Tuesday, March 17, 2015

How do the soliloquies in Acts I to III help us to understand Hamlet as a tragic hero?

Hamlet's first soliloquy in Act 1, sc. 2, shows us how Hamlet is feeling at this point, before he has seen the ghost of his father. He is depressed, frustrated, and confused.  He is sad that his father died and frustrated and confused about his mother's remarriage so soon to her dead husband's brother.  The soliloquy in Act 2, sc. 2 shows more of Hamlet's frustration, but this time it is with himself.  His father's ghost asked him to get revenge several weeks ago and he has not done anything yet.  In this speech, Hamlet rails against his inaction and then decides that he'll check the authenticity of the ghost through the traveling actors and their play.  In both of the speeches, Hamlet is established as one who thinks matters through and dwells upon them.  We see him as one who had a happy life until his father's untimely death.  He sees his own weaknesses and does not blame those weaknesses on others.  He was a good, loving son to his father. Through both soliloquies, we see that he is a wronged man given a heavy burden of responsibility when asked by his father's ghost to get revenge against the murderer, his uncle.   Hamlet accepts this responsibility, but also realizes that the ghost may not have been his father's spirit, so he doesn't accept matters at face value.  All of this sets up Hamlet as a heroic character who will face even greater tragedy than he has already faced.

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