The way the language is disjointed and jumps around between thoughts would be in character with new grief. He can’t think straight whilst grieving. His thoughts are constantly interrupted by the time issue “My father’s brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules: within a month (155)”
He uses a metaphor to demonstrate the corruption in Denmark. “ ‘tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed;”
I believe the audiences reaction to be empathetic towards his feelings. They would be fascinated by the wrongful deeds spoken of “incestuous sheets!” it ends with a cliffhanger “for I must hold my tongue.”
In the second soliloquy the context is that he now presumes his father’s death to be a murder committed by his uncle Claudius, so his state of mind shows his hopelessness. “And can say nothing; no, not for a king (574).” His lack of self worth. “I am pigeon-liver’d and lack gall (583)” he puts himself down “what an ass I am (589)”
He is revealing he can’t put any action in revenging his father’s death but can only talk about it. “Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must like a whore, unpack my words (591)”
Suddenly his state of mind changes for the better as he hatches his plan to reveal if Claudius is truly guilty of murder, and that then he has no reason for not avenging his father’s death. “If he but blench. I know my course.” This has changed his state of mind to allow him to refocus on revenge.
In his language Shakespeare uses a linguistic device of personification of murder “though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ (600)”
I believe that the audience would be hoping that Hamlet’s plan would work to see what Hamlet might do next. They might also sympathize with him and it might remind them of a time when they had wished for revenge and not acted upon it.
In the third soliloquy Shakespeare has put Hamlet into the context of him weighing up the pros and cons of suicide verses living. Hamlet cannot manage to deal with his own lack of action towards revenge for his father’s death, even when he feels so strongly towards doing so.
Throughout this soliloquy Shakespeare uses metaphors for dramatic effect to show how Hamlet is philosophising on weary life verses the release of death. “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (65).” “When we have shuffled off this mortal coil (75).”
Hamlet’s state of mind is once again disheartened. “take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them (67).” He’s considering the advantages of suicide. (He’s having intense mood swings between optimism and hopelessness in the soliloquies.) Uncertain whether he would get peace in death “in that sleep of death what dreams may come (74)?” Shakespeare uses a linguistic device of imagery to intensify Hamlet’s emotional state of mind. “and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of (89)?”
I believe Hamlet is expressing that people put up with troubles of life because they are afraid of God’s consequences for committing suicide.
“thus conscience does make cowards of us all; (91)”
The audience might react by thinking upon their own religious beliefs and what would sit right with their own conscience. In Elizabethan times the church regarded suicide as a mortal sin. Even in contemporary times euthanasia (ending one’s life because of unbearable pain) is still illegal. I would think this is because we are unsure of the repercussions in a hoped for after-life. To persevere with terminal fatal pain would otherwise be illogical.
In the fourth soliloquy the context is that Hamlet’s plan succeeded and the Mousetrap play revealed the guilt of Claudius in murdering his father.
His state of mind is thrilled, energized and ready for revenge at the beginning. “now could I drink hot blood (382).” His mind is full of wicked thoughts. “hell itself breathes out (381).” After that a short brief surge of confidence he goes back to procrastination because of the simple reason Claudius has gone to bed and is unavailable to be murdered. He then focuses on making his mother confess her guilt.
Shakespeare uses exceptionally powerful imagery here. I repeat the same quotes because I think they put such a vivid picture in the audience’s mind “now could I drink hot blood (382)”, “hell itself breathes out (381)”, “witching time of night (380). ”Shakespeare uses these words to reinforce and enhance the audience’s ideas of dark, wicked, evil doings with human blood.
The audience would probably react by being very excited at first. They would believe that he was going to finally commit murder because of the intense language he uses. ’’witching time of night 380.’’ ‘’ Now could I drink hot blood (382).’’ I think they would then be disappointed at Hamlet’s lack of commitment to do his “bitter business (383).” I think they would get ‘indigestion’ over his weak actions. They might be irritated that he is focusing on his mother in a pretence that he is actually doing something about revenge. Hamlet finds it easier to
become a ’player’ himself than a murderer even though he has the proof he thought would propel him to really murder Claudius.
In the fifth soliloquy the context is that Hamlet has got his courage up again to murder but now Claudius is praying!
Hamlet’s state of mind is back into procrastination because now he can’t justify murder whilst his victim is in prayer. “to take him in the purging of his soul, when he is fit and season’d for his passage? No! (90)” Hamlet doesn’t want to take the chance that Claudius will to go to heaven instead of hell he will wait until he sees Claudius in act of lasciviousness. (Desire of wrong doing) “when he is drunk asleep, of in his rage, (94)”
Shakespeare uses language for once again self-doubt. “O, this is hire and salary, not revenge.” Hamlet has yet another excuse to not get the dutiful revenge he has imposed unconvincingly upon himself.
The audience reaction could be, why more delay? Get on with it!
The sixth and final soliloquy has a context that is crucial to the audiences’ understanding of his character development. He finally accepts the immoral act of murderous revenge as his necessary duty.
Hamlet’s state of mind is such that he has driven himself mad with tormenting himself on his never- ending debate of murder or not. ”How all occasions do inform against me, and spur my dull revenge (35).”
Language - knows he’s thinking too much about committing his deed. “bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple of thinking too precisely on the event (44).” He still thinks himself to be a coward “ a thought which quarter’d hath but one part wisdom, and three parts coward (45)”
I think the audience would now expect him to go mad with so much deliberation. At this point I think they have given up believing that Hamlet will ever kill anybody.
In conclusion this Elizabethan revenge tragedy does follow the tradition of the Greek plays but with a delayed revenge. Hamlet’s ghost of his father wants him to kill his uncle and send him to hell, but by killing someone himself just as his uncle has done this could send him to hell, which could be a reason for his enormous amount of delays. Hamlet has a mental conflict as he is unsure of murder because he is not sure if there is an after life or not BUT all his thoughts and actions are the result of a conversation with his father’s ghost which is evidence of an afterlife!
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