Soliloquy: when someone speak with himself and is alone

Monologue: when someone speak with himself but there are other people around him

There are two tragedy devices used by Shakespeare to put Hamlet’s mind on the stage: the main player of the play shows to the audience the protagonist’s feelings, ideas and private emotions.

HAMLET’S FAMOUS MONOLOGUE

The monologue is from act III (the third act is always important in Shakespeare’s plays) scene I.

It is not really a monologue, but a soliloquy and this gives the idea of the protagonist’s loneliness: Hamlet speak with himself because he is alone.

It is set in a room in the castle; it is inside therefore suggest the idea of something of intimate and private.

The text is written with a concrete language because Hamlet speaks about something of concrete. It is also reach of metaphors and hyperboles to give a better image of the content.

 In the first part of the monologue he introduces the problem (to be or not to be). The question that Hamlet is pondering is decide if is better live (not only survive at a biological level) or die. If he chose to live he must decide to accept the problems and the slings of the bad fortune and make is body and his soul suffers or to combat the sea of troubles.  In another hand he takes in consideration the hypothesis to commit suicide to make his problems end. He considers death like a sleep, therefore he can be considered suitable because if you sleep you come to pause and you don’t feel the ache of the heart because nothing hurts. But at this point he remembers that when you sleep you dream and sometimes the dreams may turn into nightmares.

At this point is possible that when you are death you are torment by nightmares.

Now Hamlet develops his considerations and ask himself what kind of person could be one who bears the scorn of time, the oppressors, the suffering of a not corresponded love and the inability to be appreciate for what he is.

He found only one possible conclusion: men are coward and don’t kill their self because they are scared by the unknown, therefore by what could happen after death.

In conclusion the rationality and the fear of the unknown protect Hamlet (and everyone) by the suicide.