Hamlet’s First
Soliloquy Commentary
By:
Autumn
Hamlet’s first soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 2, exemplifies
Hamlet’s melancholic behavior with reasoning behind his unhappiness. The literary devices, techniques and
references help illustrate Hamlet’s life to be miserable and futile (useless)
through his passionate soliloquy. He
struggles to accept the death of his beloved father and is disgusted by his
mother’s remarriage to his uncle Claudius.
Hamlet mourns “O, that this too, too sullied flesh
would melt,” over the decease of his father, “a poor body.” Hamlet too, wished
to die, as did his father, by committing suicide. This hints towards the
central idea of the play. Juxtaposing
committing suicide to godlike conspiracies and his figure, in the eyes of god,
committing suicide would be a sin, which therefore, prevented Hamlet to do
so. God is “Everlasting,” which
juxtaposes to Hamlet’s death. God’s body
is eternal which contrasts to “thaw, resolving itself into a dew”, which Hamlet
desired to become. Death was “weary,
stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” The idea of death was logically ineffective
to Hamlet.
His anger and despair gradually enhanced as Hamlet
wept the words; “O God, a beast, that wants discourse of reason, would have
mourned longer.” His uncle’s satisfaction was not balanced compared to
Hamlet’s. His precise image of his
parent’s great relationship was an ache to tolerate. The love that kept his parent’s bond was
magnificent. “Must I remember?” shows Hamlet’s hardship in coping with the fact
that his mother was re-married “within a month.” The time span between his
father’s death, to his mother’s second marriage was at “wicked speed,” which
made Hamlet question the true reason behind his mother’s marriage with uncle
Claudius. His mother did not mourn of
her husband’s death. It also contributed to Hamlet’s melancholic behavior. To
him, her previous marriage seemed perfect as “she would hang on him.” The metaphor “Tis, an unweeded garden that
grows to seed,” symbolizes that Hamlet’s mother was once a virgin, she was
“unweeded,” but soon perished a “seed,” evidently making Claudius the garden
who enticed the action. Hamlet despised
the idea of his mother’s re-marriage.
This is shown through an alteration in the text. Hamlet begins to refer to his mother as his
“lovely mother” then slowly modifies to “she.”
This demonstrates that Hamlet began to accuse his mother for marrying
Uncle Claudius.
Shakespeare then states Hamlet’s comparison, using a
simile, between himself and his uncle, in relation to his father. “My father’s brother, but no more like my
father, than I to Hercules,” again, refers to a godlike figure. He is admiring
his father while criticizing himself and his uncle. Referring to past mythology has given allusions
to support Hamlet’s thoughts and ideas. “Hyperion
to a satyr” also connects to mythology, followed by “so loving to my
mother.” This is an additional
comparison between his father and uncle distinguishing that Hamlet’s father was
an excellent king, unlike his uncle who was “Hyperion to a satyr.” The play refers to biblical texts as
well. As stated earlier, the phrase “Tis
an unweeded garden” refers to Hamlet’s mother being a virgin, as was Mary, in
the bible. She is Mary while Uncle
Claudius represents Satan; creating a “seed.”
Furthermore, Hamlet’s mother signified Eve, within the Garden of
Eden. It was she, who picked the first
apple off the tree: making a permanent mistake, just like she did, by marrying
Hamlet’s uncle.
Juxtapositions, comparisons, metaphors and similes
were strong devices which allowed Hamlet’s sorrowful emotions to be revealed. Not only, but the tone as well. The tone of his first soliloquy is cold
hearted and blunt. As he talks to
himself and thinks aloud, he justifies his personal feelings which are straight
forward and regard serious topics. The
soliloquy in the play ‘Hamlet,’ allows the audience to grasp an insight on
Hamlet’s thoughts.
Hamlet was very solemn, stressed and angry. The imagery through his soliloquy was
sinister. Vocabulary words such as
“stale, dead, rank, gross” and “unrighteous” were all used to emphasize his
confused, furious and shady mood. One
powerful line quotes “with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” clearly paints
a vivid picture that because of the skill or “dexterity” of the uncle, Claudius
was able to exploit the “incestuous sheets;” which refers to the bed which
belonged to his mother and birth father.
Through Hamlet’s first soliloquy, the audience tends
to believe that Hamlet is truly mad, yet turns a blind eye towards the fact
that he is actually posing antic disposition; which means to fake the severity
of his madness. In reality, Hamlet is
not as mad as he acts; he tricked his friends and family.
Hamlet’s first soliloquy did indeed allow the audience
to be acquainted with Hamlet’s feelings and concerns. It was also about the context and background
of the setting. His soliloquy proves
that Hamlet was melancholic, which creates a sense of sympathy from the
beginning. Hamlet had trouble coping with his father’s death and mother’s
re-marriage. He quotes “But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue”…”it is
not, nor it cannot come to good.” From this, Hamlet has hinted a main problem
which will re-occur throughout the play. Literary devices and techniques help
portray Hamlet’s personality; he is a solemn trickster with mad behavior.
