Hamlet: A Man of Many Qualities

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Hamlet: A Man of Many Qualities

Hamlet is a man of many different qualities and he reveals only certain

qualities to certain people. Hamlet draws his audience, the reader, into

noticing the different qualities that he has. His qualities are shown through

his conversations with other characters as well as through his soliloquies.

These words of wisdom and revealance help to distinguish how Hamlet feels about

each other character that he encounters. The phrases and speeches that Hamlet

addresses are both poetic and piercing. So when Hamlet is speaking, he is

constantly revealing his qualities which range from love, to respect, to hate.

Hamlet's most powerful qualities seem to be revealed through his conversation

with the people that he cares about, namely his family and friends.

The queen, Gertrude, is hamlet's mother and she is probably the living being

that he cares about the most. Unfortunately, one of Hamlet's qualities, which

is revealed in conversation with his mother, is a negative one and that is anger.

His quality is displayed through Hamlet's soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2, Lines

131© 161. Hamlet is angry at his mother for marrying a new husband, his uncle,

Claudius, so quickly after his father's death. This anger shines through in

such phrases such as "Frailty, thy name is woman!"(Act 1,Sc 2, L148) and "Like

Niobe, all tears."(Act 1, Sc 2, L151). At the end of his soliloquy, Hamlet

switches qualities from one of anger to one of fear. This is evident when

Hamlet states, "With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!", and "It is not, nor

it cannot come to good", and finally "But break my heart, for I must hold my

tongue"(Act 1, Sc 2 L157© 161). Hamlet expresses his fear for his mother's

hasty marriage. Hamlet realizes that his mother marrying his uncle can have no

good result. Respect is another quality that Hamlet displays in conversation

with his mother. This occurs when his mother asks him to remain at home rather

than return to school(Act 1, Sc 2, L120©121), which he agrees to do. This shows

that although he disagrees with his mother and her marriage, after such little

mourning for her husband, Hamlet Sr.'s, death, he still respects his mother and

will do what she asks.

Later in the act, Hamlet encounters another character who goes by the name of

Horatio. Horatio is a good friend, as stated in Act 1, Sc 2, L163, and the

first quality which Hamlet reveals is his respect for Horatio. In line 176 of

Act 1, Sc 2, Hamlet states "I know you are no truant.

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