Shakespeare’s characterization of Hamlet changes through the course of the play. It is most evident in an examination of his soliloquies. The progression of Hamlet is from an innocent person to a murderous madman.
In Act II, Hamlet is blaming himself for many problems. He is angry with himself because he has done nothing with his plan to kill Claudius. It also bothers Hamlet he is not as emotional as the actor on the stage, who is portraying him. “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!/Is it not monstrous that this player here,/But in fiction, in a dream of passion,/Could force his soul so to his own conceit/That from her working all his visage wann’d,/Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,/A broken voice, and his whole function suiting. With forms to his conceit?”
In this soliloquy, he is questioning how other people become emotional. He asks what Hecuba means to the mere actor on stage, who cried because of her. He wonders what he would do, had the actor had the same reasons to cry as Hamlet had. He says:
“What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, /that he should weep for her?/What would he do,/Had he the motive and the cue for passion that I have? “
He answers his own questions. He says that the actor would “drown the stage with tears” and “cleave the general ear with horrid speech.” He does not talk about his mother at all in this soliloquy. He is, however, still disgusted by what has just happened. He hates Claudius and talks about him more in this soliloquy. He says:
“I should have fatted all the region kites/With this slave’s offal: bloody, bawdy villain!/Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!”
Towards the end of the play, he comes up with yet another plan to find out for sure if Claudius indeed murdered his father. He stops assaulting himself and starts to talk more declaratively about his new plan.
Even at the very start of Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act III, it is evident that he is in a more thoughtful mood.
“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? “
These are Hamlet’s well-known lines. He is not attacking himself in this soliloquy; rather he is contemplating an issue. He is talking about mankind as a whole, as opposed to himself personally.
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...
Polonius starts to question Hamlet’s sanity and soon enough, Hamlet begins to display this behavior more often and towards more people. Hamlet’s odd demeanor affects Polonius, when he later taunts Polonius by giving vague answers to his questions. For example, when Polonius asks Hamlet about what he reads, Hamlet responds saying “words, words, words” (2.2.210). Hamlet finds other ways to taunt him, such as calling him an old fishmonger, as well as indirectly insulting Ophelia by saying “your daughter may conceive, friend, look to ‘t” (2.2.202-203), meaning Ophelia, his daughter, could be pregnant. Besides Hamlet, other characters possess obvious facades. Claudius also exhibits a fake appearance towards his court and even Hamlet. Near the beginning of the play, Claudius addresses the court, saying how he marries his sister-in-law and how he feels sorrowful for “[his] dear brother’s death” (1.2.1). Claudius presents a facade when he reveals that he holds responsibility for King Hamlet’s death. Nevertheless, Claudius acts innocent and covers up his crime. Hamlet discovers Claudius’s guiltiness after watching the play; Claudius prays and asks for forgiveness for murdering his
In lines 565-572 he says, “is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream or passion, could force his soul so to his own conceit that, from her working, all his visage wanned, a broken voice, and his whole function suiting with forms to his conceit? And all for nothing! For Hecuba.” In the beginning of the soliloquy Hamlet is chastising himself, call himself names. He is comparing himself to the player. He does not understand why he cannot feel the same emotion that the player does. These lines display lots of self judgement from Hamlet. The player can bring such emotion, even bring tears to eyes for nothing, whereas Hamlet has a reason to feel this great sense of grief and cannot. He wonders how can the player display so mu...
In this paper I will be analyzing and discussing how these four soliloquies reflect changes in Hamlet’s mental state; his
One of the most difficult feelings is being a teenager - as some believe Hamlet to be - and not yet understand how you are supposed to react to certain situations. In act 2, scene 2, Hamlet sees one of the players perform a dramatic monologue to showcase his talents. His performance is very dramatic and filled with emotion. At the end of the scene in Hamlet's soliloquy, he reveals he cannot believe that an actor can muster up more emotion about a story than he can about his real life. "What would he do / Had he the motive and [ the cue ] for passion / That I have? He would drown the stage with tears" { 2. 2. 540-42 }. What if the player had on his mind what Hamlet does? Would he kill Claudius? Hamlet appears to conclude that indeed he wou...
...ter on Hamlet, in his soliloquy, is frustrated at how actors can freely express their emotions without fear. However, his goal of vengeance has taken over all other aspects in his life and therefore, he willingly sacrifices his freedom of expression.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
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.
The situations where Hamlet unexpectedly acts were not relevant to his task, such as the murder of Polonius. During the play rehearsal, Hamlet is shocked by the emotion poured out by the actor over Hecuba, whom doesn’t even exist. Hamlet, whose father was murdered, does not have as near the passion that actor had. Hamlet criticizes himself, saying, “A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak/ Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,/ And can say nothing” (Shakespeare 2.2 578-580). Hamlet calls himself a coward for not doing anything to avenge his father, but rather just staying depressed and weep all day. According to Bradley, “Hamlet was restrained by conscience or a mural scruple; he could not satisfy himself that it was right to avenge his father” (Bradley 4). Hamlet is aware of his constant delays, but still cannot ready himself to kill Claudius because of the excuses he continuously makes up. After criticizing himself, Hamlet sets up a plan that only prolongs his chance of killing Claudius. Hamlet says, “The play’s the thing/ Wherin I’ll catch the conscience of the King” (Shakespeare 2.2 616-617). Hamlet creates a play that reenacts a specific scene, which resembles Claudius murdering his father. Hamlet wants to see Claudius’s reaction to the scene, and confirm his guilty reaction. According to Eliot, “The delay in revenge is unexplained on grounds of necessity or expediency;
For being considered one of the greatest English plays ever written, very little action actually occurs in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The play is, instead, more focused on the progressing psychological state of its protagonist, after whom the play is name, and his consequent inaction. It is because of this masterpiece of a character that this play is so widely discussed and debated. Hamlet’s generality, his vagueness, his supposed madness, his passion, his hesitation, and his contradictions have puzzled readers, scholars, and actors for centuries. In this paper I will attempt to dissect this beautiful enigma of a character to show that Hamlet is much more self-aware than many people give him credit for and that he recognizes that he is an actor in the theatre of life. He understands and accepts the role he is given, he studies it carefully and thoughtfully, he rehearses and even converses with fellow actors, and he gives one final performance.
Thesis: Although most people believe that Hamlet is suicidal at his point in the play, it is not until this soliloquy where the audience actually learns of Hamlet’s ability to judge based on his emotion and logic. Hamlet’s ability to endure suffering allows him to realize how valuable and precious his life truly is.
Upon meeting his father’s ghost, he learns that Claudius killed his father, and that he must take on the task of avenging his death. This encounter changed who he is completely. He said that he will wipe away books, the past, and all of the things he was taught. He will live “within the book and volume of …brain”(a.1, sc.5, l.). He only will live through this purpose in life, and everything else is erased from his memory. He is possibly trying to shut down the part of him that knows right from wrong. His purpose his more important than all else, even if it means destroying on people along the way. He was on a mission that was larger than he had ever imagined. He was driven by grief and ambition.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
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.
Hamlet makes reference to the one deficiency that is his specific fault. Here again, Shakespeare attempts to justify Hamlet’s inability to act decisively. He writes, “As, in their birth, wherein they are not guilty (Act1 Scene 1 Line 26).