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 places as it creates a sense of impending evil.
In the second soliloquy Hamlet expresses his anger at the accession of his uncle Claudius and at his mother's hasty remarriage. Hamlet encounters the ghost of his dead father, who informs him that he was murdered by Claudius, and commands Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet is unsure whether the ghost he has seen is truly his father, and suspects that it might be an evil spirit impersonating him. He therefore sets out to test the king's conscience through feigning insanity, and by staging a play re-enacting the circumstances of the murder,
“The play's the thing,
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King”.
(Act II, scene II)
Shakespeare makes Hamlet end his soliloquy with two excellent lines as they round up the whole soliloquy; "the plays the thing, wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." This explains his idea because if the King's guilt shows he'll have more proof, and is also a positive sign as he starts to get a more stable state of mind. Also the last two lines are rhyming couplets, which create the audience to react in such a way that Hamlet has somewhat a stable mind.
Hamlet’s melancholic language in his first soliloquy, "But break, my heart," is in stark contrast to the determination and triumph in his second soliloquy "yes, by heaven!”. Furthermore, the structures in both soliloquies have some comparisons. In both soliloquies there is the use of broken syntax to show the raw emotion in Hamlet’s voice. In his first soliloquy, "But two months dead - nay, not so much, not two" the use of broken syntax shows how heartbroken and upset Hamlet is.
The most famous soliloquy, "To be or not to be" is a question that set the audience thinking. This is Shakespeare making Hamlet question his existence. It relates to the theme of corruption. Hamlet is asking himself if there is any point of him existing. This seems to be the case when Claudius and Polonius are spying on him. But when scrutinized it could be that Hamlet knows of the spying and is saying this just to confuse Claudius and Polonius more. This is very clever because although it seems like he is mad he is, in actual fact, not.
The suggestion of death occurs throughout Hamlet’s third soliloquy and the cruelty of life is victimized by fortune. "To die, to sleep", sleep is a metaphor for death. Hamlet uses violent imagery to represent his thoughts, "The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". He uses a metaphor "a sea of troubles" to symbolize the variance in his mind. Repetition of the word "Sleep" demonstrates Hamlet procrastinates, and is reluctant to kill his uncle. He is trying to escape from the problems and promises that await him. Hamlet compares life to a calamity, "That makes calamity of so long life". His words are punctuated with sorrow, "mortal coil". Hamlet is comparing his duties to time's brutality "whips and scorns of time".
Hamlet also expresses the longing to return to dust, a precursor of his later soliloquy where he contemplates the same idea. We feel a real sense of Hamlet's disturbed nature; whether he is actually mad or not is debatable, but that he is troubled by the weight of responsibility to avenge his father’s death is unquestionable. The mention of the "quintessence of dust" is not fully expanded on at this point, but is effective in illustrating Hamlet's mental decline. He questions whether "to be or not to be" and expresses a longing for the "sleep of death", but a fear "of something after death", preventing such actions.
Hamlet’s sentences are generally short and disjointed in this soliloquy, “To die, to sleep” showing Hamlet's mood is agitated and he is distressed. Iambic pentameter is used in both the second and third soliloquies because it is a recognized poetic device and can reflect normal speech, which is the way Hamlet is supposed to be speaking. In the second soliloquy Shakespeare again includes lots of dramatic pauses to break up the speech and also to give a climax to what Hamlet will say next.
The sentences are long in the third soliloquy, because Hamlet is almost talking to himself and so does not slow down or pause very often and so he rambles on, because his thoughts are “running away from him” uncontrolled. Also, in this soliloquy Hamlet is philosophizing about death and what's after death and so he does not speak as he would if somebody else was there. The soliloquy is more realistic because if it rhymed then it would have to have been already thought up and it is supposed to be spontaneous. The sentences are rather disjointed showing Hamlet, at this moment in the play, as a slightly “mad” character. In this speech Hamlet repeats the words “To die, to sleep” which helps to show that even though Hamlet tries to talk about something other than suicide he cannot help thinking about death as something as peaceful as sleep because that's what he wants to think.
The use of comparison between death and sleep shows that Hamlet is considering death and he hopes it will be peaceful like sleep. But as he considers death “for in that sleep of death what dreams may come…must give us pause”, he wonders what happens after you die and if it is worse than the problems he has now and so because of that he has to stop and think about what to do, this shows that he is indecisive over this matter. The imagery, “slings and arrows of fortune”, shows that Hamlet thinks he has been almost attacked individually by fortune and he feels he is vulnerable. Also, Hamlet questions the point of life because everyone dies eventually and he says that humans are subject to lots of hurt. Hamlet compares after death to an “undiscovered country” where “no traveler returns”, showing that Hamlet realizes that death is a one way process where there is no turning back. He then goes on to say that "conscience does make cowards of us all", our conscience only confounds us from taking action, implementing that thoughts prevent us from taking action.
Hamlet in the third soliloquy uses distasteful language to offend Ophelia “their currents turn awry”, indicating to the reader that he has to be cruel in order to be kind. Hamlet conveys an appearance of anguish, which could possibly mean that the renunciation of love for revenge has become deeper and gradually turned into disgust with his mother and all women.
The loss of faith in one woman extends to the loss of faith in all women and the loss of faith in all mankind. Hamlet can be seen as an ordinary man in pursuit of revenge.
Hamlet's soliloquies reveal his frustration with life. This particular feeling of his is exemplified when he humiliates himself, "a rogue and pleasant slave am I". Most of the essence created is through the use of language, "in a fiction, in a dream of passion". "Coward and Villain" are contrasting words. Hamlet exaggerates when he says that he would "drown the stage with tears".
He uses a string of questions, "Am I a coward? Who calls me a Villain? Breaks my pate across?”. He uses animal imagery when he describes himself as a "muddy-mettled rascal". Hamlet’s soliloquy is stimulated with different emotions. He uses imagery of lust. His mother's actions have colored his thoughts, "Heaven and hell" are contrasting words. The ghost has given him a suggestion of revenge. He uses alliteration in the phrase "Bloody, bawdy villain". "Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain", a sequence of adjectives is used to show how deeply he condemns Claudius, and this particular line emphasizes his hatred. He calls himself a "whore" as he is unable to avenge his father's death. Hamlet is determined to take revenge for his father's death and is willing to acquire the power of a "devil".
In the play, there are certain scenes where the reader knows Hamlet's intentions for sure. On the other hand, there are scenes where the reader is forced to assume his intentions. We know his intention when the play that he directed was taking place, but the conflict is that we do not know if that was his only intention throughout the entire story. When Hamlet is acting mad, he does not express any clues to the reader as to what his intentions are, which forces us to assume the intentions. We know that Hamlet at least acts mad, but he never expresses his intentions when in public.
If the reader evaluates Hamlet's actions in detail, one can find that there may be logic behind Hamlet's variation of personalities. Only around his loyal friend, Horatio, is when Hamlet acts as himself. Horatio knows about at least one of Hamlet's intentions, which is to avenge his father's death.
Whether Hamlet acted insane, acted calm, acted ridiculous, or even if he really was insane, he confused the reader. After reading this play, we cannot conclude Hamlet's one, true personality and his intentions throughout the play. His various actions and moods tell the reader that his soliloquies are the only source of information from Hamlet's true self.