Everyone has to deal with loss and Shakespeare understood that within his play Hamlet. Throughout the play Hamlet is dealing with the loss of his father, in fact he gives several soliloquies about it. Perhaps the most famous soliloquy given is the one from Act III, scene i. Hamlet begins with the famous line, “To be, or not to be, that is the question:”(1). Although there are many literary devices used within this excerpt, the most prominent are syntax, diction, and imagery, and Shakespeare creatively uses each to portray Hamlet’s state of mind. At first the sentences are short and contradicting, hinting towards instability, just within the use of syntax. By the end they lengthen, becoming softer, which implies stability, and a calming …show more content…
Words such as “fardels,” “ills,” and “calamity,” depict the pain Hamlet feels in living. The formalness of the diction reveals intelligence, the rhetorical questions help ponder philosophy, and metaphors prove literary knowledge. Hamlet appears to be inside his mind, discussing his options which is not the smartest idea, because he begins contemplating suicide, furthering the instability ideal. The assonance from “sleep” and “dreams, provides contrast for, “Ay, there’s the rub” (10). The words above pause the reader’s train of thought causing a deeper focus. With the phrase, “undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns,” (24-25), Hamlet does not express a fear of the unknown, he appears unhealthily interested in discovering that unknown. Using the word “coward” close to the end, Hamlet recovers to a more stable plane, but is frustrated with himself for not fearing death and perhaps for being afraid to act against his uncle. Diction usually helps publish a beautiful masterpiece, but one detail is …show more content…
While wedging the vocal, metaphorical clay, Hamlet uses the line “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”(3). Here fortune is bearing arms as if to war. Hamlet imagines fortune as cruel and unjust coming to besiege his mental walls. The very next line, “Take arms against a sea of troubles,” (4) shapes a lonely soul trying to withstand the attack of wave after wave pounding against the walls, trying to break in to create cracks in his mental foundation. In line 15, “the whips and scorns of time,” carve the image of time as a cruel taskmaster, taking away everything Hamlet loved. The passage of time causes Hamlet much pain, looking for an escape his mind is overworking, but eventually the cogs within his internal clock are tightened causing time to flow steadily again, instead of rushing away so quickly. His sculpture masterpiece is fired into realistic art and Hamlet is stabilized mentally. Even though Hamlet is saddened by the loss of his father, he is not ready to do something drastic. The syntax in each sentence lengthens, loosening the spirals of suicidal depression. Hamlet’s diction is the only constant within the whirlpool of his thoughts, the words seem to imply that he has become more stable. The imagery Shakespeare utilizes flashes several
Hamlet sparks an internal philosophical debate on the advantages and disadvantages of existence and whether it is nobler to live miserably or to end one's sorrow with a single stroke. Hamlet is in a state of madness that leads him to question get suicide, comparing it to a peaceful sleep. Through Hamlet's internal struggle with suicide his conscience guides him to live. Hamlet is contemplating suicide because he is going mad over the truth of his father's death, and his mother remarrying so quickly. ” Hamlet is suffering” due to the loss of his dear father “and he wants his anguish and strong passion abundantly evident to the audience”(Source1,Point3).
His use of the word "fortune" magnifies Hamlet's sorrows about life being misleading and dishonest, as the stressed syllable of "fortune" is composed of a high vowel frequency that conveys happiness and joy. However, Hamlet's "fortune" is the opposite, as it is daunting and frightening. Therefore, the word itself is deceptive. Hamlet then expands on the feeling of avenging a parent's death by saying, "take arms against a sea of troubles," emphasizing his overwhelmed emotional state. The idea of Hamlet being amongst a "sea of troubles" creates an image of him, a young man, drowning in pressure to successfully complete the burden of obtaining revenge for his father's death.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to cope with his late father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. In Act 1, Scene 2, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet are all introduced. Hamlet has just finished publicly speaking with his mom and the new king, and after he is interrupted by his good friend Horatio, who reveal the secret about King Hamlet’s ghost. Hamlet’s soliloquy is particularly crucial because it serves as his initial characterization, revealing the causes of his anguish. Hamlet’s grief is apparent to the audience, as he begins lamenting about the uselessness of life.
When applied correctly, soliloquies successfully allow the reader to experience characters in their most vulnerable state: within their own minds. Hamlet is no exception to this principle, as Shakespeare’s mastery of rhetoric in establishing the main character’s inner conflict provides depth and rawness to his complex character. In this well-known soliloquy, Shakespeare employs logos to acknowledge that death can be both a relief and nightmare due to natural human emotions; accordingly, Hamlet personifies a severe case of teenage depression by simultaneously wishing for an end to suffering yet remaining hesitant to act on his own thoughts due to his fear of the unknown. Throughout this passage, Hamlet attempts to rationalize ending his life over continuing to endure the painful reality of his existence. The parallelism in this particular soliloquy serves several rhetorical purposes, including the development of an implicit contrast between Hamlet’s mental state and the actual organization of his thoughts.
Hamlet Journal 1 In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet, appears to be insane, but his mistrust for his uncle and desire for revenge drives him “To put on an antic disposition on— / That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,” (I.v.181). He succeeds in convincing almost everyone around him that he is truly a mad man whose only cure is execution; however, he is enigmatic and ambiguous. By having an appearance of insanity and madness, Hamlet is able to use it to his advantage to achieve his own purpose of ridding his father’s murderer.
Hamlet pushing away others causes his descent into madness. As he slowly loses his sanity, the idea of death looks more and more appealing. Shakespeare shows this idea through Hamlet’s soliloquy: “To be, or not to be: that is the question” (Shakespeare, line 57). The fact that Shakespeare used a soliloquy in this scene shows how much Hamlet’s solitude has affected how he views his life. His thoughts of suicide race as he finds himself alone, separating himself from the betrayal in his family.
Hamlet’s ‘To Be or Not to Be’ soliloquy is an exceptionally prominent piece in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. It is the basis for the play and contains strings of words familiar to numerous different people all over the globe. In the infamous ‘To Be or Not to Be’ soliloquy, Hamlet builds a universal conviction about life and death, though in the end constructs a conclusion that individuals who think too much can destroy themselves”by including, the diction, the syntax, and the imagery. The diction in this piece has truly shaped and added character to the meaning of the soliloquy.
Hamlet is a complex and nuanced character who struggles with existential questions and grapples with the nature of humanity. This is evident in the famous soliloquy "To be or not to be" (Act 3, Scene 1), in which Hamlet meditates on the pain and suffering of life and the possibility of
A decision is the thought process of choosing between two or more outcomes that may or may not have a great impact. When thoroughly pondered, living life is fundamentally based on making the best decisions. Whether or not they are great or small decision making is critical. Often times, it is the smallest decisions one can make that impact the even bigger decisions later to come. Starting from the time people wake up in the morning, the will be surrounded by the most basic decisions until they go to sleep that night.
Hamlet, written by famous playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, is frequently referred to as the “Mona Lisa” of literature. The true purpose and complete understanding of the play is, up to this day, not remotely knowledgeable by scholars and the audience alike. The play has led to much conversation about what Shakespeare was ultimately trying to accomplish with it. One vexed and widely referred critique was that made by T.S. Eliot, in which he described, “The ‘madness’ of Hamlet lay to Shakespeare’s hand…a deliberate dissimulation, but a form of emotional relief” (Eliot 93). In creating Hamlet, Shakespeare achieved perplexity in the scheme that created for misinterpretation of an unexplained Hamlet.
Throughout the play Hamlet, it is discovered that Hamlet goes through many ordeals in such a short period of time and these ordeals altered his perspective on life. In the play, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective is, how his perspective is formed, and how it affects the meaning of the play. To begin with, through Hamlet soliloquies, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective on life is. At the beginning of the play, it is revealed that Hamlet believes life is worthless. This is evident in his “to be or not to be” soliloquy.
This quote reveals how all these things have affected Hamlet psychologically and emotionally. The death of King Hamlet has led the play toward more death themes, making this the most tragedy
Hamlet’s hesitant nature is well presented in the play. For one, Hamlet cannot bring forth the strength to end his own life; his indecision of whether or not to commit suicide plagues him for more than half the play.
He calls him a murderous villain, heartless, disloyal, and lustful. Hamlet’s insanity can be seen in this soliloquy because his mind is so caught up with everything and anything. He is so distressed with insignificant things as well as his desire for revenge. Hamlet’s mind is racing and he is filled with several emotions which he feels one after another, from distress and confusion to self-pity
Hamlet is a very diverse character that goes through several different emotional stages throughout the novel. Some think that he is depressed because of his father’s death, and some think that his breakup with Ophelia has made him go mad. Though Hamlet does seem out of control at times, it is because he is keeping a secret about his father’s death. The average person does not usually deal with the death of their parent well, and knowing that it was intentional makes Hamlet even more emotionally unstable. From the beginning of the novel, Hamlet proves to be very melancholy, and upset with his life.