A consideration of the extent to which, in Hamlet's soliloquies, Hamlet is presented by Shakespeare as thinking

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Ashleigh MacDonald

A consideration of the extent to which, in Hamlet’s soliloquies,

Hamlet is presented by Shakespeare as thinking “too precisely on th’ event.”

A university student, whose studies are interrupted by the death of his father, Hamlet is extremely introspective and philosophical.  Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, Hamlet becomes obsessed with confirming his uncle’s guilt before seeking the vengeance he swore he would attain.  Shattered by his mother’s “o’er hasty marriage” to Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, Hamlet becomes extremely cynical, perhaps even neurotic, about women in general.   As a result, he repudiates Ophelia, a woman he once claimed to love, in the harshest of terms.  Left alone, Hamlet is plagued by questions about his own mortality, the wisdom of suicide, and the afterlife; questions which cannot be answered with any great certainty.  Despite Hamlet’s extensive reflection, he is capable of acting impetuously; it is ironic that when taking action, it is with little or no predetermination.    

        One of the central tensions in the play comes from Hamlet’s inability to find any certain moral truths as he works his way towards revenge.  From the outset, Hamlet contemplates suicide, is angry with his uncle and feels disappointed with his mother’s actions, however, he fails to act on any of these emotions.  Even in his first encounter with his father’s ghost, Hamlet doubts its authenticity and his message to him, worrying whether he can trust his perceptions.  Because Hamlet is contemplative to the point of obsession, Hamlet’s decision to feign madness, ostensibly in order to keep the other characters from guessing the motive for his behaviour, will lead him at times, perilously close to actual madness.  However, Hamlet himself believes, “conscience does make coward of us all” and in comparison to other characters thinks:

…too precisely on the event-

A thought which quartered hath but one part wisdom,

And ever three parts coward.

Act 4, scene iv (41-43)  

        In Act 1, scene ii, Hamlet is still devastated at his father’s death and feels betrayed by the speed with which his mother re-married.  He also feels that Claudius is unworthy of filling his father’s position.  At this point, Hamlet is not aware that his father was murdered by his uncle, however, he is presented as the only character who is unwilling to play along with Claudius’s garish attempt to mimic a healthy court.  On one hand this may suggest Hamlet is the only honest character in the royal court, the only person of high standing whose sensibilities are offended by the events following his father’s death.  On the other hand, it suggests that he is  malcontent, someone who refuses to go along with the rest of the court for the sake of the greater good of stability.  In any case, Hamlet already feels, as Marcellus will later testify, that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” This too is something Hamlet fails to act upon, thinking about these problems only in personal and philosophical terms; he spends relatively little time thinking about threats to Denmark’s national security as prince and heir to the throne, some of which he helps to create through his own carelessness.  

        Hamlet’s first soliloquy occurs later in this scene. Hamlet has been asked to remain in Denmark against his wishes by his mother and stepfather and the audience learns of the extent of Hamlet’s despair as he contemplates suicide.  Although this soliloquy shows anger and rage, it demonstrates no proceedings on Hamlet‘s part.

        Hamlet wishes for his flesh to “melt”, and that God had not made “self-slaughter” a sin, as suicide seems a desirable alternative to living in a world, which is “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.”  Although he feels the world is painful to live in, he also feels the option of suicide is closed to him as it is forbidden by religion.  This may be a genuine reason for Hamlet not to commit suicide, however, it may also be that Hamlet is fearful of the uncertain existence of the afterlife, something we learn is a concern of Hamlet’s, later in the play.  Nevertheless, it is obvious to the audience that Hamlet is in an extreme state of depression, as apparent from his description of the world:

’tis an unweeded garden

That grows to seed, things rank and gross in nature

Possess it merely.

Act 1, scene ii (135-137)

The structure of the language within the soliloquy also demonstrates to the reader Hamlet’s emotional state.  Hamlet’s thoughts are not fluent; he often interrupts himself with his own expressive comments, as evident in the lines: “That it should come to this - But two months dead, nay not so much, not two -”  Shakespeare’s intent here is to emphasise Hamlet’s extreme distress, but the language also stresses the speed at which his mother re-married and Hamlet’s obvious distaste towards it.  Shakespeare demonstrates Hamlet’s building grief, making the rhythm accelerate as Hamlet’s thoughts resides on his mother’s actions.  As Hamlet becomes more distressed, his anger is displayed in the sibilance in the line, “O most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets.”  The audience can see the actor playing Hamlet, spitting these words out in his anger, thus emphasising Hamlets intense disgust at his mother’s marriage to Claudius.          

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        It is evident in this soliloquy that Hamlet is shattered by his mother’s decision to marry Claudius so soon after her husband, Hamlet’s father, has died.  This is the first glimpse of Hamlets’ shattered opinion of women, showing a particular obsession with what he perceives to be a connection between female sexuality and moral corruption, as suggested when Hamlet states, “Frailty, thy name is woman.”   This motif of misogyny occurs only sporadically throughout the play, but it is an important inhibiting factor in Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia and with his mother, Gertrude.  Hamlet describes the haste of her marriage ...

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