All of this goes together to create vivid diction that leads readers into Hamlet's mind. As the soliloquy ends, Hamlet realizes there is a line that needs to be crossed for him being and not being. This is why death bothers him
However, the audience can actually see the ghost and Hamlet’s words are coherent as he advises Gertrude on ways of seeking forgiveness, therefore Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to explore the theme of madness and advocate his sanity. Moreover, Hamlet also says to Gertrude “That I essentially am not in madness, But mad in craft.” Shakespeare exploits this dialogue to illustrate Hamlet is indeed aware of his actions, which seems absurd for a
I feel this is vital to the scene in order to display Hamlet’s desperateness. He is desperate enough to ask someone else to choose his fate. Furthermore, I appreciate the director’s choice of pauses throughout the soliloquy, which allows contemplation. For example, Hamlet says, “to die, to sleep- no more- and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to” (3.1.61-64). Between “to die” and “to sleep” there is a noticeable pause, which allows the audience the question death themselves.
Hamlet’s first soliloquy occurs in Act 1, scene ii. Before giving this monologue, Hamlet is faced with the difficult truth of his dad being murdered in cold blood. The soliloquy reveals Hamlet’s true feelings about his new “father” that his mother has married. Some thematic issues revealed in Hamlet’s soliloquy are religion and reprisal. After giving the monologue, the reader learns about Hamlet’s hatred towards Claudius.
In the play, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as a dynamic character to cause a mental state conundrum among the audience and explore the themes of suicide, spying, friendship, madness, providence, love, hate and humour. Furthermore, by utilising literary devices such as soliloquy, characterisation, dialogue, personification, metaphor, dramatic and situational irony Shakespeare exploits these themes and questions Hamlet’s sanity. In the beginning, Hamlet is portrayed as an overthinking person, claiming to act an antic disposition. However, as the play advances his manic rage and irrational acts such as Polonius’s murder and
Hamlet thought about committing suicide and his struggle about life and death were obviously showed in the play. Within the play, Hamlet wondered the reason incapable of committing suicide by people, despite their capability
This questioning only led to one of the strongest emotions that Hamlet had to experience and this was the feeling of despair. Hamlet had reached the point of feeling as if he had lost hope and desire, lost a “point” to live, also feeling as if life had no directive. This exact point of Hamlet’s emotional state was observed and recognized in one of Shakespeare’s most famous soliloquy, Soliloquy #4. Shakespeare’s genius mind did so well at demonstrating a sensation of despair that he did so through the use of parallel structure, which is the continuous use of a grammatical pattern throughout your compared items or ideas. Shakespeare does so by writing, “To be or not to be, that is the question: / Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / or to take arms against a sea of troubles… / ...To die: to sleep” (3.1.56-60).
Another reason why Hamlet is not sure on whether or not he wants to take his own life, is that he is also afraid of what is to come after death. Through all of the contemplating and countless hours of sorrow, Hamlet finds the will to live. This is significant because it shows the change in Hamlet from the beginning of the play. Shakespeare is suggesting something very specific through Hamlet in the middle part of the play. The suggestion made is that people are “in the mind to suffer”(3.1.65), and if someone can get through the tough times in life, it can only go forward and get better from there.
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
In this soliloquy, Hamlet expresses both his fear of death and longing for it. The part I feel a connection to is the fear. Fear of death and what comes after is something that has always been with me, ever since I was a kid. The concept of life after death and what happens to us when we die is a thing I can not wrap my mind around. Are we “travelers” like Hamlet says or are we just going to fade into nothingness?