Hamlets Soliliquies

1ST SOLILIQUY Dramatises the idea of a man wrestling with his thoughts and feelings
1. The first thing he expresses is the grief he feels for the loss of his father- and the love he bore for him
  1. 'Heaven and Earth/ Must I remember?'
    1. 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
  2. 'Hyperion to a satyr
    1. Compares OKH to a god- of the sun- sustainer of life- reliability- beauty- to a creature- repulsive- insignificant, pestering and diseased. Bigger contrast.
2. It becomes Clear his grief is so overwhelming that he is suicidal
  1. 'Weary, stale, flat, unprofitable'
    1. Listing stresses each word showing his disgust and his exhaustion
  2. 'It that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His cannon 'gainst elf slaughter'
    1. God forbids suicide and revenge- Still religious but loyalty to his father? introduce s the moral struggle he has between God and his father
3. He also expresses his hatred for his uncle- biasing the audience.
  1. 'most wicked speed...incestuous sheets'
    1. Explaining his isolation- hissing sibilance- anger at this- laying the foundations of the plot and Hamlets feeling toward Claudius- building protagonist and antagonist Exposition.
  2. 'Break my heart for I must hold my tongue'
    1. 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.
2ND SOLILIQUY Angry that he hasn't taken action yet- (2.1)
1. He starts of angry at himself- and disgusted.
  1. 'O, what a rogue peasant slave am I'
    1. Giving himself the lowest place in society- Hyperbollic phrase-Exclamtory sentences show his desperation and turmoil
  2. 'remorseless, treacherous, leacherous, kindless;
    1. Repitition of 'less'- focusing on all the things he lacks- sibilance- spitting- building of anger- drags out word
2. Then describes the sheer power of the players- to tell himself what he should be doing
  1. 'For Hecuba?/ .. What would he do/ had he the motive... That I have?
    1. 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-
  2. 'make mad the guilty and appal the free/confound the ignorant'
    1. Again hyperbolic- juxtaposed phrases- implies the sheer power of players- ability to manipulate feelings.
3. He considers it a bad thing he is not raging with anger
  1. 'region kites .. slave's offal-bloody bawdy villain'
    1. Ceasura builds uncomfortable atmosphere- drags out and emphasises this negative section- vivid violent imagery- gone from disappointment to violence.
  2. 'prompted to my revenge by heaven and Hell'
    1. Idea that both want him to take revenge even though they are complete opposites-convincing himself revenge has good consequences as well as bad.
4. Feel very vulnerable- and recognises perhaps the ghost was only playing on this.
  1. Out of.. my melancholy .. As he is very potent with such spirits'
    1. 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.
  2. 'Am I a Coward?
5. Towards the end he begins to plan and becomes more resolute
  1. 'For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak'
    1. Personifying- real significance
  2. 'The play's the thing,/ Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King'
    1. 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.
6. Love for his father remains continuous even though his thoughts and feelings are changing.
  1. 'most dear life'
    1. using superlatives- continuously elevates his father.
3RD SOLILIQUY- Contemplating living and facing troubles
1. Begins very alienated from a world that causes him great pain- carries his philosophical student character.
  1. 'To be, or not to be-that is the Question'
    1. 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
    2. modern audience- more hard to engage as it is so well known in literature- directors must try and think of differnt approaches.
  2. 'Nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune .. take arms against a sea of troubles'
    1. 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
  3. 'To die: to sleep...To die: to sleep'
    1. 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
2. He starts to think logically about life after death- more a psycological issue than an ethical one.
  1. 'For in that sleep of death what dreams may come'
    1. 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
  2. 'Bear the whips and scorns of time'
    1. 'bear'- shows how he is struggling through life and 'time' suggests each moment longer is more painful and is a burden.
3. Suggests his conscience is a bad thing
  1. 'Thus conscience does make u cowards'
    1. 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.
  2. 'native hue of resolution .. sickled o'er with the pale cast of thought
    1. 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
4TH SOLILIQUY REeinding himself not to physically harm his mother'
1. There is semantic field of danger and darkness
  1. 'withcing .. churchyards .. hell .. contagion .. hot blood'
    1. Semantic field of danger/darkness- sinsiter vulgarity- showing his intentions-
  2. 'churchyards yawn'
    1. Personification- vivid imagery- had to be because less stagecraft. Indicates ghosts emerging from graves.
  3. 'Bitter business'
    1. plosive alliteration- harsh sounds- emotive language
2. He then talks about the conduct towards hos mother'
  1. 'Soft now to my mohter'
    1. Tone changes- wants to be gentler- links to Ophelia- could be because of affection or because he feels women cannot handle anything else
  2. 'I will speak daggers to her but use none'
    1. 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.
  3. 'my words somever be shent .. To give them seals never, my soul consent'
    1. 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

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Hamlets Soliliquies

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	Created by Saheefa Ishaq over 7 years ago