hamlet, who took the death – murder- of his father personally in both mental and emotional ways. By doing so, Hamlet portrays and experiences the death and loss of his father by acting out in manners in which magnify his isolation and alienated actions. These would include excluding and distancing himself, turning on those closest, and taking on measures one would never do so when thinking rationally or clearly.