Soliloquies in Hamlet - Essay Example

How all occasions do inform against me /And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,(35 If his chief good and market of his time / Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. /Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, /Looking before and after, gave us not /That capability and godlike reason (40) ………………………………………………. (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV) A Critical Analysis of Soliloquies In “Hamlet” The above mentioned soliloquy of Hamlet is quite significant for the existentialistic theme of the whole play, “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. Moreover, it reveals a great deal of Hamlet’s indecisive and inertia-affected nature. At the beginning of Act IV, Hamlet is informed by the Captain that the Norwegian Army under the command of Prince Fortinbras is going to invade some parts of Poland. When Hamlet asks the Captain about the reason of the conflict, he informs that the Norwegian Army is going to occupy some insignificant parts of Poland just for the credit that the Norwegians are mightier, as the Captain replies: “Truly to speak, and with no addition, / We go to gain a little patch of ground /That hath in it no profit but the name. /To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 18-21). At this point, noble-hearted, Hamlet thinks over the notoriety and viciousness of man who never hesitates to cause bloodshed for namesake. Indeed, this news evokes this soliloquy of Hamlet. In this soliloquy, Hamlet starts to brood over the reason of his revenge. He thinks that in comparison with the mere cause behind the Norwegian Army’s attack on Poland, his reason to seek revenge on his father’s murderer is far stronger. He rebukes himself for delaying the revenge; but at the same time, he admits that he cannot ignore his duty to be sure of that Claudius is the real murderer of his father. This soliloquy reveals a great deal of Hamlet’s nature. On one hand, it proves that Hamlet is a noble man who cannot ignore his responsibility of finding out the real murderer. He cannot kill Claudius simply because of his doubt about him. It is remarkable that Hamlet pronounces this soliloquy after a long time of staging the play of Gonzales. He stages the play in the Dennis Royal Theater in order to catch Claudius’s conscience in Act 3 Sc 2. He becomes, to a great extent, sure of Claudius’s involvement in the murder. Even though he doubted Claudius from the beginning of the play, he delays the revenge showing different excuses. First, he attempts to prove that Claudius. Again even though he proves it, he does not kill Claudius because he has found him praying. Though Hamlet’s delayed revenge can be considered as the sign of his noble heart which always cares a lot for proof before execution, his reasoning and soliloquies are typical of indecisive and inertia-affected mind. In Act 3 Sc 1, he reveals the same indecisive mind in another soliloquy: “Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer/The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,/Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,/And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep/No more; and by a sleep, to say we end/The Heart-ache” (Act 3 Sc1) Much of the soliloquy under our discussion also reveals such indecisiveness of Hamlet. Hamlet thinks more than he does. He rebukes his nature for failing to take his revenge, even though he has clear proofs. He admits that man is not born simply to eat and to sleep: “What is a man, /If his chief good and market of his time/Be but to sleep and feed?” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 35-37) Here, he simply refers to the fact that the meaning of life does not lie in simply living it. Hamlet has questioned about the meaning of life for many times throughout the whole play. In Act 3 Scene, he utters the same question: “To be, or not to be, that is the question” (Shakespeare Act 3 Sc II, Line 38). He is tormented by this single question till the end of his life. He wonders that man’s worst incapability is his failure to commit fouls (Lewis 67), as he says, “Surely He that made us with such large capacity,/Looking before and after, didn’t give us/That capability and godlike reason/To go stale in us, unused” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 38-41). Hamlet himself is also aware of his indecisive and inertia-affected nature. He admits that living in forgetfulness does not have any true meaning. Referring to this nature of Hamlet, it is said in an article, “Analysis of Hamlet’s Character”: “Hamlet, is revealed as overly analytical and indecisive through his attempts to avenge his father’s death. Throughout the play, Hamlet…hesitates in the murder of Claudius due to his fear of making the wrong decision.” (“Analysis of Hamlet’s Character” pars.1) He also marks “thinking too much on the event” as “some defeated principles” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 43-44). But he himself thinks too much on his revenge. He delays it seeking proof of Claudius’s guilt. Even he does not kill Claudius because he was praying. A deep analysis of Hamlet’s activities will necessarily convince the readers that Hamlet might not have been able to take revenge on Claudius, if he were not instigated by the accidental killing of Polonius and Leatress’ challenge. His excessive thinking has failed him to use a significant number of chances to take revenge (Hazlitt 44). On the other hand, procrastination of the revenge even endangers Hamlet’s life by giving Claudius enough time to conspire against him. Hamlet considers such excessive thinking as something cowardice, as he says, “Now, where it is/Beastly forgetfulness, or some defeated principle/Of thinking too much on the event,/ A thought which, cut in quarters, has but one part wisdom/And always three parts coward, I don’t know /Why I am still live to say “This thing's to do,”/Since I have cause, and will, and strength, and means/ To do it.” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 46-48) Indeed, such sincere approach to revenge reveals not only his indecisive nature but also his the nobility of his mind. The soliloquies in “Hamlet” play a great role in working out the theme of the play. The aforementioned soliloquy of Hamlet reveals a great deal of Hamlet’s indecisive but noble mind. (Bradley 34) In this soliloquy, it is evident that Hamlet suffers much from the internal agony and conflict. Because of his obsessive thoughtfulness he cannot act promptly. But his thoughtfulness proves that he is a noble-minded man. Indeed, the soliloquy in Act 4 Scene IV is also important for another reason. It can be marked as a turning point in Hamlet’s indecision. In it, he finally decides that he should act promptly, as he says, “O, from this time forth,/My thoughts be bloody, or be worth nothing!” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 67-68) Works Cited “Analysis of Hamlet’s Character”, 12 March, 2013. Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Boston: Blackwell. 2005 Lewis, C.S., Studies in Words. Cambridge UP, 1960 (reprinted 2002). Hazlitt, William. “Characters of Shakespeare's Plays”. 1817, 20 Oct. 2009. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Penguin. 2006 Read More