A soliloquy is a speech made to the audience by a main character in a play. There are seven soliloquies in Hamlet of which I have studied three.

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A soliloquy is a speech made to the audience by a main character in a play. There are seven soliloquies in Hamlet of which I have studied three. The soliloquies are used to get into the mind of Hamlet. It is a psychological drama so what’s going on in his mind is very important to the story. It also shows his isolation.

Hamlet’s first soliloquy introduces Hamlet. It is set at court and takes place before Hamlet knows his father, the king, has been murdered. The court has departed and Hamlet is left by himself. The change in between the noise and the quiet and emptiness in which he now finds himself, amplifies his isolation. Hamlet is annoyed at the way everybody has got over his father’s death and has stopped mourning really quickly. This is shown in the argument he has with Claudius over wearing mourning clothes. Hamlet is the only person in court still wearing them.

This soliloquy shows what Hamlet thinks of his family. It shows his hatred of his uncle, how much he is disgusted by his mother and how much he idolised his father. The corruptness continues the theme of there being something wrong with the manner of his father’s death.

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Early in this soliloquy  Hamlet thinks of killing himself but ‘canon’, God’s law, forbids suicide. He says “solid flesh would melt.” He is wanting his life to just melt away to nothingness.  Hamlet thinks that his life is going nowhere and he is going nowhere in life. It is “unprofitable.” He also sees his life as being foul or “stale.” He uses gross words to make it sound vile.

The second soliloquy that I will explain about takes place later the next day. It is set in the great hall of Ellsinore Castle. The play has done ...

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