It becomes clear in the middle of the soliloquy that Hamlet blames this corrupt situation on the hasty marriage of his mother to Claudius. In the passage, Hamlet likens his deceased father to Hyperion, who was a Titan God in Greek mythology. Then Hamlet likens the new king, Claudius, to a “satyr” which was in those days used to describe a grotesque half-man half-goat. Hamlet's reference to his dead father as Hyperion and to his uncle Claudius as a satyr illustrates Hamlet's contempt for Claudius. His father is godlike while his uncle is bestial.
In this soliloquy Hamlet also shows contempt for his mother. He implies that his mother and father were very close, and yet within a month she has re-married. He confirms his ill feelings towards his mother by announcing, “frailty, thy name is woman”. Near the end of his speech Hamlet tells the audience that the marriage between his mother, Gertrude, and her brother in-law, Claudius is incestuous and that her mother was quick to enter “incestuous sheets”.
In the last two lines of the soliloquy gives the audience a warning of things to come by saying “It cannot come to good… I must hold my tongue” and leaves the audience with the feeling that something is rotten in the state of Denmark!
The second of Hamlet’s soliloquies comes just after he has spoken to his father’s ghost. His father’s spirit has told Hamlet from beyond the grave of his murder at the hands of Claudius.
In this soliloquy Hamlet seems eager to avenging his fathers death. At this point he tells himself that he is more than ready to kill Claudius. He mentions in the soliloquy “Thy commandment alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” meaning that he will only think about the task of killing Claudius and nothing else. However we find out as the play goes on that this is not the case. Hamlet is too much of a thinker, but rarely carries out his actions. Another man may have gone up to Claudius and killed him at that moment, but hamlet’s hesitancy causes all the death and suffering that carries on throughout the play.
The third soliloquy is later in the play, when Hamlet has started to act strangely, almost madly, around others. Ophelia has gone to her father, Polonius, to explain how Hamlet had been acting very strangely towards her, so Polonius then visited Hamlet and he acted much the same towards her father. He uses sexual references to Ophelia and double entendres.
Hamlet also shows growing self-disgust in this soliloquy, saying such things as “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I” and “Am I a coward?”. This self-loathing continues in other soliloquies.
Then at the end of the soliloquy Hamlet gives the audience a taste of things to come and shows his intentions. He has devised a plan to verify whether or not Claudius is guilty of the murder. He will show the royal court a play that depicts the exact murder of Hamlet’s father, and watch Claudius’ reaction. He tells the audience “The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king”.
The next of Hamlet’s soliloquies is one of the most famous passages in the play. In the soliloquy Hamlet shows self-loathing, and melancholy, and is contemplating suicide.
“To be, or not to be, that is the question”. The opening line shows hamlet contemplating suicide, showing the audience the extent of his depression.
Then by saying, “to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune… And by opposing end them” he is saying that if you can’t suffer them you must end your troubles with suicide.
He then shows his doubts about killing himself when he says, “aye, there’s the rub”. He is saying that the impediment to suicide is that you don’t know “what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil”. There is no way to be certain what will happen after death, and Hamlet is well aware that suicide is looked upon by the church as a mortal sin.
He also shows his fear that there is no way back from suicide when he refers to the “undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns”. The language used at this part of the soliloquy would have shown the audience the torment Hamlet was going through, and they would have been in suspense to see whether or not the would actually kill himself.
Then towards the end of this self-judgement and contemplation he realises the true fault of his persona – he decides that too much thinking stops us from acting. He confirms this when he says, “the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought… And lose the name of action”.
Then at the end of the soliloquy, he tells himself that Ophelia is the reason for him to stay alive. This suggests that despite his ill behaviour towards her, he still actually loves her.
The fifth soliloquy is a short passage to tell the audience his intentions concerning his mother.
Hamlet uses brutal language in this soliloquy, and makes references to the witches’ Sabbath, when they perform evil rites conjuring up the devil and drinking human blood. This brutal language is not in keeping with Hamlet’s character, and so will have made the audience aware of the rage and anger that was building up inside him.
Hamlet’s aim is not to hurt Gertrude, as he shows when he says, “Let me be cruel, not unnatural: I will speak daggers but use none”. He intends to scorn his mother but not hurt her, as the ghost of his father had told him not to hurt Gertrude. This builds the audience up to expect some kind of confrontation between Hamlet and his mother.
The sixth of Hamlet’s soliloquies is when Hamlet is given a blatant opportunity to kill Claudius. The murderous king is kneeling, praying in the chapel, and Hamlet has the perfect time to strike. But yet Hamlet thinks too much and somehow persuades himself to not kill Claudius. The soliloquy shows Hamlet reasoning with himself and ultimately deciding not to kill him just yet.
In the soliloquy Hamlet tells himself, “A villain kills my father, and for that, I his sole son do this same villain send To heaven”. This tells the audience that Hamlet doesn’t want to kill Claudius when he has just confessed his sins in the chapel, as this might send him to heaven. Again, Hamlet has found another excuse not to kill Claudius.
Hamlet tells himself (and the audience) that he will kill Claudius when he is “drunk asleep, or in his rage, Or in th’incestuous pleasure of his bed” so that he will die with a soul “as damned and black As hell whereto it goes”.
Then at the end of the soliloquy, after hamlet has exited the stage, Claudius says “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below, Words without thoughts never to heaven go”. This means that he wasn’t actually truly sorry for his sins, and he would not receive forgiveness from God. This is an ironic twist, and the audience now see that Hamlet should have killed him then and there, instead of putting it off once more.
The seventh and final soliloquy comes after Hamlet has seen Fortinbras’ army that are on their way to attack Poland for only a worthless bit of land. Hamlet comes to the conclusion that Fortinbras must be fighting for his honour rather than for the prize of a small unprofitable piece of land.
Hamlet's Final soliloquy is crucial to our understanding of his character development. By the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet brings to a halt his solemn contemplation on his revenge, and finally accepts it as his necessary duty.
In the soliloquy Hamlet accuses himself of forgetting his father in “bestial oblivion”, and identifies his problem as “thinking too precisely on th’event”.
Hamlet then mentions Fortinbras in the soliloquy. He shows his admiration the man when he says, “To all that fortune, death and danger dare, Even for an egg-shell” meaning that he admires Fortinbras for going to the danger of battle for no more than an insignificant prize and his honour. It is apparent that he wishes he were more like Fortinbras, a man of action rather than a deep thinker. He compares himself with Fortinbras, and comes to the conclusion that he is a coward for letting everything sleep even though he has had “A father killed and a mother stained”.
At the end of the final soliloquy Hamlet decides once and for all that his thoughts “be bloody or be nothing worth”. He has come to the conclusion that his thoughts are worth nothing unless they are thoughts of murderous revenge.
In conclusion I have enjoyed studying Hamlet’s soliloquies. They shed light on different aspects of Hamlet’s character, and help convey his feelings to the audience. The soliloquies are especially effective as they help the audience keep up with the plot of the play and give them an insight into how the main character is feeling.
The soliloquies are important in this particular play because they let us see Hamlet’s thoughts. Hamlet is an intellectual rather than a man of action, so it is crucial that we are let inside Hamlets head to understand what he is thinking. If it weren’t for the soliloquies, the audience would have no idea what hamlet’s intentions were when he was commissioning the play, or when he was contemplating suicide, or when he was putting off the murder of Claudius those numerous times!
To understand the plot of hamlet you must first understand Hamlet’s character, and that is exactly what his soliloquies enable us to do.