Why Is Hamlet's First Soliloquy

In William Shakespeare’s world renowned play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet employs soliloquies to convey the contradicting struggles he faces—a desire to avenge his father’s death and an inability to put his thoughts into action. In the play, his father, the late King Hamlet, appears to him in the form of a phantom to inform him of the means of his demise—murder by his brother and Hamlet’s uncle, King Claudius, and incentivizes his son to obtain revenge in his name. Young Hamlet, unsure if this phantom is a temptation from the devil or if the actions would be morally right to commit, conveys his inner struggles through various soliloquies throughout the play. In the soliloquies found in Act II Scene II and Act IV Scene IV, Hamlet reveals

In the soliloquy found in Act II Scene II, Hamlet first begins by criticizing his inability to act, referring to himself as a “rogue and peasant slave” (2. 2. 577) as he compares himself to an actor who has shed tears in re-enacting a speech of an unreal situation that mirrors his and as a result was overwhelmed and consumed by emotion. Here he conveys the deep desire he holds to fulfill his duties to his father and criticizes his self-worth because he has not been able to motivate himself to do so. Hamlet contemplates that if the actor was wearing his shoes, he would “drown the stage with tears” (2. 2. 589) and “cleave the general ear with horrid speech” (2. 2. 590). He then reflects that rather than doing so he has acted as a disappointment, moping

4. 34) and shows him how wrong he is for not having sprung into action. He ponders that a man who only eats and sleeps is a “beast” (4. 4. 37), and so this now truly reflects his self-worth due to his recent behavior. However, he comments, God did not create mankind with such a large capacity for thought and “godlike reason” (4. 4. 40) for his gifts to be squandered, so he must give himself more value. So, whether it is similarity of his mind to that of an animal or cowardly hesitation that has resulted from overthinking, he does not know why he is still alive to say, “this thing’s to do” (4. 4. 47) rather than taking advantage of his strength, will, and means to complete the task. Hamlet then compares himself to Fortinbras, who wing a “spirit with divine ambition puffed” (4. 4. 52) is putting his life and army at risk for reasoning as thin as an eggshell—pride. Consequentially, Hamlet contemplates that greatness doesn't always come from fighting for the right reason, but rather fighting to defend honor even if the matter was trivial. He then brings his ponder back to his present situation and decides where he stands as of now. His “father killed,” his “mother stained” (4. 4. 60) and remarried to the murderer, and himself struggling internally as he watches it all unfold, while in