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Hamlet and the struggle between emotion and reason
Hamlet's soliloquies analysis
Critically discuss the character of hamlet changes
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Recommended: Hamlet and the struggle between emotion and reason
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, the idea of rational action versus emotional action plays a big role. It is seen very clearly throughout the entirety of the play in various scenes, but specifically through Hamlet’s first soliloquy. Rational is defined as “based on facts or reason and not on emotions or feelings, and also as having the ability to reason or think about things clearly.”(Merriam-Webster) However, emotional is defined as “dominated by or prone to emotion.”(Merriam Webster) The two ideas are related for the fact that they both deal with emotion. The difference between the two will become clear as they apply to Hamlet and the shift Young Hamlet portrays, through his soliloquy, from rational action to emotional action.
Hamlet’s soliloquy is able to encompass his ever-changing feelings and emotions into one. There are examples of both rational and emotional action throughout its entirety. It develops all of Hamlet’s personal issues and also foreshadows what is to come throughout the rest of the play. The beginning of the soliloquy is of utmost importance because it shows not only Hamlet’s ability to think rationally, but it also shows an emotional side as well.
Hamlet: O that this too too sallied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the everlasting had not fix’d
His canon against [self-]slaughter! O God, God,
(1.2.130-132)
Through the first part of his soliloquy we see that he seems to be talking to God about the fact that suicide is a sin. It is inferable that Hamlet is contemplating suicide, which seems to be the first indicator of emotional action, but also rati...
... middle of paper ...
....2.146) The point Vanrigh is attempting to make is that Hamlet believes the reason that Gertrude married Claudius is because of her lustful desires or sensual weakness. All of these things described had a part in the emotionality of Hamlet, but his mother was the leading contender in why his transition occurred.
Works Cited
Wofford, Susanne Lindgren. William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's,
1994. Print.
"Rational." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
“Emotional.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
Crunelle-Vanrigh, Anny (1997). "'Too Much in the (Black) Sun': Hamlet's First Soliloquy, A
Kristevan View". Renaissance forum (1362-1149), 2 (2).
Levy, Eric. “The problematic Relation between Reason and Emotion in Hamlet.”
Renascence 53, no. 2 (winter 2001)
In the soliloquy, Shakespeare accentuates the shared characteristics between Hamlet and a submissive servant. Hamlet submits to his cowardice and falls victim to his tendency to reflect on his profound thoughts instead of acting upon them. Additionally, he accuses himself as a troublesome scoundrel. He views himself as a criminal although he had not done anything indictable yet. This metaphor introduces Hamlet’s perception in his current emotional state to the audience.
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.
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.
The soliloquy comes as something of a surprise after the conclusion of Act II, which displayed Hamlet as rational and determined, intent upon carrying out a positive action that, he was sure, would resolve all doubts relating to Claudius. Now he seems to have reverted back to the mood of the first soliloquy--the mood of the Prince who would welcome death, crushed as he initially was by his mother’s marriage to her brother-in-law. Our tragic hero is suffering from grief and this soliloquy is one of those violent mood swings typical of the depressed individual. With this in mind, his intellectual skepticism and honesty with himself, is commendable. Let us examine the beginning of his philosophical inquiries.
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.
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.
In this paper I will be analyzing and discussing how these four soliloquies reflect changes in Hamlet’s mental state; his
Soliloquies are one of the most important techniques used within Hamlet. Soliloquies give the audience a deeper insight into the emotions and mental state of the character. Shakespeare uses soliloquies to allow the audience to feel the depth of emotion in Hamlets character. In Hamlets perhaps most famous soliloquy he cries out, to be or not to be, that is the question/Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, /Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, /And by opposing end them (Act III, I, 56). This quote furthermore reveals a part of the story that would be otherwise hidden to the reader, for example, his state of mind and also his desire to commit suicide in order to escape the pain of his life. The readers response, in result, is altered as it is made clear that Hamlet is obviously struggling to come to ter...
Making decisions is a hard task as any hesitation as well as a lack of commitment can result in unsuccess and disappointing results. In Shakespearean plays, the hero consistently played a major part of the tragedy in which he/she has fallen to their demise. In Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet is on a mission to seek revenge for his father, King Hamlet and kill his brother King Claudius. Hamlet has displayed his desire for vengeance numerous times throughout the play but it is his uncertainty in his decisions that delays his plan of revenge, which in turn, also contributes to his own death. Revenge also plays a key role in the death of Hamlet as he struggles to simultaneously seek vengeance while satisfying his morals. Hamlet’s indecisiveness
Although Hamlet is a man of good educational status, often Hamlet acts solely on impulse rather than thinking logically by deciphering his emotions. For instance, in Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” soliloquy, Hamlet is contemplating whether to live or to die; in this case we can see how Hamlet is omitting the use of his judgment upon making the decision of whether to live any longer. Hamlet takes into account all the pangs he has experienced in his life; he believes that suicide is the fastest and easiest route to take out of the ...
The way that Shakespeare portrayed Hamlet’s soliloquy touches on a global issue of suicide. While Hamlet considers his suicidal thoughts it reveals inklings about his character. Hamlet’s soliloquy advances the tone of the play because of how melancholy and sad Shakespeare portrays it to be.
Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
Soliloquies help to establish a vital part in a play, which is to reveal the character’s emotions and thoughts. Not only does it effectively do that, but also deepens the plot and creates a strong atmosphere for any play. Without soliloquies, plays would lack depth and length, along with various key elements. No doubt, the soliloquy is the most powerful instrument into discovering the deepest thoughts of a character. Hamlet without soliloquies would have a far different effect. The soliloquy gave the depth and emotion needed to reveal Hamlet’s true internal conflicts.
Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.