Summary Of Hamlet's Soliloquy

This soliloquy takes place right after the first play Hamlet sees. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bring him to that play to cheer him up. These two are sent my Claudius and Gertrude to see the cause of his pain. Gertrude suspects that it is because of their rushed marriage and his fathers death, but no one is curtain. They hope he will at least see the play and get out of his depression/craziness. After watching the play he does not have a change of heart. Hamlet at this time is still pretending to be crazy, but his friends and family are not aware. Hamlet is also unpleased with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because he knows they are not truly there to comfort him;their alliance is to the king, the new king Claudius. Polonius also attended, still

In the beginning he talks about this world being a prison and how he is just a slave in it. He also cannot believe the talent and emotion coming from the Hecuba (players). “Tears in his eyes, distraction in 's aspect, a broken voice, and his whole function suiting with forms of his conceit? And all for nothing! For Hecuba (Act 2,Scene 2, lines 555-558). it is unbelievable that these actors, who are just reading lines, can merely think about an emotion and cry enough tears to drown the stage. And here he is not able to shed a tear thinking about his fathers murder. He starts to put himself down. He asks himself if he is a coward of somehow being bullied because he doesn’t understand the reason for his lack of emotion towards his fathers death. King Hamlet was a great man who had his castle, wife, son, and kingdom stolen from him. And what is his son doing about it? Nothing. That is Hamlets problem. He has done nothing to avenge his fathers death. The actors have more emotion then he and a servant is better then he. Hamlet uses this soliloquy to let his emotions out about how he needs to be a son that lives up to all his father has done (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 587-606). He needs to seek

“But I am pigeon-livr 'd and lack gall to make oppression bitter, or ere this I should have fatted all the region kites with thus slave 's offal”(Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 577-579). He also describes how he can 't even stand up for himself and how he lets people push him around using imagery. “Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face? Tweaks me by the nose? Gives me the lie I ' the throat, as deep as to the lungs”(Act 2, Scene 2, Line 573-575). He later calls himself a whore and unpregnant as insults to himself. Using this kind of language lets the reader know how depressed and sad he really is about hid fathers death. He is telling himself over and over that he is not good enough. Even the lowest of the low are accomplishing more than he is in life. He also adds many biblical allusions. He starts by comparing the ghost he saw to satan. “The spirit that I have seen may be the devil: and the devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me” (Act 2, Scene 2, Line 599-604). this is an interesting idea because it suggests the devil is behind Hamlets wicked schemes and