Hamlet

First however, he again mentions his father, showing his fondness by saying “So excellent a king” he was. Hamlet degrades his mother below the status of a beast. Hamlet also depicts the rapidity of her marriage with Claudius by observing that the shoes, which Gertrude had worn to her father’s funeral, were still almost new by the time of her marriage with Claudius (“little month, or ere those shoes were old with which she follow'd my poor father's body”). Shakespeare uses a simile to compare the noble, former king to Hyperion (Greek mythology – a titan) and the present king Claudius to a satyr (a monster, half human – half goat, was used as a symbol for sexual promiscuity). Hamlet wants to imply that “self-murder” looks like a very plausible option to the troublesome world he is living in. That it should come to this!”) shows that the negative aspects “posses” the world. The weeds have taken control of the garden. Shakespeare uses the metaphor of an “unweeded garden” to paint a picture of Hamlet’s world. Hamlet however, has to carry the burden of this knowledge as he cannot reveal it yet “But break my heart,—for I must hold my tongue”. This means that Hamlet accepts that there are always positive and negative aspects to life, however the next line (“Possess it merely. The strong juxtaposition between the two displays Hamlet’s scorn against Claudius. In addition he says that his mother’s eyes were still red from mourning when she married Claudius (“Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, she married”). This again refers to the haste of their marriage, similarly as the accusation with the shoe’s not being worn out does.

The next lines (“O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, would have mourn'd longer - married with my uncle, my father's brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules - within a month”) are again a revolt against Gertrude and Claudius.