Hamlet’s play by Shakespeare presents a tragedy that features important characters from the royal family. The play is a significant occurrence that is both fascinating and replete with incidences, drama, and tragic endings. For instance, in Act 3, scene 1 the most critical part of the tragedy is revealed when Hamlet delivers a soliloquy named ‘to be or not to be’. Prince Hamlet is facing a hard time in the play as he has just been haunted by the ghost of his late father, King Hamlet. He was the king of Denmark and lived in Elsinore Castle and according to King Hamlet’s ghost, it was his brother Claudius who was responsible for his death. The ghost wanted Prince Hamlet to take an act of revenge against the now-king Claudius and who had married his mother, Getrude (Ryken, 20). As the play enters into the soliloquy critical elements of the kingship are being questioned as at one point Prince Hamlet appears to be running mad while King Claudius is afraid of the changing behavior of the prince.
One of the major train of thoughts in this soliloquy includes the idea of doubt and uncertainty. Prince Hamlet tries to show the people who may be listening to him that there is no perfect thing in the world. He is uncertain about everything he does or says and this is due to the reality of his father’s death in the hands of his brother Claudius. Events are taking place swiftly across the play and through the mind of Prince Hamlet that are difficult for him to comprehend. The truth about his father’s death and knowing the killers are enough to bolt his mind out. In other instances, the initial phrase in the soliloquy, ‘to be or not be’ brings into the light the search for answers by the main character who wants to know if it is good to kill or forgive (Ryken, 30)Hamlet Soliloquy Assignment Paper.
The second train of thought as expressed in Hamlet’s soliloquy is about the aspect of life and death. The idea of learning about his father’s death and the appearance of ghosts informing him about the killers have completely brown the mind out of him. The prince is bloodthirsty and wants to take revenge first. The aspect of death also comes strongly through the soliloquy as King Claudius is seen worried about the changing behavior of Hamlet. He is equally afraid of death and seems to wonder whether Hamlet knows about the killing of his father. The lonely talk by Hamlet reveals his internal suffering and he talks about his feelings like slings and arrows. He believes that the events taking place are working like arrows striking his mind (Shakespeare, 3). He believes that the events taking place in his life are a great misfortune and claims that these situations make the mind vulnerable and bruised. He believes that in such a situation a single blow can be sufficient in ending his life. He also wonders about the idea of life and death. He seems to contemplate and at some point envy death. However, he swiftly retracts from this statement by claiming that it is not worth resigning to the fate of death yet no one knows about its experiences. It is in this line that he prefers to live since through life one knows the best and the bad side (Shakespeare, 3)Hamlet Soliloquy Assignment Paper.
Additionally, Hamlet’s train of thought brings into light the aspect of madness. Once Hamlet realizes that it was King Claudius who killed his father he descends into madness. He wants to hide in madness so that he can defend his behaviors. He depicts his abnormal nature and mind when he talks aimlessly without referring to anyone. This kind of communication was only seen to work for the madmen. However, through his strategy to execute revenge, he is able to come up with a super plan of closely studying his uncle Claudius and being able to find evidence and finally execute his plans. Hamlet through his soliloquy can see life as an exhausting journey that only offers Ophelia suffering. In his madness, he dwells on the idea of life and death and wonders if he will be rewarded for dying. This line of thought and his ability to evaluate events and refuse death is an indication that he was sober and not mad as people thought (Ryken, 34)Hamlet Soliloquy Assignment Paper.
At the point of Act 3, Scene 1 the speech brings the important nature of Hamlet’s mental state. It depicts that though he is acting like a mad person he is normal and able to think critically. For instance, he is able to delve into hard topics like life and death. He brings out important ideas about the nature of death and the reason people should always choose life. Across the act and scene, Hamlet can showcase his abilities in making an investigation even without alerting the king and his men (Shakespeare, 2)Hamlet Soliloquy Assignment Paper.
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