The Use of Soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

440 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Corruption theme in hamlet

The Use of Soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

The first Soliloquy of Hamlet appears in act one scene two. It falls after Claudius and Gertrude announce their marriage to the kingdom, and before Horatio and Marcellus tell Hamlet about seeing the ghost. Shakespeare loads this Soliloquy with stylistic devices that help introduce themes, show conflict, show character, and set the tone.

We first see a metaphor comparing Hamlet's flesh to melting ice. This indicates how depressed he feels. He wishes he could melt away and die, but he doesn't kill himself because it is against the law of the church. The apostrophe "O God, God," along with the personification of the world show the desperation and sadness of Hamlet. "Tis an unweeded garden," is the beginning of a metaphor that extends throughout the book. Shakespeare is comparing Denmark (in what is more seeable in later soliloquies) to Eden. This is the beginning of a major theme throughout Hamlet. That is the theme of corruption, and how it spreads.

Next we see that how great of a King Hamlet Sr. was compared to Claudius. This is done through the metaphor "Hyperion to a satyr." Shakespeare also uses alludes saying that the King would shield the winds from heaven from Gertrude's face. This displays the reader how loving a husband he was. Then a rhetorical question is use to show how painful all these memories are to him. Now we see a series of imagery and allusions of how Gertrude acted toward the King. To indication how short a period of time it was between the Kings death and Gertrude's remarriage we see an allusion of her funeral shoes not be old. Also a metaphor is used comparing her to a Niobe at the funeral, and an allusion saying a beast would mourn longer than she did. These two literary devices work together to help start another important theme in Hamlet. This is the theme of appearance vs. reality. Gertrude appeared to be mournful and sorrowed at her husband's death, but yet she marries his brother a month later.

Shakespeare then takes two metaphors (Hamlet to Hercules and the King to Claudius) and compares them. This shows how different and superior the King was to his brother. We see another allusion of Gertrude marring while the salt from her "Unrighteous tears," are still on her face.

Show More
Related

  • The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Less than two months after his father’s death, Prince Hamlet’s mother Gertrude gets remarried to his father’s brother Claudius, which upsets the prince immensely. During Hamlet’s first important soliloquy, he states

    Read More

  • Literary Devices Identified In Hamlet's Soliloquy

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare’s use of this literary device lets the audience question how Hamlet may go about in his whole ordeal. He is perplexed as to why he has not inflicted revenge on his uncle Claudius yet. He does not see an explicit intention to avenge his father that he should become a rogue and murder the new king. His overall perception of himself is that he is a pusillanimous coward. He would drown the stage with tears Hyperbole

    Read More

  • King Claudius Character Analysis Essay

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book Hamlet focuses on Prince Hamlet who is depressed. He was told to go home to Denmark from his school in Germany to be present at his father 's funeral but was shocked to find his mother Gertrude already remarried to his Uncle Claudius, the dead king 's brother. To Hamlet, the marriage is "foul incest." Worse still, Claudius has had himself crowned King despite the fact that Hamlet was his father 's heir to the throne. Various major characters such as Ophelia, King Claudius, Polonius, Prince Hamlet, Laertes, Horatio, and Gertrude, Ghost of Hamlet’s father, Fortinbras, Yorick, Guildenstern, and Rosencrants featured in the book but in this essay, I would be critically analyzing just one major character, “King Claudius”. I would analyze

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hamlet's Soliloquy

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    The interpretation of Hamlet’s, To Be or Not to Be soliloquy, from the Shakespearean classic of the same name, is an important part of the way that the audience understands an interpretation of the play. Although the words are the same, the scene is presented by the actors who portray Hamlet can vary between versions of the play. These differences no matter how seemingly miniscule affect the way in which someone watching the play connects with the title character.

    Read More

  • Soliloquies Essay - Claudius' Soliloquy in Hamlet

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Claudius' soliloquy about his remorse over his murder of Hamlet's father is important to the play because it's the one place where we learn how Claudius feels about what he has done. The rest of the play is all about how Hamlet feels about what Claudius has done, and I think it rounds out the play to get it from a different perspective.

    Read More

  • Exploring Hamlet’s State of Mind

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clearly, Hamlet’s concern for the Queen, his mother, is of genuine association to the death of King Hamlet. Within this solitary thought, Hamlet realizes the severity of his mother’s actions while also attempting to rationalize her mentality so that he may understand, and perhaps, cope with the untimely nature of the Queen’s marriage to Claudius. Understandably, Hamlet is disturbed. Gertrude causes such confusion in Hamlet that throughout the play, he constantly wonders how it could be possible that events would turn out the way they did.

    Read More

  • Soliloquy and Revenge in Hamlet

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's First Soliloquy Analysis

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet’s first soliloquy takes place in Act 1 scene 2. In his first soliloquy Hamlet lets out all of his inner feelings revealing his true self for the first time. Hamlet’s true self is full of distaste, anger, revenge, and is very much different from the artificial persona that he pretends to be anytime else. Overall, Hamlet’s first soliloquy serves to highlight and reveal Hamlet’s melancholy as well as his reasons for feeling such anguish. This revelation in Hamlet’s persona lays the groundwork for establishing the many themes in the play--suicide, revenge, incest, madness, corruption, and mortality.

    Read More

  • Essay On Hamlet's First Soliloquy

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    153-156). Hamlet makes an allusion to a character from Greek mythology, Niobe, who cried many tears, which turned out only to be crocodile tears. In comparing a mourning Gertrude to Niobe, Hamlet wonders what his mother’s real intentions are, if her sorrow was truthful or not. The theme of appearance versus reality plays in here as well, since Gertrude had appeared to love King Hamlet while he was alive, but her marriage to Claudius sends a different message to Hamlet. Hamlet’s distrust for those he was once close to begins, since the events following his father’s death have opened his eyes. This drives Hamlet’s motivation to cleanse the corruption that surrounds him, now that it has affected not only Denmark but his

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Tone of the To Be or Not to Be Soliloquy in Hamlet

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    This famous soliloquy offers a dark and deep contemplation of the nature of life and death. Hamlet’s contemplative, philosophical, and angry tones demonstrate the emotions all people feel throughout their lifetimes.

    Read More

  • Parent And Child Conflict In Hamlet

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude, this type of parent and child conflicts are somewhat common in some of Shakespeare’s plays. The events surrounding these characters must be taken into account as we watch the attitudes and personalities of Gertrude and Hamlet change as the play progresses. They have their own unique places in the story but do not always mesh well together when thrown into a conflict. Throughout the play hamlet struggles to keep his sanity. This is especially apparent after his father’s ghost visits him. The ghost tells him that his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius, who is the curre...

    Read More

  • Discussion of Hamlet’s State of Mind in His First Soliloquy

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    greatly pained at the loss of his father. It is also clear that he is

    Read More

  • Claudius' Speech

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Claudius begins his speech with an acknowledgement of Hamlet’s death and his own marriage to Gertrude. Claudius claims that the “green” memory of his “dear brother’s death” “befitted” Denmark to contract into “one brow of woe” (1.2). Despite Claudius’ affectionate reference to Hamlet, his hypocrisy is transparent. The colour imagery reveals the freshness of Hamlet’s death. The metaphor used suggests the kingdom is expected to unite and share the grief over its loss but the diction in “befitted” hints Claudius disapproval of expected mourning rites, causing the audience to doubt his sincerity. Furthermore, Claudius adds that “discretion fought with nature” causing him to think of Hamlet together with a “remembrance of [himself]” (1.2). The metaphorical conflict between “discretion” and “nature” contrasts Claudius’ hasty marriage to the expected mourning after Hamlet’s death. Moreover, in Claudius’ statement, the dependen...

    Read More

  • The Weakness of Characters in a Play

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet’s s mother, Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark married her brother in law, Claudius, after her husband, the previous King, Elder Hamlet, was murdered by Claudius. In reality, many people might consider Queen Gertrude as a blatant, characterless and a licentious woman because of her incestuous marriage to Claudius. If we analyze Gertrude’s character we should spring up with the idea that due to her husband’s sudde...

    Read More

  • The Purpose of Soliloquies in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Authors and playwrights often use many literary elements to help aid the audience in a further understanding of their play. An element used frequently in the play Hamlet is the soliloquy. Soliloquies hold a significant role in any play. A soliloquy can be defined when a character speaks to themselves, essentially the audience, revealing their thoughts. The function and purpose of these soliloquies in the play Hamlet is for the audience to develop a further understanding of a character’s thoughts, to advance the storyline and create a general mood for the play.

    Read More

More about The Use of Soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Open Document