Essay On Emotions In Hamlet

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In language, regardless of dialect, nationality, being written in literature or not, emotion is a component of language felt and displayed constantly. All words and phrases come with connotations and in any shape or form, emotion is always dispersed throughout language. In the work of one of the best at writing emotion in language, William Shakespeare holds many emotions within his writing at all times. A well rounded and sufficient example of this is his beautifully crafted play, Hamlet. In the play, Shakespeare utilizes the uses of metaphors, tone, and parallel structure to further Hamlet’s emotions of love, anger, and despair throughout the play. With the use of language in Hamlet, Shakespeare uses metaphors to develop Hamlet’s emotions …show more content…

This questioning only led to one of the strongest emotions that Hamlet had to experience and this was the feeling of despair. Hamlet had reached the point of feeling as if he had lost hope and desire, lost a “point” to live, also feeling as if life had no directive. This exact point of Hamlet’s emotional state was observed and recognized in one of Shakespeare’s most famous soliloquy, Soliloquy #4. Shakespeare’s genius mind did so well at demonstrating a sensation of despair that he did so through the use of parallel structure, which is the continuous use of a grammatical pattern throughout your compared items or ideas. Shakespeare does so by writing, “To be or not to be, that is the question: / Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / or to take arms against a sea of troubles… / ...To die: to sleep” (3.1.56-60). Hamlet here is questioning his own existence and his purpose to live. He is now reached a stage of despair where he is losing sight of truly why he must be alive. This emotion becomes so prominent as he continues on more describing life’s difficulties and how easy it would be to put a permanent end to them by ultimately putting an end to his own life. This emotion and use of parallel structure reveals a distinct development in his character as he has now moved from shock and anger, to a despair yet this will later on in the play