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
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
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