Discuss with reference to at two of Hamlet 's soliloquies
3.1.55-87 To Be Or Not To Be
4.4.31-65 How All Occasions Do Inform Against Me
The soliloquies in Hamlet provide important information about Hamlet. The man he wants to be, the man he is, his hesitancy and his inaction. They reveal the man and the subconscious reasons why he cannot act on his thoughts. Auden declares that “Hamlet lacks faith in God and himself. He defines his existence in terms of others” (Auden cited in Porter, 2015) this is evidenced in “This conscience does make cowards.” (3.1.83) it is possible that the over-thinking may be latent subconscious anxieties. However Jenkins states that “Hamlet himself seems always to be asking questions much bigger than we ask of him. Instead of whether, why and how he should revenge; he is liable to be ruminating on existence” (Jenkins, 1982, p 125)
In the Sydney studies they argue that “The […] monologue is more than just a despondent contemplation of suicide” (Colman, n.d, p 8), here Hamlet sparks an internal philosophical …show more content…
It is this soliloquy that is “crucial to our understanding of his character development” it may be why Berry and Rappaport draw similar conclusions to why there are no soliloquies in Act 5, simply because Hamlet has matured enough to accept responsibility to avenge his fathers death. Jenkins reiterates this “he now perceives in the universe embracing all it 's apparent good and evil, a supreme if mysterious design” (Jenkins, 1989, p. 157). Hamlet remarks on his inaction “one part wisdom and three parts coward” (4.4.42 –