University of Imam Ja`afar Al-sadiq/Baghdad

College of Arts
Department: English Literature
Morning Studies
Third stage

Subject of report
(The Importance of Hamlet’s Soliloquies)

Mohammed Ammar Hashim

Mrs.Isra Hasan

Year (2019/2020)
Introduction
It can be argued that, Hamlet, is one of the greatest tragedy pieces written
by William Shakespeare throughout his life. The play provides conflict
between a variety of personalities all in the pursuit of power or their own
interruption of moral justice. It encompasses the themes of deception,
manipulation and malevolent to create the “perfect storm” of exploitation,
chaos and perhaps insanity. One of the most puzzling elements though of
this play is the personality of the protagonist, Hamlet, son of old king
Hamlet and rightful heir to the throne. Although he receives supernatural
assurance that Claudius secretly murdered his father, and witnesses with
the questionable hasty re-marriage of his mother to his uncle, Hamlet
remains incapable to take any physical revenge on the behalf of his father.
His own doubts about the ghost, uncertainties of his own ambitions, and
his overanalyzing of the world around him are of the many dissensions
which keep him indecisive thus prolong his revenge and resulting in his
ultimate dismay.

Soliloquy is a device according to which a character brings out the inner

complex feelings by speaking to himself/ herself.
The audience is supposed to hear it but not the other characters on the
stage.
“A soliloquy (from Latin solo "to oneself"+loquor "I talk") is a device often
used in drama when a character speaks to
themselves, relating thoughts and feelings, thereby also sharing them with
the audience, giving off the illusion of being a
series of unspoken reflections.”

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The first soliloquy which Hamlet delivers gives the audience their first
glimpse of him as a character. Hamlet is reflective and depicts the way he
views his own position; he tells of his father’s death and then his mother’s
quick remarriage. He says, “It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (I, ii, 163),
when referring to the marriage of his mother. This gives the audience a hint
of foreshadowing because it is the first time when Hamlet mentions the
future. This speech also reveals his thoughts further when he says that his
mother is frail because she is a woman, while he also admits that he knows
he must hold his tongue. During the course of this speech Hamlet makes
several allusions to historical figures and this demonstrates to the audience
that he is an intelligent young man. One of these allusions is when he
compares the love his late father had for his mother to Hyperion to Satyr;
this is a reference to the sun god and his affections. This clearly shows the
audience that his heart is breaking not only for the loss of affections
towards his mother but the fact that she does not seem to care about this
loss. A second allusion made during the course of this soliloquy is a
reference to Niobe, a figure in Greek mythology who was so grief stricken
she could not stop crying and turned to stone. Hamlet compares his mother
to this figure and says Gertrude should be as grief stricken as Niobe. He also
compares himself to Hercules saying that his uncle is as similar to his father
as he is to Hercules. All of this information put together gives the audience
a very strong first impression of Hamlet as a character.
The second time which the audience sees Hamlet speak in a soliloquy is in
scene 5 of act 1 when Hamlet has just met the ghost of his father and has
received some disturbing news. His father has just revealed that he was
murdered by his own brother, this news deeply upsets Hamlet. This
soliloquy reveals Hamlet’s thoughts when he says he is going to wipe away
all trivial knowledge from his brain and live by thy commandments. When
he says, “Now to my word … I have sworn it” (I, v, 116-119), he is letting the
audience know that he will avenge his father’s death therefore creating
anticipation as the audience wonders how he will achieve retribution.

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While speaking, Hamlet creates an atmosphere because he repeats the last
words the ghost has told him, “Adieu, adieu, remember me” (I, v, 118). This
line is important because the ghost does not want to be forgotten and
Hamlet does not want to forget him. The repetition makes the audience
realize the significance of this line because the ghost wants his true story to
be told and he wishes to be remembered as a hero and someone who was
wronged. There is also contrast present when Hamlet talks about smiling
and being a villain. This shows that Hamlet is now aware that people may
not always be as they seem and one must be careful. His attitude has
changed because now Hamlet has even more of a reason to despise his
uncle.

The next time the audience sees Hamlet alone, more information has been
gathered about his character, because although a lot can be learned for
what Hamlet says about himself, information can also be learned by what
others says about him and the actions that Hamlet does. It is now known
that Hamlet is mad, although he has revealed to Guildenstern and
Rosencrantz that he is only pretending. He further explains the plan to foil
his uncle in this soliloquy, saying he will watch closely the way his uncle
reacts to a play that is very similar in plot line to the actions Claudius has
taken to become King. Hamlet reveals that he feels he has taken a cowardly
approach to making sure that the ghost was telling the truth and that his
uncle really is the murderer but he also discloses that he is worried the
ghost may have been the devil. This soliloquy also creates atmosphere
because of the way Hamlet talks about himself; he uses harsh language and
calls himself names such as rogue, peasant slave and ass. This language
makes the audience sympathize with Hamlet because he has a lot to worry
about with his mother marrying to soon and his uncle possibly having
married his mother. It gives Hamlet a reason to be acting so mad because
there is a lot to deal with in his life.

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Hamlet is seen again in act 3, speaking directly to the audience during his
famous to be or not to be speech. This soliloquy is especially important to
the play because it is written with masterful language and reveals a new
side of Hamlet. This soliloquy shows Hamlet’s softer emotional side when
he speaks of suffering and lists multiple opposing things, showing once
again the inner turmoil that Hamlet is facing. The big question that Hamlet
is trying to answer for himself during the course of this soliloquy is whether
or not it is noble to take up arms and die defending what you believe is
right. He compares dying to sleeping because it is peaceful and may lead to
dreams. By discussing mortality Hamlet again allows the audience to relate
to him because he reveals he is afraid of dying. The soliloquy ends on a
strong note giving the audience pause to consider his actions he says, “be
all my sins remembered” (III, i, 98). This quote tells the audience that
Hamlet has decided that seeking revenge is in fact a noble deed and
justifiable. The last few lines also mention Ophelia, and as the audience
knows Ophelia refuses to see him now and Hamlet is acting mad towards
her. This shows that Hamlet continues to act mad and seek revenge and he
is aware that he will lose Ophelia during the course of these events.
The next soliloquy in which the audience sees Hamlet is at the end of scene
3 act 2, in which he has just watched the play which he orchestrated to get
a reaction out of Claudius to see if he is guilty or not. During the course of
the play Hamlet makes bawdy comments to Ophelia and Claudius has
rushed out of the play. Gertrude is furious with Hamlet and wants to see
him immediately. The audience can see how Hamlet really feels about
these events during the course of his soliloquy; his feelings are apparent
within the first line where he says it is the witching time of night. Hamlet is
aware that it is time to take action because he has figured out the truth
about what his uncle has done. Hamlet goes on to reveal his feelings about
his mother when he says, “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” (III, ii,
429). This metaphor creates atmosphere because although Hamlet says he
will speak daggers and not use them it . During the course of this soliloquy
Hamlet reveals that he does not want his heart to lose her nature and he
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wishes for the soul of Nero to enter his bosom. Nero was an infamous
roman emperor who performed numerous executions including that of his
mother. By wishing to have a soul such as Nero’s enter his bosom it is clear
that Hamlet is revealing to the audience how his intentions may not be as
pure as he portrays them.
his next soliloquy . Hamlet walks in on his uncle who he believes to be
kneeling in prayer, Hamlet at first thinks this will be the perfect opportunity
to murder his uncle and gain his revenge but his soliloquy quickly reveal
that his thoughts have brought him somewhere else. Hamlet decides that
he cannot kill his uncle while he is in prayer because then his soul will go to
Heaven and this will not be just punishment for the acts which he has
committed. “And that his soul will be as damned and black as hell”
(III, iii, 99-100) this metaphor adds atmosphere because Hamlet compares
his uncle’s soul to blackness and hell. Hamlet then decides that he will kill
his uncle at a more appropriate time such as when he is drinking .That way,
Hamlet reveals his uncle’s soul will go to hell and not to heaven. By not
wanting his uncle to go to Heaven the audience learns a new side of Hamlet
in which his thoughts are becoming increasingly rash and angry now that he
is convinced that his uncle did in fact murder his father. Because Hamlet is
waiting for what he considers a better opportunity to kill his uncle this
creates anticipation for the audience as they will be wondering when and
how Hamlet will achieve his ultimate revenge.
The final soliloquy It is at the end of scene 4 act 4 and takes place after
Hamlet has encountered Fortinbras’ army and talked with Fortinbras
himself. Hamlet reveals to the audience that he feels that if a man has no
purpose he is no better than a beast so he must use his encounter with
Fortinbras to spur his revenge. He believes that God has created humans in
his image to achieve great things and he also tells the audience that he
doesn’t just want to sit there anymore while his father is not avenged and
his mother is stained by the actions she has taken to be with his uncle. He is
inspired by Fortinbras and his army of twenty thousand men who walk
towards certain death and yet they do it with noble hearts and courage

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because their honor is at stake. Hamlet also contemplates on the meaning
of mortality and how death can come so quickly. This reveals to the
audience that Hamlet does not feel as though he is invulnerable and that
he is scared of dying. At the end of his soliloquy Hamlet vows, “O, from this
time forth/My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!” (IV, iv, 68-69)
These lines show that Hamlet has gained new resolve and will try to kill his
uncle no matter what to avenge his father’s death and Hamlet is convinced
that all of his actions are justifiable.

Before Hamlet’s death, he kills his uncle and avenges his father and this
allows the audience to breathe a sigh of relief towards Hamlet because he
has achieved the purpose which he often alludes to during his soliloquies.
Each of the seven soliloquies allows the audience a deeper perspective into
who Hamlet is as a character as he reveals his thoughts, advances the plot
and adds atmosphere. When Hamlet speaks in these soliloquies he is
always his true self; never pretending to be mad or taking on a superficial
way of talking as he did at times in dialogue with others. These soliloquies,
therefore, adds much to the overall content of the play Hamlet and allows
Shakespeare’s audience a much better understanding of the plot.