Hamlet Soliloquy Essay

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In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, a young prince finds himself in a most peculiar and unsettling situation. His father, the king of Denmark, has been slain; his mother has married his uncle and has given away the thrown; and the ghost of Hamlet’s father has instructed Hamlet to seek revenge. Hamlet is fueled by his quest to fulfill the ghost’s task, but he often finds himself unable to take action. This major character flaw is highlighted by Hamlet’s seven soliloquies. From the start of the play Hamlet mourns his father’s death and is in stasis. By the end of the last soliloquy, Hamlet takes a major step forward in his psyche and willingness to initiate action. The first soliloquy takes place in Act 1, Scene II, in which Hamlet discusses his remorse towards life. Hamlet wishes that his “too solid flesh would melt” (I.ii.133) and that if he was not restrained by God s laws, he would commit suicide. Though saddened by his father’s untimely death, Prince Hamlet also expresses clear disgust for his mother, Gertrude, for marrying his uncle, Claudius, only a few months after his own father’s death. He is appalled that his mother would have such haste and “most wicked speed to post/ with such dexterity to incestuous sheets” (I.ii.161-162) with Claudius, for whom Hamlet is not particularly fond of. Hamlet scorns his mother, and in a general sense all women, when he says, “Frailty, thy name is woman!”(I.ii.150) He believes that even “a beast that wants discourse of reason/ Would have mourned longer” (I.ii.154-155). Despite his suicidal tendencies, Hamlet insists that he must remain silent on the matter and hold his tongue. The third soliloquy takes place in Act II, Scene II, after the departure of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. In this third installment, Hamlet shares his inner feelings with the reader in which he calls himself a coward for the continuous failure to

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