Hamlet's Soliliquies

Hamlets Soliliquies

1. 1ST SOLILIQUY Dramatises the idea of a man wrestling with his thoughts and feelings

   • The first thing he expresses is the grief he feels for the loss of his father- and the love he bore for him
     • 'Heaven and Earth/ Must I remember?'
       • Disjointed rhythm show his inner turmoil- The spontainaiety of his speech contrasts to Claudius' flowing lines. Thinking out loud- stopping and starting in pain and confusion
     • 'Hyperion to a satyr
       • Compares OKH to a god- of the sun- sustainer of life- reliability- beauty- to a creature- repulsive- insignificant, pestering and diseased. Bigger contrast.
   • It becomes Clear his grief is so overwhelming that he is suicidal
     • 'Weary, stale, flat, unprofitable'
       • Listing stresses each word showing his disgust and his exhaustion
     • 'It that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His cannon 'gainst elf slaughter'
       • God forbids suicide and revenge- Still religious but loyalty to his father? introduce s the moral struggle he has between God and his father
   • He also expresses his hatred for his uncle- biasing the audience.
     • 'most wicked speed...incestuous sheets'
       • Explaining his isolation- hissing sibilance- anger at this- laying the foundations of the plot and Hamlets feeling toward Claudius- building protagonist and antagonist Exposition.
     • 'Break my heart for I must hold my tongue'
       • Struggling in silence- reiterates the turmoil he faces- Feels trapped- audience sympathises with him- he is simply a grieving son who is alone in his troubles.- Justification for his bitterness.

2. 2ND SOLILIQUY Angry that he hasn't taken action yet- (2.1)

   • He starts of angry at himself- and disgusted.
     • 'O, what a rogue peasant slave am I'
       • Giving himself the lowest place in society- Hyperbollic phrase-Exclamtory sentences show his desperation and turmoil
     • 'remorseless, treacherous, leacherous, kindless;
       • Repitition of 'less'- focusing on all the things he lacks- sibilance- spitting- building of anger- drags out word
   • Then describes the sheer power of the players- to tell himself what he should be doing
     • 'For Hecuba?/ .. What would he do/ had he the motive... That I have?
       • Ceasura and gap- break in the line- emphasises his sudden change from anger and distress to confusion-Rhetorical Q's show upset and doubt-low self esteem & vulnerability heightens our sympathy-
     • 'make mad the guilty and appal the free/confound the ignorant'
       • Again hyperbolic- juxtaposed phrases- implies the sheer power of players- ability to manipulate feelings.
   • He considers it a bad thing he is not raging with anger
     • 'region kites .. slave's offal-bloody bawdy villain'
       • Ceasura builds uncomfortable atmosphere- drags out and emphasises this negative section- vivid violent imagery- gone from disappointment to violence.
     • 'prompted to my revenge by heaven and Hell'
       • Idea that both want him to take revenge even though they are complete opposites-convincing himself revenge has good consequences as well as bad.
   • Feel very vulnerable- and recognises perhaps the ghost was only playing on this.
     • Out of.. my melancholy .. As he is very potent with such spirits'
       • Devil may have taken advantage of his sorrow and sadness-Isolation- cannot trust anyone-This shows he is questioning his whole purpose for living- APPEARANCE VS REALITY.
     • 'Am I a Coward?
   • Towards the end he begins to plan and becomes more resolute
     • 'For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak'
       • Personifying- real significance
     • 'The play's the thing,/ Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King'
       • Again- decideds to test the Ghosts words for himself-m Shows he ios being logical about the situation-rhyming couplet- Hamlet appears in less disarray- and regained his motivation to avenge hois father- He too is setting up a trap- massively contrasts to chaos and confusion- more resolute.
   • Love for his father remains continuous even though his thoughts and feelings are changing.
     • 'most dear life'
       • using superlatives- continuously elevates his father.

3. 3RD SOLILIQUY- Contemplating living and facing troubles

   • Begins very alienated from a world that causes him great pain- carries his philosophical student character.
     • 'To be, or not to be-that is the Question'
       • immediatley see his suicidal melancholy- detatched-no use of posessive pronounsfelective-mral- his mind makes huim unlike other-simple-minded heroic figures.- calm and philosophical
       • modern audience- more hard to engage as it is so well known in literature- directors must try and think of differnt approaches.
     • 'Nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune .. take arms against a sea of troubles'
       • Semantic field of abttle-opposing forces- wounded-pain-tragedy -Shows he feels attacked-fight or accept- either way it is dooming. Describes his troubles as a 'sea' showing how big he thinks they are- drowning- visual helplessness. Imagery of what an overpowering force he is facing- sense of futility- all encompassing- endless
     • 'To die: to sleep...To die: to sleep'
       • Repetition intensifies his obsession- putting them side by side- Both are a state of unconsciousness- seemingly relaxation- wants relief from his thoughts shown by ceasuras- slows rhythm- drags out lines- sleepy
   • He starts to think logically about life after death- more a psycological issue than an ethical one.
     • 'For in that sleep of death what dreams may come'
       • Catch of suicide- it is an endless nightmare- Shows that this is the on;ly thing stopping him- truly feels he has nothing to live for- reflections relate to his reluctance to commit murder
     • 'Bear the whips and scorns of time'
       • 'bear'- shows how he is struggling through life and 'time' suggests each moment longer is more painful and is a burden.
   • Suggests his conscience is a bad thing
     • 'Thus conscience does make u cowards'
       • His hesitation and therefore his thinking and reasoning is making him careful-which he sees as cowardly- watching a man tell himself he does not need to think-dangerous consequences- build tension as he begins to allow himself to lose conttrol.
     • 'native hue of resolution .. sickled o'er with the pale cast of thought
       • Visual imagery- compares it to a complexion- makes thought seem like a disease- stops him frm being resolute and so the turmoil he is left him makes him want to ditch it

4. 4TH SOLILIQUY REeinding himself not to physically harm his mother'

   • There is semantic field of danger and darkness
     • 'withcing .. churchyards .. hell .. contagion .. hot blood'
       • Semantic field of danger/darkness- sinsiter vulgarity- showing his intentions-
     • 'churchyards yawn'
       • Personification- vivid imagery- had to be because less stagecraft. Indicates ghosts emerging from graves.
     • 'Bitter business'
       • plosive alliteration- harsh sounds- emotive language
   • He then talks about the conduct towards hos mother'
     • 'Soft now to my mohter'
       • Tone changes- wants to be gentler- links to Ophelia- could be because of affection or because he feels women cannot handle anything else
     • 'I will speak daggers to her but use none'
       • Doesnt want to hurt her physically- wants her to feel his upset- sounds very in control and clear of what he wants- but ends up triggering a chain of events over which he has no control.
     • 'my words somever be shent .. To give them seals never, my soul consent'
       • Ends in a rhyming couplet- to show clearly and decisively how he does not want to harm his mother- Polonius is all the more foolish for thinking he would