The Speech Opens With Hamlet 's Suicidal Desires

The following are journal entries for our reading of Hamlet. Each entry should be completed after we have finished reading and/or viewing that scene in class. The purpose is to prepare you for class discussion; therefore, you should have something written for each entry before we discuss it in class (even if it’s only a question). See Ms. M with questions ahead of time – don’t expect to be given answers in class! Be sure to cite textual evidence to support all your answers – remember to record act, scene and line numbers.

Based on the play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, suicide is the most prevalent and important themes in Hamlet. Hamlet always asks himself for the reason to stay alive. Even though he always thinks that there is no reason for him to stay alive, however he always chooses to stay. The first reason Hamlet seems to contemplate suicide is because his life is contaminated by sins and revenge. The other reason he is thinking about suicide is because he is young and immature. Young adults usually look for escapes when they become angry with things. There are many instances where Hamlet contemplating suicide and he treats the idea of suicide morally, religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important statements about suicide: the “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (I.ii.129–158) and the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy (III.i.56–88).

In this soliloquy Hamlet is all alone. He would not reveal false information to himself, if no one were around. If he truly were putting on an act, this scene would be around other people. He is thinking alone, with depressing thoughts in his mind. Hamlet is unsure at this point whether he is ready to die, or not. He knows nothing of the afterlife and is scared of what may come next.

His rule will lead to the fall of Denmark. Another important point in this quote is that through the metaphor Hamlet sees Denmark as being completely taken over by things that are rank and gross like the corruption of characters like Polonius and Claudius. This passage is very important in Hamlet because it is the first reference to a garden in dismay and more importantly, it references to the horrible condition that Denmark is in.

Hamlet continues on and almost complains on the state of the world, calling it stale, flat, and unprofitable, showing how truly miserable he is. Hamlet considers suicide as a possible option of escape from his life in a painful world, but feels as though religion is preventing him from doing so. Hamlet then provides us with the roots for his pain and the reason for his contemplation of suicide. Hamlet is is troubled by his mothers marriage to Claudius, but especially how quickly the two were married after his father's death. He continues to express his dislike and hatred for Claudius calling him a satyr, while praising his father and saying how excellent of a king his father was. In one of the final lines of the soliloquy Hamlet comments on how the marriage is a bad omen for Denmark, "It is not, nor it cannot come to good," (I. ii. 163). For the first time we are introduced to the idea of suicide which will continue to present itself as the play develops.

Hamlet, the eponymous hero of Shakespeare’s greatest work, descends swiftly into madness and paranoia after the murder of his father and the realization of his mother’s true, morally reprehensible, nature. As a result of these new responsibilities and extreme circumstances, Hamlet diverges from his usual, logical thinking into paranoia and over analysis, a condition that prevents him from trusting anyone. Hamlet, having been born a prince, is, for the first time, forced to make his own decisions after he learns of the true means of his father’s death. Another contributing factor to his madness is the constant probing of others into Hamlet’s sanity. These factors all contribute to Hamlets delay, and that delay contributes to the tragic

“Hamlet’s soul is an empty vase that gives place to nothing” (Cutrofello). Following his father’s death, Hamlet feels life has little meaning, he feels hopeless and believes there is no longer any thing good or worth living for in life. As he describes in Act 1, “ How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world... “Tis an unweeded garden...” (1:1, lines 136-139). In this line, Hamlet is explaining that comparing life after his father’s death to a garden that is overgrown and dead; unweeded, flat and stale. “The last and deepest source only reveals itself at the point in which all our foundations have been destroyed” (Carr). This quote expresses perfectly what Hamlet is feeling, he lost one of the most important figures to him, which ultimately caused his madness and insanity later in the play. The “source” that was revealed after his foundation, his father, was lost was Hamlet’s sense of mortality. Hamlet’s sense of his own mortality can be seen at various points through the play, for example, Hamlet expresses suicidal tendencies in a famous

In this paper I will be analyzing and discussing how these four soliloquies reflect changes in Hamlet’s mental state; his

Hamlet’s first soliloquy comes in act one scene two, as Hamlet reflects on the current state of events. The chief focus of this soliloquy is essentially the rottenness of the king, queen and the world in general. In this passage the reader is introduced to Hamlet pseudo-obsession with death and suicide, which later will become a chief point of indecision. In this particular speech, however, Hamlet is fairly confident. He wishes that his “too too sullied flesh would melt”

In the soliloquy “To be, or not to be: that is the question” spoken by Hamlet, he discusses his views on death (III.i.56). In this scene he is contemplating his thoughts on suicide, death, life, and the afterlife as he awaits his meeting with Claudius. He reflects on whether the afterlife will have the same problems as his current life. He also shares his thoughts on death in another scene where he is a graveyard. Hamlet basically says you die and become food for the worms and then you are nothing in these lines “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returned into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam” (5.i.209-211). He gives so many details on life and death, yet he is the one causing so many of the deaths that occur within the play. If it were not for him seeking revenge for his father’s death then so many of the events that

Shakespeare introduces suicide as a tantalizing possibility; however, Hamlet ultimately deems it to be unacceptable because of his Christianity. Hamlet fixates on the prospect of killing himself throughout the play. As early as the second scene, he exclaims “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” (Shakespeare 1.2.129-132). At this point, Hamlet is still unaware of his Uncle’s treachery and yet he still feels such deep despair that he considers suicide. Although religious mandates constrain Hamlet from taking his own life, he still wants to. His troubles are so overwhelming that he is unable to ignore the possibility. Later in the play, he remarks “to die, to sleep--/No more--and by a sleep to say we end/The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks that the

When your back is against a wall and it seems that all hope is lost, do not give up. Because if you choose suicide, you will never live to see it get worse, however, you also pass up the chance to see life get better. Suicide is an important, recurring theme in William Shakespeare's, Hamlet, and it is a topic that Hamlet contemplates quite often throughout the play. Hamlet often goes back and forth between to be or not to be, but continues to believe that people although capable of suicide, choose to live. Hamlet is adamant that the unknown, the inconclusiveness of nobility, along with the sin attached to suicide is what ultimately keeps people from taking their own lives.

Naturally then, the tragedy of Hamlet with Hamlet left out has become the symbol of extreme absurdity; while the character itself has probably exerted a great fascination, and certainly has been the subject of more discussion, than any other in the whole literature of the world. (94)

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we are introduced to this character in Act 1, Scene 2, who seems eloquent and confident. Since this is Claudius’ first appearance, we can assume it to be his inaugural speech as it is his first address to the people since the death of King Hamlet. As such, this oration is key to establishing his legitimacy to the throne via hitting all the right notes in his statement to the current issue at hand. The interest in exploring Claudius, who now sits on the throne, is ignited by the fact that his dramatic opening speech has a feel of being carefully structured and well-rehearsed. Also, with the structure of the speech, comes the idea that he decides to address the death of King Hamlet, his brother at the same time with his marriage to the widow, who was the deceased King’s wife which seems unconventional as they are two events or situations that stand in opposite ends of a spectrum, one dealing with sadness and pain whereas the other deals with happiness and rejoicing. With this speech, he tries to create a façade that nothing is out of the ordinary. The analysis of this speech highlights the disparity that can exist between appearances and reality, something which becomes important to the plot. Also, it explores the contrast that exists in the ideas or the content of Claudius’ speech and how it affects both the courtiers and the audience. This analysis has led to my thesis of how Claudius’ speech contributed to the first impression that he made

An unweeded garden takes all the joy away from a garden that should be beautiful. Hamlet is still in mourning for his father's death, and what disturbs him most is that his mother has married his father's brother, as if she is not in mourning for his father any longer. In Act One, Scene Two, Hamlet's world is an unweeded garden at this moment: