Hamlet's Soliloquies Analysis

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Beginning Challenges (A Discussion on the challenges of Hamlet by His Soliloquies.) Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet can't be described as anything but a tragedy. Through the whole play, the audience is able to view the tragic scenes and understand why the play is considered tragic. Shakespeare often uses different literary devices to express different emotions, and hidden messages. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses a literary device called a soliloquy. “Soliloquy, the speech by a character in a literary composition, usually a play, delivered while the speaker is either alone addressing the audience directly or the other actors are silent. It is most commonly used to reveal the innermost concerns or thoughts of the speaker, thus pointing up the …show more content…

After Hamlet is aware that Claudius is the cause of his father's death, he questions what is appropriate for the revenge of his father's death. He questions whether to kill Claudius, but struggles on actually going through with the plan. “The underlying theme remains Hamlet's inaction and his frustration at his own weaknesses. Here, however, Hamlet seems less introspective about his failure to kill Claudius than perhaps his failure to take his own life”(Pressley). After failing to be able to take not only Claudius's life, but his own, he questions his worth as a man. His second soliloquy is all about talking down on himself, how he isn't able to complete anything that he wishes because he is to cowardly. “A damned defeat was made. Am I a coward?”(2.2.559). Hamlet wishes to get revenge for his father's death, but is mentally unable to kill his uncle Claudius. This causes him to have an internal conflict with himself, he feels as if it's his duty to complete the task and get revenge for his father. On the other hand, Hamlet’s moral compass will not allow him to kill another human being. Later in the play these feelings resolve themselves a little, but this is one of Hamlet’s major challenges to overcome throughout the