ipl-logo

Ambiguity Of Death In Hamlet's Soliloquy

948 Words4 Pages

Hamlet the Necrophile
Hamlet's soliloquy "To be, or not to be", is arguably the most famous in the history of English literature and theater. The first line is the source of everyday expressions, ornate speeches and newspaper editorials, but without accordance to the rest of the monologue or the play. In this speech, Hamlet’s contemplates suicide and its consequences, either to suffer the hardships of life or to trust the ambiguity of the afterlife. This develops the play’s and Hamlet’s fascination with death as an intrinsic theme and his uncertainty of the afterlife. Shakespeare captures the reader’s attention regarding death in the initial scene when the ghost of his dead father visits Hamlet. This beginning sets the tone of the entire tragedy …show more content…

One use is an illustration of Hamlet’s attitude towards mortality when he discusses the location of Polonius’ dead body. “Not where he’s eating, but where he’s being eaten. A certain conference of worms is chowing down on him. We fatten up all creatures to feed ourselves, and we fatten ourselves for the worms to eat when we’re dead.” (4.3.21-25) This grim symbolism is a mention of the fact that humans are also part of the life circle, that as humans eat animals to survive, worms also live off our corpses to survive. Another example is of Hamlet’s black “inky cloak” that he wears during the play, which is an additional symbol that serves as a continuous reminder of Hamlet’s obsession and relationship with death. He never changes from these black clothes once throughout the play, suggesting that he is in endless lamentation, but the further we are drawn into Hamlet’s mentality the more we realize that he is also mourning his own eventual death which he becomes completely preoccupied with in the course of the play. He cannot escape the concept of dying, his father’s passing, and the revenge he must pursue, though it sits heavy on his

Show More
Related

  • Hamlet Holding The Skull Of Yorick Essay

    1399 Words  | 6 Pages

    Hamlet is holding the skull of Yorick, a jester who once provided laughter and entertainment, and musing on the fact that all of his earthly pleasures and accomplishments have now been reduced to a mere pile of bones. This moment serves as a reminder that death is the great equalizer, and that all material wealth, status, and earthly pleasures are ultimately meaningless in the face of mortality. The quote serves to criticize the superficial values and priorities of human life and to highlight the importance of focusing on what truly matters in life. This quote is a powerful critique of the vanities and follies of human life, reminding us that all material wealth and earthly pleasures are ultimately meaningless in the face of death and that we should strive to focus on what truly matters in

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Perception Of Death In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

    421 Words  | 2 Pages

    He begins with a simplistic view of death as a release from life's hardships, but as he experiences the consequences of his actions and confronts his own mortality, he comes to see death as a complex and unavoidable part of life. Hamlet's attitude towards death changes because of his experiences, the influence of the people around him, and his own introspection. Ultimately, Hamlet's journey towards acceptance of death highlights the play's themes of mortality, morality, and the human

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Kenneth Branagh's To Be Or Not To Be

    231 Words  | 1 Pages

    The best portrayal of Hamlet’s “To Be, Or Not To Be” soliloquy is the Kenneth Branagh interpretation of the scene because, in my opinion, Branagh does the best to demonstrate Hamlet’s feelings of madness through his tone and body language. Even though Branagh’s speech is quite slow, and in my opinion too slow, the speed at which he is speaking allows him to place more emphasis on the topics that drive Hamlet insane, such as “Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay…” The slow listings of these flaws Hamlet sees in today’s world places emphasis on each and every one, as well as an emphasis on the total flaws themselves. Branagh also does an excellent job of demonstrating Hamlet’s madness

    Read More

  • Grief In Hamlet's Grief

    1071 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to cope with his late father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. In Act 1, Scene 2, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet are all introduced. Hamlet has just finished publicly speaking with his mom and the new king, and after he is interrupted by his good friend Horatio, who reveal the secret about King Hamlet’s ghost. Hamlet’s soliloquy is particularly crucial because it serves as his initial characterization, revealing the causes of his anguish. Hamlet’s grief is apparent to the audience, as he begins lamenting about the uselessness of life.

    Read More

  • Ethos Pathos And Logos In Hamlet's Soliloquy

    1765 Words  | 8 Pages

    When applied correctly, soliloquies successfully allow the reader to experience characters in their most vulnerable state: within their own minds. Hamlet is no exception to this principle, as Shakespeare’s mastery of rhetoric in establishing the main character’s inner conflict provides depth and rawness to his complex character. In this well-known soliloquy, Shakespeare employs logos to acknowledge that death can be both a relief and nightmare due to natural human emotions; accordingly, Hamlet personifies a severe case of teenage depression by simultaneously wishing for an end to suffering yet remaining hesitant to act on his own thoughts due to his fear of the unknown.         Throughout this passage, Hamlet attempts to rationalize ending his life over continuing to endure the painful reality of his existence. The parallelism in this particular soliloquy serves several rhetorical purposes, including the development of an implicit contrast between Hamlet’s mental state and the actual organization of his thoughts.

    Read More

  • Futility Of Life In Hamlet

    962 Words  | 4 Pages

    He maintains that his life has no value throughout the play and contemplates suicide. Hamlet's questioning thoughts on life's worth is further expressed the ten lines of 203-212 in act V scene i. which read ““No, faith, not a jot, but to follow him thither/ with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it:/ Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander retur-/ neth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make/ loam, and why of that loam whereto he was con-/ verted might they not stop a beer-barrel?/ Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay,/ Might stop a hole to keep the wind away./ O that the earth which kept the world in awe/ Should patch a wall t' expel the winter's flaw!” Hamlet speaks these lines during an exchange with the gravediggers, one who was singing and juggling skulls while he worked. In these lines, Hamlet explains how no one's life is really worth anything because, in the end, we are all reduced to corpses, skulls, dust, and clay. By using Alexander and Caesar as examples, two influential and powerful leaders of

    Read More

  • Suicide And Suicide In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    840 Words  | 4 Pages

    The death of his father really weighs Hamlet and it make Hamlet into a spiral of depression in which lead him to contemplate suicide. Basically, death and decay are two words which give an imagery about something that is rotten, become not existing anymore, and smelly. The theme suicides in this play, is symbolize by death and decay in its storyline and most of the action

    Read More

  • Hamlet Mental Illness

    1533 Words  | 7 Pages

    Death is one of the most prominent themes in Hamlet, appearing in different forms. Shakespeare displays death through the suicide of Ophelia, Hamlet’s own thoughts and eventual suicide, and the murder of King Hamlet and Polonius. Hamlet displays suicidal tendencies throughout the play through his soliloquies. The first time that Hamlet contemplates committing suicide is when Gertrude and Claudius tell him that he has to stay in Denmark in Act one. “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, or that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!

    Read More

  • His Father's Death And Death In Hamlet

    1156 Words  | 5 Pages

    When Hamlet encounters his Father death, he becomes obsessed with death itself. He begins to wonder if suicide is the answer to end his suffering. In the play, hamlet says “O, that this too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew”(I.ii.133-138).

    Read More

  • The Affects Of Hamlet's Perspective On Life

    402 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play Hamlet, it is discovered that Hamlet goes through many ordeals in such a short period of time and these ordeals altered his perspective on life. In the play, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective is, how his perspective is formed, and how it affects the meaning of the play. To begin with, through Hamlet soliloquies, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective on life is. At the beginning of the play, it is revealed that Hamlet believes life is worthless. This is evident in his “to be or not to be” soliloquy.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Death Theme Essay

    873 Words  | 4 Pages

    This quote reveals how all these things have affected Hamlet psychologically and emotionally. The death of King Hamlet has led the play toward more death themes, making this the most tragedy

    Read More

  • Memory And Remembrance Of The Dead In Hamlet

    1425 Words  | 6 Pages

    The importance of memory and remembrance of the dead in Hamlet can be examined in three facets. Firstly, through how the act of remembering the dead examines practices of mourning. The play is about what it means to remember, therefore tensions are created between characters when they choose to cope with the memory of the dead in different ways. Secondly, the importance of remembering the dead is that it fuels the actions taken in the play, as the events of the play are a fallout of Hamlet’s bid to remember his father. Thirdly, the importance of memory and remembrance of the dead is that the impact vengful actions have on the character’s of the play.

    Read More

  • Death Theme In Hamlet

    847 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his soliloquy, he is asking himself whether it is better to live or to die, which he is considering to commit suicide. Also, in the soliloquy, Hamlet states that “Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveler returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?” (3.1.84-90). He explains that no one would like to live in an exhausting life, unless they don’t know what is going to happen after they die because they are afraid of what their after life is going to be. Both these quotes prove that the death symbol is always surrounded by Hamlet and he has a hard time to choose between life and

    Read More

  • Theme Of Death In Hamlet

    1306 Words  | 6 Pages

    Shakespeare presents death as an inevitable act of life, noting that all that is living must eventually come to an end. Due to “Hamlet” being a Shakespearean tragedy, the theme of death recurs throughout the play. Additionally, Shakespeare can be seen as using revenge as the main motive of a character’s murder, which makes “Hamlet” a revenge tragedy. The tragic nature means that by the end of the play, majority of the characters would have died. In this case, many of the characters have died due to murder or suicide.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Suicide In Hamlet

    711 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suicide is a reoccuring theme in Hamlet. Since this is a theme that affects all characters to a certain degree, it is interesting to see how the idea of suicide is treated both morally, religiously and aesthetically. This essay will mostly be based on Hamlet´s own soliloquies, considering their relevance to the theme, but Queen Gertrude´s treatment of Ophelia´s death is also worth a mention. The story of Hamlet takes place in medieval Denmark, but a precise date is not mentioned.

    Read More

More about Ambiguity Of Death In Hamlet's Soliloquy

Open Document