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How Does Shakespeare Use Syntax In Hamlet

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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. Words such as “undiscovered country” (Shakespeare 63), “fardels” (Shakespeare 63), “ills” (Shakespeare 63), “suffer” (Shakespeare 63), and “calamity” (Shakespeare …show more content…

William Shakespeare, uses syntax in this soliloquy that might seem a bit unusual. He uses an enormous number of semicolons and colons, which helps draw the reader’s attention to specific areas during Hamlet’s soliloquy. Commas and semicolons are typically used less often than periods which allow them to be important to focus on. So, the use of these forms of punctuation may allude to the fact that something intense is coming up and that the reader should pay close attention to what Shakespeare writes. “To die: to sleep; no more” and “To die: to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream.” are both short, quick phrases separated with commas, colons, and semicolons. The reader connects with Hamlet due to the way that Shakespeare writes. The reader gains a feeling that Hamlet’s thoughts grow burdensome here, and become so overwhelming that he only expresses himself in short, simple phrases. In this passage, Hamlet happens to relate dying to sleep, which leads the play watcher to think that Hamlet does not view death as being scary. However, as the soliloquy continues on, Hamlet begins to have his doubts as he becomes unsure of what will actually happen after death. Shakespeare’s writing style changes a bit when Hamlet begins to show his doubts of committing suicide. There are less choppy sentences which give meaning to the fact that Hamlet is starting to feel afraid. The way Shakespeare changes his syntax throughout Hamlet’s soliloquy supplies much meaning to the piece

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