The alliteration produces a controlled tone in this sentence; the Prince knows he must hold back his feelings and shows his morality to the audience as he suggests he will not speak badly about his mother.
After the first soliloquy, I believe the audience may be confused about Hamlet’s character: a feeble, depressing, yet moral one. The second soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 5, begins just after the ghost of Hamlet’s father and previous King, meets and tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother Claudius. At this stage, the audience’s mood and the atmosphere is created by eerie language such as ‘strange’, ‘foul’ and ‘unnatural’.
Hamlet, understandably, is in immense shock, ‘Hold, hold, my heart’, after what the ghost has just told him. With this use of alliteration, Hamlet is trying to keep himself together. Hamlet feels on the brink of madness; the expression ‘In this distracted globe..’, suggests to the audience that Hamlet is referring to his head, globular shaped and the sidetracked world or Denmark in which he finds himself. I believe that the audience will feel that Hamlet’s character is developing; he is perplexed and extremely abstracted with these events.
The ethical component of Hamlet’s character is brought out again; the word ‘commandment’, which is a part of Biblical connotations, is referred to as the Prince’s guarantee to avenge the murder of his father and draws attention to the ethical predicament Hamlet finds himself in.
Undoubtedly, the soliloquy before the re-entry of his friends Horatio and Marcellus makes Hamlet appear unhinged:
‘O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!’ Act 1-5-105/106
Hamlet is calling his mother Gertrude an evil woman which suggests that the incest still troubles him as much as the murder of his father. Hamlet is also naming Claudius as a villain, which is repeated to emphasise his true hatred for his murderous uncle. Hamlet’s enthusiasm for the actor playing ‘Hecuba’ makes him reassess his present state of mind in the third soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 2. The mood in which Hamlet opens his third soliloquy is set by such disparaging terms such as ‘rogue’, a corrupt person, and ‘peasant slave’, which contradicts himself as he is a Prince and therefore has an important position in the Kingdom of Denmark. I believe this would display just how shallow Hamlet thinks of himself.
Hamlet presents himself emotionally using words that describe the player’s acting that appeal to emotions, ‘passion’ and ‘tears’. Hamlet feels insufficient and ashamed of his delay in avenging his father’s murder and asks himself if he is feeble; ‘Am I a coward?’. I believe the rhetorical question would make the audience feel he is a coward; furthermore when Hamlet describes himself as ‘muddy-mettled’, ‘cowardly’ and ‘sluggish’. The audience will also feel that Hamlet’s mind is at its most distracted when he thinks of himself and what he has failed to do.
Hamlet also articulates doubts about the Ghost’s honesty and purpose; ‘The spirit that I have seen may be a devil’. He prepares to test the Ghost’s truth in the end of the third soliloquy, by setting up a play re-acting the murder of his father. He hopes Claudius will be stunned into declaration of his guilt so he can kill Claudius purposely:
‘…The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King’ Act 2-2-557/558
The rhyming couplet cements his focus and purpose.
Hamlet’s tone is much more philosophical in the fourth soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1. Hamlet is not alone on stage in this soliloquy, Ophelia is present; Hamlet is unaware of her presence however, which is why it is still a soliloquy. The tone and therefore the development of Hamlet’s true character are much calmer and reflective than its predecessors. I believe the main flaw in Hamlet’s character as could be seen by the audience is his inability to control his emotions, his mind and his tendency to procrastinate over matter of importance and not take actions. However, in this soliloquy there is intelligence of Hamlet thinking through his problems without being sidetracked to revulsion which is a major development in his character up until this point. The opening line with the use of caesura, ‘To be, or not to be’, is showing the audience that Hamlet is again thinking of suicide.
The metaphor in the line ‘take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them’, would create a violent image in the audience’s minds. Hamlet is expressing that he feels that trying to set the world right would be like ‘self-slaughter’. It detains his feelings of being imbalanced to the task that has been assigned to him.
Hamlet ends his soliloquy by showing the audience his love that he has for Ophelia; ‘The fair Ophelia – Nymph, in thy orisons’. A ‘nymph’ is acknowledged as a beautiful spirit, ‘orisons’ resembling prayers; Hamlet is showing his affection towards Ophelia which displays a loving side to his personality.
The fifth soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 2, is delivered just after Hamlet gains verification that Claudius’ guilty of murdering his father; the play was performed and Claudius’ reaction was a culpable one.
Hamlet begins his soliloquy in a melodramatic style:
‘ ’tis is now the very witching time of night,
When Churchyards yawn…’ Act 3-2-349/350
Hamlet is building up the atmosphere which would create an eerie and sinister effect on the audience. He is remarking that it is midnight, traditionally when graves and spirits awaken. I believe the dramatic language used here will draw the audience into the action, theatrically.
The dramatic imagery is extended further; ‘Now I can drink hot blood’. Hamlet here is displaying his anger and is building himself up to kill Claudius; he wants to awaken his spirit and commit his lengthened vengeance. This is a major development in Hamlet’s character and the audience will surely recognise it due to this dramatic and uncanny atmosphere created by Hamlet. Words such as ‘soul’ and ‘unnatural’ also provide the atmosphere with a hint of the supernatural, which I believe would result in the spectator’s full attention and concentration to what Hamlet is saying.
However, his next move is not to hunt down Claudius, but to visit his mother, ‘I will speak daggers to her but use none’. The metaphor ‘speak daggers’ creates influential imagery as a dagger is a very imaginable object due to its pointed structure; it shows that Hamlet does not want to kill his mother, only verbally abuse her. This soliloquy is unusual in this play as Hamlet seems focused; there is no changing process of though, simply the thought of killing Claudius.
Act 3 Scene 3 produces Hamlet’s sixth soliloquy, and is one of the most fundamental moments of the play; Hamlet has his opportunity to finally kill Claudius but he chooses not to:
‘…now a is a – praying,
And now I’ll do’t – and so a goes to heaven...’ Act 3-3-73/74
The use of caesura in the line displays Hamlet’s confused and disturbed mind and demonstrates his uncertainty of his preceding actions at this point. Hamlet believes that Claudius will go to heaven if he kills him now because he is praying, so he decides against the act. Instead Hamlet decides to wait for a moment when Claudius is committing a sin:
‘When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in th’incestuous pleasure of his bed’ Act 3-3-89/90
Hamlet believes Claudius will go straight to hell if he is in such a mental state. Hamlet decides not kill Claudius at this point and gives a validated reason why he chose not to; I believe the audience will feel Hamlet’s character has developed as on previous occasions he has just delayed his revenge without justification as to why.
Hamlet’s final soliloquy is delivered in Act 4 Scene 4; Hamlet examines the action of Fortinbras and contrasts it with his own. This soliloquy contains commanding language, resulting in powerful imagery and Shakespeare gives us a great insight into Hamlet’s tormented thoughts. He begins his soliloquy with interesting imagery:
‘How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull revenge…’ Act 4-4-32/33
He is remarking that everything he sees in life makes him want to take revenge on Claudius; but no matter how much it is prompted it will never progress, which would show the audience he is a man of words and not actions; any other man would get their revenge immediately.
Hamlet believes that he thinks too much and in too much detail,‘…thinking too precisely…’, which may be seen by the audience as to why he does not kill Claudius until the very last moments of the play. He acknowledges his delay, ‘Why yet I live to say this thing’s to do’, but also the fact that he must achieve his objective; ‘Sith I have cause…’.
Hamlet is informed about Fortinbras and his bravery by a Captain which provides Hamlet with an example of a valiant man and more importantly a man whose actions speak louder than his words:
‘Witness this army of such mass and charge,
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
whose spirit with divine ambition puffed
Makes mouths at the invisible event…’ Act 4-4-47/50
Hamlet seems to envy Fortinbras and he believes that he mocks death, and ‘Makes mouths at the invisible event’; he is not afraid of death which also creates powerful imagery in the minds of the audience. He believes Fortinbras is risking his life for ‘an egg-shell’, a small area of land whereas he sits back and does nothing to avenge his father’s murder. He compares Fortinbras to himself:
‘How I stand then,
That have a father killed, a mother stained…’ Act 4-4-55/56
He believes that he has let his father die immorally and that his mother’s reputation has been contaminated due to her marriage to Claudius.
Hamlet’s final words sound determined:
‘O from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth’. Act 4-4-65/66
Hamlet here seems to have reached a new level of realisation and it seems his revenge would take place imminently. However, the audience may feel this is ironic as so often have Hamlet’s ineffective actions contradicted his words.
Hamlet is a prince sworn to take revenge of his father’s murder but it is not until the very end of the play that he finally manages to kill Claudius. Throughout his soliloquies he seems a confused Prince with an unbalanced mind and the assumption to why he kills Claudius in the end of the play rather than before, begins with Hamlet himself; he himself wonders if he is a coward.
Hamlet’s soliloquies are of immense importance as they show a large development in his character; from a bloodthirsty revenger and a self-critical performer, to a thoughtful academic. Hamlet’s soliloquies are so effective that they view the mounting and changing thoughts of a character capable of ending the play so early when he first has reason to; maybe that is why Shakespeare chose to make his character an apparently weak-willed one.
