An investigation into the ways in which the language and the subject matter of Hamlet's three soliloquies reveal the key concerns of the play.

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Hamlet Essay

Muna Mumin

An investigation into the ways in which the language and the subject matter of Hamlet’s three soliloquies reveal the key concerns of the play.

The most common portrayal of Hamlet is of a person seeking truth in order to be certain that he is justified in carrying out the revenge called for by a ghost that claims to be the spirit of his father. Other views see Hamlet as indecisive or even unwilling to carry out a duty of obligation to his murdered father.

The purpose of Hamlet’s soliloquies is to outline his thoughts and feelings, it reveals his innermost beliefs and offers an unbiased perspective as it is merely him talking to the audience, albeit not directly. Each soliloquy delves further into Hamlet's

motivations, or lack thereof, and psyche. Each soliloquy, each slightly different, is all

united by vivid imagery, introspective language, and discussion of Hamlet's delay of

action. Shakespeare reveals the key concerns of the play inevitably, meaning it touches on love, betrayal, murder and revenge, which where commonly found in plays around the time Hamlet was written.

Therefore, Hamlet's first soliloquy (Act 1, scene ii) is essential to the play as it highlights his inner conflict caused by the events of the play. It reveals his true feelings and as such emphasizes the difference between his public appearance, his attitude towards Claudius in the previous scene is less confrontational than here where he is directly insulted as a "satyr", and his feelings within himself.

In the first soliloquy Hamlet appears very distressed even contemplating suicide. He desires his flesh to "melt", and wishes that God had not made "self-slaughter" a sin. As dew does, Hamlet wishes to evaporate with the sunrise and leave his troubled kingdom behind. He says that the world is "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable". Stating that he thinks of life as nothing else but tedious and foul, which causes one to assume that he believes that it is better to die then live a life full of pain and agony. After describing his desires for death, Hamlet then continues to describe the state of his kingdom as an "unweeded" garden. Hamlet seems to view Denmark as a metaphorical Garden of Eden which is now totally corrupt, Perhaps Hamlet is to become the gardener and solve the infestation of corruption.

Hamlet's despair stems from his mother's marriage to his uncle and it is this that is the driving force behind what is communicated. His constant repetition of the time in

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which it took the two to get married, "But two months dead...yet within a month...A little month...Within a month...most wicked speed", suggests his disgust at the situation.

One instance it can be seen is in the first soliloquy "for I must hold my tongue" this shows that Hamlet cannot share his thoughts, therefore he must keep his feelings hidden behind his appearance. In comparison, in the second soliloquy Hamlet talks of Claudius  as a “smiling damned villain!" here he is implying the evil reality behind Claudius's genial appearance. This key theme of betrayal makes the play very dramatic in ...

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