Sixth Soliloquy Revenge Of Hamlet example essay topic

The Revenge of Hamlet Hamlet's sixth soliloquy is full of irony, philosophy, and with the familiar subject of revenge. It reflects themes of the entire play, and it helped further my understanding of Shakespeare's masterpiece, Hamlet. The main character, in his second-to-last monologue reflects Claudius' regret which is an obstacle to revenge. This barrier creates frustration for Hamlet, but also is a reason for further procrastination, which is usually Hamlet's way out of a situation. The subject of the soliloquy is essentially that if Claudius is killed by Hamlet while praying, he will go to heaven.

This situation is ironic because of Claudius's e cret inability to pray, and the irony is unknowingly reflected throughout Hamlet's viewpoint of the situation. Hamlet's philosophy is educated, but very ironic, as are many of the words and images that Hamlet uses. The characteristics of this soliloquy, the subject, irony, Hamlet's procrastination and his philosophy are true reflections of the entire play, and that is why my understanding of the play developed and improved by examining the sixth soliloquy. The subject of Hamlet's sixth aside is very similar to his other six because of his inability to act upon his conviction. Hamlet is told to avenge his father's unnatural murder knowing fully that this is his duty."Revenge tragedy has long been recognized, on the one hand, for the speed with which it becomes virtually synonymous with stage misogyny and, on the other, for its generic and sometimes profound investment in recognizably Renaissance process of mourning- revenge, after all, is the private response to socially un accommodated grief- but typically mourning and misogyny have been considered in isolation from one another, in separate studies and only insofar as the duplicate Renaissance habits of thought articulated elsewhere in medical or philosophical discourse".

(Mullaney) However, throughout the play we discover his soft heart and often his inability to act. By this he is betraying his father's command. This betrayal is more than evident in this soliloquy. His mind is tainted by the thought that if he were to avenge while Claudius is "praying", Claudius would go to heaven. Essentially in this soliloquy, William Shakespeare reveals the moral problems associated with committing revenge in a corrupt world.

Again, Hamlet finds a way to excuse himself from revenge. "Since in Hamlet we are interested not merely in the outcome of a scene on overt action but also in the shape it will assume in Hamlet's imagination, the Prayer scene really has two endings: Hamlet's failure to kill the king, and Hamlet's leaving the stage self-cast in the role of revenge villain". (Gottschalk) Irony is brought out in the plain and simple fact that Claudius' only prayer is that "pray can I not, though inclination be as sharp as will, my stronger guilt defeats my strong intent"I (I. ii. 38-40). These key words preceding Hamlet's soliloquy go unheard by Hamlet and set the irony for his speech. The irony of this scene opened my eyes to the irony in much of the plot of Hamlet and also his moral dilemma, which makes him fear being corrupted by the evil that he is trying to destroy.

Hamlet's primary dilemma is that he had been ordered to avenge his father's death upon Claudius, but he is afraid of the implication this will have upon his own self. Will he be corrupted by the evil he is trying to destroy? In his famous speech he questions whether "tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles" ( . i. 57-59). Through his sixth soliloquy I have come to understand better that his procrastination comes from the question, "To act, or not to act?" He questions the consequences of both and struggles to come to a conclusion; however he makes small conclusions of 'not act' nearly every time he is reminded of his task to revenge.

The sixth soliloquy as a excellent example of this procrastination. In his introductory line to this soliloquy, the tone he uses is almost unidentifiable. He is frustrated that this opportunity would otherwise have been perfect for revenge and he is also in a state of question, possibly confusion at the ironic circumstance. Hamlet's logical and theological line of argument of "And now I'll do't" (while Claudius is repenting) ( . iv. 74). And so a goes to heaven' is educated, but does seem inaccurate to many passages in the Bible that suggest we should not just make amends with God at the end of a sinful life, but that we should live in faith throughout our entire life.

This makes us question whether it was Shakespeare's ignorance or his desire to create yet more irony that drove him to write such an argument into the play. Hamlet makes a definite decision to 'trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven', 'when he is drunk asleep or in his rage... or about some act that has no relish of salvation in't' ( . iv). He is firm about this decision, but it seems obvious and likely that he would again procrastinate when another opportunity comes to kill Claudius. Another way my understanding of Hamlet improved is by the repetition and continuity of Hamlet's philosophical nature. The plot of Hamlet is intense but not the central focus of the play, but one thing that does set Hamlet apart from the other Shakespeare plays is the philosophy of Hamlet. This encourages the audience (or reader) also to question the situation from the character's perspective.

Possibly the central philosophy of Hamlet can be found in his fourth soliloquy, whether he should revenge or simply suffer his fortune, or whether death is even an option. I was encouraged to learn more about Hamlet's philosophies by the sixth soliloquy and my understanding was improved by this, because I now believe that all of Hamlet's thoughts and actions hinge on his philosophy in his 'to be or not to be's speech. Each of the characteristics of Hamlet's sixth soliloquy reflected the principle elements of Hamlet and because of that my understanding of the play improved. I was pushed to read more closely into the play and in doing so found many similarities between this particular speech and the thoughts and actions of Hamlet.

My understanding of Shakespeare's individual craft was also improved. Many characteristics of his writings shone through in Hamlet, particularly his creativity and questioning philosophies, his use of the procrastinating lead character, and his interesting use of irony. The basic principles of Hamlet were also revealed in the sixth soliloquy. The nature of revenge in a corrupt world and my understanding of these were improved through closer examination of the play.

Bibliography

DiYanni, Robert. "Literature: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark / William Shakespeare". 5th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Gottschalk, Paul. "Shakespeare Quarterly: Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge". Vol. 24 No. 2. p. 155-170 Mullaney, Steven. "Shakespeare Quarterly: Mourning an Misogyny". Vol. 45. No. 2. (Summer, 1994) p.