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In William Shakespeare's entire play collection, soliloquies are one of the most important elements of literature that are used. In most of his plays, Shakespeare uses soliloquies to convey what course of action the character is going to take or to review what has already happened. In Hamlet, soliloquies take on a different purpose; they are mostly used by Hamlet. The most important soliloquies are by Hamlet. The soliloquies are our main insight into Hamlets thoughts; notice that in most of them he questions the value of his thoughts vs. his deeds.
This shows an internal struggle between the two separate sides of Hamlets inner self. Hamlets soliloquies show both the side of Hamlet that thinks without acting and his side that acts without thinking. Through this struggle we see Hamlet trying to unravel the value of truth, moral and absolute. Hamlet is basically a confused, frustrated individual who is looking for the right thing to do but is confronted with two options, to murder or to not murder or the moral truth vs.
the need to set it right. Each part of Hamlet is trying to find a different truth but in the end we find that he can only be true to himself The soliloquy that displays Hamlets confusion is O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! in act two scene two. This soliloquy takes place immediately after the first discussion between Hamlet and the travelling players.
Here Hamlet is enraged, furious and rude. In this soliloquy Hamlet devises a plan which will lead the king to betray himself. His plan is for the players to put on The Murder of Gonzago for the court, which is similar to the murder of his father, King Hamlet. If King Claudius displays a negative reaction to the play, then Hamlet will know that the ghost is telling him the truth. Hamlet calls himself a rogue and a peasant slave. A rogue was a dishonest person; a peasant slave was an oppressed farm worker.
Hamlet is mad at himself because he desperately wants to be able to act like the players. He doesnt care about the play itself, but he realizes that the play is the key to finding if the ghost is correct. He calls himself gutless (I am lily-lived and lack gall line 557) which shows that he wants to act like the players but he is afraid. He is frustrated with the situation and he is mad because he is unable to do anything untill he finds out if the ghost is telling the truth or not. Essentially he is blaming himself for his lack of knowledge which is no way his fault. Soliloquies are a very important part of Hamlet.
In addition to showing hamlets inner conflict, they also show the differences between Hamlet when he is himself and when he is acting to fool the other characters. When Hamlet is speaking to other characters, he is in pretending to act crazy. However, during Hamlets soliloquies he shows his true feelings and his real personality is shown to the audience. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! in act two scene two displays hamlets inner conflict and his true personality.
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Research essay sample on Act Two Scene Hamlets Soliloquies
