Identity Crisis In Hamlet

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't,” Polonius says aside (2.2.195). As Polonius speaks this line to the audience he has established that a deeper meaning lies behind Prince Hamlet’s actions, much like the play itself. When Shakespeare wrote this play he had several themes in mind for his watchers to ponder about. Each soliloquy that Hamlet delivers in the pay embodies at least one theme of the play. In act 1, scene 2 Hamlet is left alone on the stage to express his deep depression and yearning for death. As Hamlet fights an internal struggle, he finally speaks his mind in act 2, scene 2 and calls himself a coward in his third soliloquy. The plays most impactful speech occurs during act 3, scene 1, and it is here that Hamlet’s identity crisis is made obvious to the crowd. Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, contains three major soliloquies that embody certain themes for the play. Death is inevitable when there is life, and the Prince Hamlet experiences this first hand after his father’s death. Not long after his first

In act 2 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the prince expresses his disappointment with himself due to his lack of courage. “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I,” (2.2.123) says Hamlet in his third soliloquy. He begins to question whether he has the strength to go through with his plans to kill the king. In this emotional speech Hamlet expresses his feeling that he is “a coward because he feels he has done nothing to take revenge on Claudius,” (Newell). This third soliloquy brings forth the theme of frustration in the play. Hamlet here struggles with himself to gain the courage to carry out what he must do, and it slowly tears him apart inside. But, the young prince shows that he is determined to convince himself to kill his uncle, and he hopes that “his passions will halt his better judgement,” (Mabillard). Shakespeare’s ultimate goal with this scene is to make Hamlet more relatable to the crowd, and he does so with