Commentary on Hamlet’s First Soliloquy
A soliloquy, defined by The Merriam –Webster dictionary, is an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any listeners. This literary technique is especially employed in plays. Hamlet’s soliloquy in Scene two of the first Act is the first time we are clearly able to understand Hamlet’s character, his opinions and inner thoughts. The general tenor of the soliloquy is personal and reveals the despair Hamlet feels over his current situation and his downhearted state of mind. The monologue further reveals Hamlet’s despondency and the sources of his grief in an outburst of pain, anger, and frustration, in which he explains how everything in his life is futile and unbearable. He mourns the death of his father, is disgusted by his mother’s re-marriage to his uncle, and feels extremely worthless which causes him to question his life on multiple occasions.
Hamlet begins by addressing his uncle’s decision to start a war. He does not believe it is wise to start a war given the situation. His uncle is merely using his “cannon” (132) to bring self-slaughter (132). Claudius …show more content…
Making reference to his deceased father as Hyperion and to his uncle as a Satyr illustrates his disdain for Claudius. This contrast expounds on Hamlet’s disapproval of his mother’s new husband. He implies that he is a half-goat creature that is often mocked by society and that his father had the quality of one Hyperion, the sun god. Continually, metaphorically is the way in which Hamlet shows the high esteem he held his father when he says “That he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly heaven and earth must I remember?”(146). “Must I remember” shows confirmation and affirms his sincere
A soliloquy, defined by The Merriam –Webster dictionary, is an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any listeners. This literary technique is especially employed in plays. Hamlet’s soliloquy in Scene two of the first Act is the first time we are clearly able to understand Hamlet’s character, his opinions and inner thoughts. The general tenor of the soliloquy is personal and reveals the despair Hamlet feels over his current situation and his downhearted state of mind. The monologue further reveals Hamlet’s despondency and the sources of his grief in an outburst of pain, anger, and frustration, in which he explains how everything in his life is futile and unbearable. He mourns the death of his father, is disgusted by his mother’s re-marriage to his uncle, and feels extremely worthless which causes him to question his life on multiple occasions.
Hamlet begins by addressing his uncle’s decision to start a war. He does not believe it is wise to start a war given the situation. His uncle is merely using his “cannon” (132) to bring self-slaughter (132). Claudius …show more content…
Making reference to his deceased father as Hyperion and to his uncle as a Satyr illustrates his disdain for Claudius. This contrast expounds on Hamlet’s disapproval of his mother’s new husband. He implies that he is a half-goat creature that is often mocked by society and that his father had the quality of one Hyperion, the sun god. Continually, metaphorically is the way in which Hamlet shows the high esteem he held his father when he says “That he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly heaven and earth must I remember?”(146). “Must I remember” shows confirmation and affirms his sincere