Hamlet’s soliloquies

Soliloquies and their function

Soliloquies allow characters in a play to speak their thoughts aloud when they are alone, and serve several purposes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. By engaging in an act of self-communion (talking to oneself) via a soliloquy, characters are able to address the audience without the knowledge of other characters. It may give characters a chance to persuade the audience to be on their side by giving their side of events, or allow characters to come to terms with their own feelings. It also allows direct access to the character’s innermost thoughts and exposes their real character via a more truthful expression of emotions. In this entire play, Hamlet performs a total of seven soliloquies, each with their unique tone and function.

Act 1 Scene 2

This first soliloquy addresses Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts due his father’s death and his mother’s hasty remarriage to Claudius. He is disillusioned with life, and projects his anger toward women, since he feels that Gertrude has betrayed him. There is a common theme of corruption as seen through, “O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!” (In various editions, “sullied” has been substituted for “solid” or “sallied,” but they essentially mean the same thing!) Other negative nature imagery is used, with Hamlet calling Denmark an “unweeded garden” due to its imminent corruption. Hamlet also expresses melancholy relating to the father and the world that he feels he has lost through this elegy.

Hamlet further condemns his mother for the lack of delay in her decision to marry Claudius, her ex-brother-in-law, and getting into “incestuous sheets.” He makes many allusions to God and sin as well, particularly relating Gertrude’s action to Eve’s sin in a misogynistic tone. Overall, we get the sense that Hamlet has a lot of passion, which makes him exaggerate the facts. His reference to the Sixth Commandment – thou shalt not kill – also highlights his fascination with the afterlife and spirituality. Finally, it’s useful to recognise that Hamlet juxtaposes a lot of virtues and ideas, such as Hyperion and satyr, or heaven and earth.

Act 1 Scene 5

Following the Ghost’s declaration that he was murdered, Hamlet enters a state of confusion and distress. He has become fervent, and does not know if he should take immediate action and avenge his father. This impassion is conveyed through his frequently fragmented speech filled with tautology. He also uses short phrases and rhetorical questions to emulate his confusion. This can be seen in the quote, “O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else? / And shall I couple hell? O, fie! — Hold, my heart.” In these opening lines of the soliloquy, we can already see his bewilderment. Through another religious allusion, he is addressing everyone that he can think of; people in heaven, hell, and earth. This inner conflict about avenging his father stems from his filial obligation and his disgust toward Gertrude and Claudius’ actions.

Act 2 Scene 2

This is a transformative soliloquy in which Hamlet visibly decides between his previous passionate self-loathing, and an attempt of following through with reason. This particularly applies to his moral dilemma of avenging his father. He is testing his father’s word and Claudius’ conscience, by introducing the play-within-a-play. Hamlet’s initial speech imitates that of Pyrrhus from the play, again with short phrases and insults. His first line encapsulates this: “Ay, so, God b’ wi’ ye! / Now I am alone. / O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” Hamlet’s repetition of “villain” also reflects his rage and the way in which he is trying to work through his thoughts and feelings. However, Hamlet transitions into a new state of mind as the soliloquy progresses. He is determined to follow reason and not rely on destiny, as demonstrated through his smoother, more regular rhythm of speech.

Act 3 Scene 1

One of the most popular lines in English literature comes from this soliloquy: “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” By this point in the play, Hamlet has experienced even more betrayal and as such contemplates suicide even more frequently. The aforementioned famous phrase implies life or death in a direct sense. Though, Hamlet never directly talks about himself in this scenario, and instead chooses to use plural pronouns like “we.” This suggests that Hamlet is posing a more philosophical debate between the abstract concepts of life and death.

Further, Hamlet is also asking if it is worth living unhappily at all. He is unsure if putting up with life’s burdens is actually worth it. Once again, Hamlet is greatly conflicted because he doesn’t know whether or not to take action. C.S. Lewis (famed author of the Chronicles of Narnia) believes that this is not a result of Hamlet’s fear of death, but rather a fear of life after death and the unknown.

This delay also transfers into his revenge plot towards Claudius. He is still unsure whether to be passive and thoughtful, or take immediate action. Something important to recognise with this soliloquy, and a couple of others, is that they aren’t performed in complete isolation. For example, Claudius and Polonius are hanging around within earshot while Hamlet performs this soliloquy, thus subtly reminding audiences about the pervasive surveillance throughout the play.

Act 3 Scene 2

This soliloquy demonstrates Hamlet’s supposed readiness to take action against Claudius. He is using typical language of vengeance to try and create the image that he is a villain: “Tis now the very witching time of night, / When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out / Contagion to this world.” Although, his performance doesn’t seem all that convincing (it is almost as though he is trying to trick himself into believing his own words), this nevertheless creates tension for the audience, as it is unclear how Hamlet is going to act in the ensuing scenes. The second half of the soliloquy is concerned with Gertrude. Hamlet wishes to avoid being violent against her, as per his father’s orders, and because he is concerned for her soul. He says, “I will speak daggers to her, but use none,” which does actually contradict his earlier statements. Now, he doesn’t want to follow through with “unnatural” murderous actions, though, his impressionable personality means that he was greatly influenced by The Mousetrap. This facilitated his cold-blooded murder of Polonius in Act 3 Scene 4, but made him “weep” afterwards.

Act 3 Scene 3

The sixth soliloquy takes place after Hamlet concludes that Claudius is guilty of murder because of his reaction to The Mousetrap. However, he decides that he won’t do it immediately, for if Hamlet kills Claudius while he is praying, Claudius will be forgiven by God for his sins and sent to heaven. Hamlet thinks that this is unjust, since he believes Claudius sent Old Hamlet to purgatory. Hence, Hamlet decides in this soliloquy that he will delay his action even further. The single word “No.” in line 87 is probably the most assured Hamlet is in his decisions for the whole play.

Act 4 Scene 4

In Hamlet’s final soliloquy of the play, he is still inquisitive about the nature of man and his honour, as well as the reason as to why he has delayed the revenge plot so long. “How all occasions do inform against me / And spur my dull revenge!” Once again, Hamlet is not really alone when performing this soliloquy, as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spying on him. Hamlet tries to inspire himself into action once again, but a paradox is created. Hamlet is confused as to why Fortinbras, someone whom he has admired in the past, is going to such lengths to gain so little. He cannot comprehend the point, because he sees no honour in it, even though he himself is on a quest of honour for his father. So, here’s the paradox: Hamlet has admired Fortinbras for his action, while simultaneously condemning him for his absurd actions and futile quest for honour. It’s clear that Hamlet is frustrated with himself because of this, due to his speech: 26 monosyllablic words are used in lines 43 to 46, almost as a powerful imitation of his own short emotional fuse.