The Soliloquies Of Hamlet

Below is a free term papers summary of the paper "The Soliloquies Of Hamlet." If you sign up, you can be reading the rest of this term papers in under two minutes. Registered users should login to view this term paper.

Term Paper Title	The Soliloquies Of Hamlet
# of Words	1320
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.28

                 The Soliloquies of Hamlet

     Authors use various literary elements to give insight
into the mental composition of their characters.  In
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” we can trace
Hamlet’s mental process through his soliloquies.
     Hamlet’s first soliloquy reveals him to be thoroughly
disgusted with Gertrude, Claudius, and the world in general.
“How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, seem to me all the
uses of this world” (1284), he said.  He is saddened by the
death of his father, who he admired as a king and husband to
his mother.  His grief over his father’s death is
compounded by his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius.
Hamlet protests, “a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
would have mourn’d longer” (1285).  The worst part is that
he cannot tell them how he feels.
     In his second soliloquy, Hamlet becomes curious and
suspicious after hearing of the ghost.  “My father’s spirit
in arms!  All is not well; I doubt some foul play” (1287),
he said.  Hamlet feels that the presence of the ghost
indicates that his father died due to dubious circumstance.
     After talking with his father’s ghost, in the 3rd
Soliloquy Hamlet is angered by the news that Claudius had
murdered his father.  Hamlet assures that he will think of
nothing but revenge.  “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond
records...and thy commandment all alone shall live within
the book and volume of my brain” (1296), he proclaims.
     In Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy, his mental state shows
signs of declination.  He castigates himself for not taking
action to avenge his father.  He realizes that he has cause
to kill Claudius, but cannot muster the chutzpah to go
through with it.  He said, “Why, what an ass am I!  This is
most brave, that I...must, like a whore, unpack my heart
with words” (1314).  He also expresses some doubt that the
ghost was telling the truth.  He said, “The spirit that I
have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power
T’assume a pleasing shape...” (1315).  However upset he is
with himself, Hamlet is sure that the play he has arranged
will reveal Claudius’ guilt.
     In the fifth soliloquy, Hamlet hits upon a mental
nadir.  As he contemplates suicide, Hamlet asks himself if
it is more honorable to live with life’s misfortunes or to
die young and bypass all the hardships.  Hamlet suggests
that the reason we choose life is because we know nothing
about death, except that it is final. It is “the
undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns”
(1317).  He go...

This is not the end of the termpaper! Register below to see the complete version of this term paper.

Membership Plans	Credit Card	Check

1 month membership

3 month membership (You Save 50%)

6 month membership (You Save 67%)

Copyright © 2002-2007 Mid Term Papers. All rights reserved. This term papers website is used for research purposes only.
If you have forgotten your username or password, please click here.
If you like to cancel your account, please click here.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22