Second Soliloquy Hamlet Calls On The Audience example essay topic

... his 'To be or not to be's soliloquy, Hamlet knows how much of a coward he has been and illustrates this in his final soliloquy by comparing himself to Fortinbras. He admires Fortinbras for the mere fact that he can retain control of his state and his army, whereas Hamlet can barely control himself. Hamlet also says, 'Rightly to be great / Is not to stir without great argument, /But greatly to find quarrel in a straw / When honor's at the stake' (IV, iv, 56-59). By this, he is finally realizing what he has to do in order to protect his honor, and his father's honor. As with his other soliloquies, this last soliloquy portrays Hamlet as the coward who can not avenge his father and the honor of his family. By the end of his soliloquy and the realization of Fortinbras actions, Hamlet finally vows to act upon his feelings and states, 'O, from this time forth / My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!' (IV, iv, 68-69).

It is at this pivotal moment where Hamlet no longer has an inner struggle and determines the actions he must assume in order to restore his family honor and bring an inner peace to himself. Hamlet's character during the beginning of the play is one of virtue and integrity, fearing the consequences of his action. As the play progresses, Hamlet becomes more and more confused and his inner struggle seems to be getting worse. After the explosion scene, Hamlet finally wins the battle within himself, causing him to act against his own inhibitions in order to dutifully avenge the murder of his father.

The soliloquies spoken by Hamlet were directed to the audience, rather than seeming like conversations with himself. In the first soliloquy, Hamlet talks about how aggravated at life he is and that if it weren't for God's laws he would commit suicide. He is not really morning his fathers death in this soliloquy but more his disgust for his mother for marring his uncle especially a few months after his father's death. He then goes on to explain he must remain silent.

He is explaining to the audience that nothing can undo the situation to make it any better. But that isn't good enough for Hamlet. Something has to be done. This soliloquy sparks an interest in the reader and provides a glimpse into Hamlet's thoughts while informing the audience of the history of his family's tribulations. In the second soliloquy Hamlet calls on the audience, the "distracted globe", to hear his vow to get revenge on his uncle and to erase all from his mind except that of what the ghost had informed him of. The ghost, Hamlet's father, had explained to him that Claudius had killed him and his soul couldn't rest until revenge was brought onto his brother.

The audience hears Hamlet's promise to make Claudius pay for his murderous ways. Already, the audience is excited by hearing Hamlet's promise because it is giving them something to look forward to. In the third soliloquy, Hamlet admits to the audience he is a coward; "What an ass am I!" He then goes on to tell the audience of his new idea to help draw the truth out of Claudius. He believes that the theater can make a person experience real emotion.

He finds this remarkable that something fictional can create a reality. But Hamlet admits that he is not sure if the ghost said to be his father is really who he says to be and not the creation of Satan. Now the audience is aware of Hamlet's concerns and maybe what has been holding him back from taking action. But the prince decides to feed on Claudius's conscience by having the players reenact the murder of his father. Then it is up to Claudius's reaction to prove to Hamlet that what the ghost spoke of was in fact the truth. Now the audience had even more of a build up of what is to come.

The best-known soliloquy, the fourth, is not as passionate but more subdued. With this speech, Hamlet is not just talking about taking his own life but more the choice that is put before man between accepting insults and pain from the world or fighting back at it. Hamlet poses the question "To be or not to be". Hamlet seems to search for some kind of meaning to life which is something each individual in the audience has contemplated before too. Hamlet seeks to find an answer we all have yearned to know; is there life after death and if so, is the life he leads now any better?

Should Hamlet right the wrong his uncle has made? That is what he is asking himself. If he does he will himself be making a morally unjust decision that would weigh down his own conscience. The audience is able to relate with this; everyone has been faced with a moral dilemma more than once in his or her life. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all". The audience in hearing these words from Hamlet sees that Hamlet is incapable of revenge.

The audience is always being included in Hamlet's thinking process through the use of soliloquies. By involving the audience in the protagonist's thoughts it helps the real meaning of the play shine through. The audience is told of past events without a narration that can sometimes take away from the play itself. The main characters' thoughts are not always obvious to the audience.

By Shakespeare's writings, the audience is always aware of Hamlet's current state of mind. Madness may be "mental incapacity caused by an unmentionable injury". Such wounds often are not easily perceived but may be revealed in time of stress. Hamlet's question, "have you a daughter?" (Act II. Sc 2 182) Polonius about the Prince's emotional state. What is hidden will surely be told to Claudius by his adviser.

Laertes's earch for revenge is sharper proof that madness in degrees of publicity causes harm to the observers. Claudius promise "no wind of blame" (Act IV, Sc. 7, 66) once Laertes kills Hamlet; perhaps this is what the uncle has sought all along for himself. Ophelia has a unique, very powerful form of madness; she seems caught as a "baker's daughter,' (Act IV, Sc.

5, 42) between memories of her father and Hamlet who ought have spoken to her of events on "Valentine's day. ' (Act IV, Sc 5, 48) She is doubly hexed and the madness she has infects the whole court. Once a person's mental state has been studied in public, there is no telling the injuries which may affect the viewers. Ever since the death of King Hamlet young Hamlet has been what appeared to be in a state of madness. In a discussion between Hamlet and Polonius Hamlet questions Polonius by asking him "have you a daughter". (Act II, Sc.

2,182) In this discussion Hamlet shows antic behavior towards Polonius by mocking him when Hamlet would usually show great respect for him because of he age and his high position in the court. This sudden question to Polonius has caused Polonius to believe that Hamlet has a form of love-sickness and that Polonius is sure to tell Claudius of his condition. Hamlet also accuses Polonius of being the "Jephthah, judge of Israel", (Act II, Sc. 2,399) meaning that Polonius would put his country in front of his daughter.

Hamlet has now convinced Polonius that he is in a state of madness because he knows that Polonius cares for his daughter very much and would never put her second. By convincing Polonius that he has no consideration for the well-being of others, Hamlet is then hoping that Polonius will tell the court of his emotional madness. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes has developed a different kind of madness, a madness that is controlled by revenge. When Laertes is talking to Claudius, Laertes gets so much revenge building up inside him against Hamlet that Laertes now wants to "cut his throat".

(Act 4, Sc. 7,125) Laertes' behavior is caused by the sudden death of his father who was without a due ceremony, and his sister who has been driven mad, has contributed to the madness that is being built up inside Laertes. This madness grows even stronger when Claudius promises "no wind of blame" (Act IV. Sc 7, 66) when Laertes kills Hamlet. With Claudius being the puppet holder and Laertes being the puppet, Claudius turns Laertes into a savage beast to avenge for his fathers' death; perhaps this is what the Claudius has planned all along. Laertes has a form of madness that is escalating because Laertes knows that he has the capabilities and motivation to act on what he believes on.

Ophelia has a unique form of madness unlike Hamlet's and Laertes' because it a mixture of love and hate. An example of hate is when she sings about a "baker's daughter". (Act IV, Sc. 5, 42) Ophelia is referring to the way her father used to treat her before the tragic incident of his death. A love within her madness is when she speaks about the events on "Valentine's day". (Act IV, Sc.

5, 48) When Ophelia speaks about Valentines day she is referring to the events of romance that she was denied. Ophelia's madness is brought on by her lack of being able to demonstrate any maturity in trying to cope with her losses and in return can only inflict her madness on the court. By stating that Hamlet could have controlled his fraudulent madness, he then had the capability of controlling his conscious mind into acting traditional. Where Laertes was very influential by others and had no real control over the mental state he was developing by the sway of Claudius.

Ophelia was the most innocent victim of all because she was the side affect of everyone else's actions and had no idea that she was mentally disintegrating. It can be noticed that within each of these three people there can be no reassurance on what the affect they may have on others due to their mental state in public. Hamlet - The 'Real' Tragedy In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death of a character becomes a frequent event. Although many people lose their lives as a result of their own self-centered wrong-doing, there are others whose death are a result of manipulation from the royalty. This is the case of Polonius' family. The real tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family but of Polonius' family because their deaths were not the consequence of sinful actions of their own but rather by their innocent involvement in the schemes of Claudius and Hamlet.

The first character to die in Hamlet is Polonius. Although Polonius often acts in a deceitful manner when dealing with Hamlet, it is only because he is carrying out plans devised by the king or queen to discover the nature of Hamlet's madness. Being the king's Lord Chamberlain, it is his duty to obey the king and queen's wishes and it is this loyalty that eventually proves to be fatal for him. An example of hoe Polonius' innocent involvement with the royalty results in his death can be found at the beginning of Act, scene iv, when Hamlet stabs him while he is hiding behind the arras in Gertude's room.

This shows how Polonius, a man unaware of the true nature of the situation he is in, is killed by a member of the royalty during the execution of one of their schemes. This makes Polonius' death a tragedy. The next member of Polonius' family to die is his daughter Ophelia. Ophelia's death is tragic because of her complete innocence in the situation. Some may argue that Polonius deserves his fate because of his deceitfulness in dealing with Hamlet while he is mad, but Ophelia is entirely manipulated and used by Hamlet and the king for their own selfish reasons.

An example of how Ophelia is used by Hamlet takes place in Act II, scene I, when Hamlet uses her to convince his family he is mad. Ophelia explains to Polonius how Hamlet has scared her, causing Polonius to draw the conclusion that Hamlet has an 'antic disposition'. Although this is the subject to interpretation and many believe that this is simply Hamlet taking one last look at Ophelia before he becomes engaged in his plan to kill Claudius, the fact that he scares her and does not try to alleviate these fears points to the conclusion that he is simply using her to help word of his madness spread throughout the kingdom via Polonius. In Act, scene iv, Hamlet kills Polonius while he is hiding behind the arras in the Queen's room. This event causes Ophelia to become insane and leads to her eventual death in a river near the castle in Act IV, scene vii.

It can be seen how the combined scheming of Hamlet's scheme which brings about the death of Polonius which leads to Ophelia's death. The passing of Ophelia is a tragedy because she does nothing deserving of death, she is merely used for other people's personal gain. The last member of Polonius' family to die is Laertes, Ophelia's brother and Polonius's son. Laertes' death is tragic because, although he kills Hamlet, he is avenging his father's death, an act, with reference to the moral climate of the 1600's, that would have been condoned by the people who saw the play. The difference between Hamlet and Laertes is that Laertes does not use others to attain his goals and his revenge is in part due to the pressure put on him by Claudius. This makes Laertes' murder of Hamlet excusable and his death a tragedy.

An example of how Claudius uses Laertes to try and murder Hamlet is seen in Act IV, scene vii. Claudius and Laertes are discussing Hamlet when Claudius says: Laertes, was your father dear to you? Or are you like painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart? He is asking Laertes whether he is really sorry about his father's death or if he is just acting mournful without feeling mournful.

Claudius uses these lines to lead Laertes into a plan to kill Hamlet, asking him what will he do to prove his love for his father in ActIV, scene vii. Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake to show yourself in deed your father's son more than in more than words? It can be easily seen how Laertes, influenced by Claudius in the heat of his anger, could conspire to murder Hamlet and it is in this attempt that Laertes loses his own life to the very poison he kills Hamlet with. Once again, a member of Polonius' family loses their life as a result of a conflict that they are oblivious to, making Laertes' death a tragedy as well.

Contrary to popular belief, the tragedy associated with Hamlet is not about Hamlet or his family. It is, however, about the tragic fate of Polonius' family, whose deaths are not the result of any sins they omit but by their being manipulated by Hamlet and Claudius for reasons they are unaware of. Although the death of Polonius' family stands out as being the most tragic, many other characters in the story are killed as well. In fact, the death of a character in Hamlet almost becomes commonplace near the end of the play.