Soliolquy in Shakespeare´s Hamlet and The Reverger´s Tragedy

Shakespeare’s Hamlet very much rests on major themes of death, revenge, action, and deception. Shakespeare uses a series of soliloquies in the play in order to convey these messages and present characters, Hamlet in particular, in a way that is in depth, contemplative, and known to the audience while hidden from the remaining characters. The soliloquies seen in Hamlet provide structure and depth to the play as a whole, creating and exemplifying dynamics between characters and action, and the way in which characters respond to differing situations, often bring an existential element of the conflict between two realities (life and afterlife). The audience also sees Hamlet’s own character come through very strongly in these soliloquies, and we see his internal struggles and turmoil with notions of life versus death, taking action, and seeking vengeance against his father’s murder. It is in these soliloquies that the audience sees into the inner thoughts of Hamlet and his reactions to the world around him. While not all soliloquies in Hamlet are Hamlet’s, for example Claudius’s, the combination acts as an outlet for understanding the motivations and thought processes behind the events that take place throughout the course of the play. For example, we see Hamlet and Claudius placed in opposition to each other and we discover their intentions thorugh their soliloquies. They act as a function to propel characters to action, and reflect back on that action (or lack there of) as a means of furthering the depth and development of each character as the play progresses. Even though a particular soliloquy is only spoken by one character, what they reveal in these inner reflections are reflective of the nature of the cast of characters as a wh...

Hamlet and his Soliloquies In Shakespeare’s Hamlet the reader finds a chain of soliloquies, seven in total, involving the protagonist and extending from beginning to end of the drama. In this essay let us examine the soliloquy-approach which the hero uses. Harry Levin comments on Hamlet’s penchant for soliloquies in the General Introduction to The Riverside Shakespeare: Comparably, Hamlet has been taken to task – or, perhaps more often, sentimentalized – for an alleged inability to make up his mind.

How Hamlet's Mental State Changes in the Soliloquies in Hamlet by Shakespeare In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” there are four major soliloquies that reflect the character of Hamlet. In this paper I will be analyzing and discussing how these four soliloquies reflect changes in Hamlet’s mental state; his changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the task of revenge that has been assigned to him. These four soliloquies are the backbones of the play, and they offer the audience a glimpse into Hamlet’s mind and thought processes.

The soliloquies expressed by many characters throughout the play, signify a critical point within the plot or change of tone. For example, Hamlet’s monologue in (II.ii.563-622), he is justifying his actions, reaffirming himself that what he is planning to do to seek revenge for his father’s death, is the best thing to do. In this speech, Hamlet states, “Is it not monstrous that this player here,/ But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,/ Could force his soul so to his own conceit/That, from her working, all his visage wanned.(II.ii.565-568)” These lines can be inferred as Hamlet is questioning his own state of mind and validity of his plan. Hamlet is questioning how can a player, who acts out false emotions, can truly “catch the conscience of the King”(II.ii.622). However, he believes that the creativity exuded from the soul(II.ii,568), can effectively allow a player to perform as if they are real emotions. Hamlet’s only concern is seeking revenge for his father’s death done at the hands of his uncle, Claudius, who now has the throne. The plot of the play to parallel to the real death of King Hamlet, allowing Hamlet to make Claudius feel uncomfortable and guilty(II.ii.578). Also, in this monologue, Hamlet states that the ghost of his father may have actua...

Soliloquy and Revenge in Hamlet The soliloquy is a literary device that is employed to unconsciously reveal an actor's thoughts to the audience. In William Shakespeare's, Hamlet, Hamlet's soliloquy in Act II, ii, (576-634) depicts his arrival at a state of vengeful behaviour through an internal process. Hamlet moves through states of depression and procrastination as he is caught up in the aftermath of the murder of his father and the marriage of his mother to his uncle. The soliloquy serves to effectively illustrate the inner nature of Hamlet's character and develop the theme of revenge.

A Shakespearean scene, with all of its intricacies and details, has the capacity to uncover the fundamental aspects of characters while acting as a space for precise language to lead the reader through multilayered themes, tensions, and ideas. Particularly in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, the dense, rippling text packs provocative and meaningful language within nearly every line to compose an intricate, seamless tragic play. Specifically in the first scene of Act 3, the actions, dialogue, and movements of each character involved creates a momentum of revelation for the reader regarding central character, Hamlet, and the breadth of his character. Every major, influential character of the play—King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and, of course, Hamlet—appears in 3.1 and every line of dialogue directly concerns Hamlet in one way or another. The scene exhibits the prince alone on stage in a soliloquy to illustrate his innermost thoughts, as well as in the presence of others; thus, the reader learns of Hamlet’s propensity to feel, think, or say one thing, while his actions do not always cohere with his thoughts or speech. In this way, one of Hamlet’s tragic character flaws lends itself to the aforementioned discord between thinking and acting, and the scene chronicles the ways in which his dissonance profoundly affects the major themes and characters of the play.

Although Hamlet has many significant soliloquies throughout the play, two show very different sides of Hamlet’s character to the naked eye. His “O all you host…” soliloquy portrays an enraged, passionate Hamlet while his “O, what a rogue…” demonstrates how Hamlet’s rationality has stopped him from taking action. Both soliloquies use dark diction, vivid, scholarly imagery and syntax to characterize Hamlet, and portray common Shakespearean themes of revenge and deception.

Hamlet's first words are rhetorically complicated, and also challenging and puzzling. Does he pretend to be flippant or boorish in order to keep his thoughts to himself, or to contain his pain? Or does he express rational criticism in savagely sarcastic comments spoken only to himself? Or is the energy of his mind such that he thinks and speaks with instinctive ambiguity? Words are restless within his mind, changing meaning, sh...

In Hamlet, the motif of a young prince forsaken of his father, family, and rationality, as well as the resulting psychological conflicts develop. Although Hamlet’s inner conflicts derive from the lack of mourning and pain in his family, as manifested in his mother’s incestuous remarrying to his uncle Claudius, his agon¬1 is truly experienced when the ghost of his father reveals the murderer is actually Claudius himself. Thus the weight of filial obligation to obtain revenge is placed upon his shoulders. However, whereas it is common for the tragic hero to be consistent and committed to fulfilling his moira,2 Hamlet is not; his tragic flaw lies in his inability to take action. Having watched an actor’s dramatic catharsis through a speech, Hamlet criticizes himself, venting “what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell… [can only] unpack my heart with words” (Hamlet 2.2.611-614). Seeing how the actor can conjure such emotion over simple speech, Hamlet is irate at his lack of volition and is stricken with a cognitive dissonance in which he cannot balance. The reality and ...

Does Hamlet stand alone? Does this magnate of English literature hold any bond of fellowship with those around him, or does he forge through his quandaries of indecision, inaction and retribution in solitude? Though the young Dane interacts with Shakespeare's entire slate of characters, most of his discourse lies beneath a cloud of sarcasm, double meaning and contempt. As each member of Claudius' royal court offers their thickly veiled and highly motivated speech Hamlet retreats further and further into the muddled depths of his conflict-stricken mind. Death by a father, betrayal by a mother, scorn by a lover and abhorrence by an uncle leave the hero with no place to turn, perhaps creating a sense of isolation painful enough to push him towards the brink of madness.