Hamlet's Soliloquy

Hamlet delivers a passionate soliloquy in scene two that reveals his state of melancholy and profound despair of his mother’s hasty decision to marry Claudius so quickly after his father’s death. This soliloquy reveals him to be a highly emotional individual. He speaks of corruption and rot by describing the situation as “rank” and “gross”, and comparing it to an “unweeded garden”. Specifically, he says, “O God, God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world”! To him, life seems to be pointless and futile since the order in his life has collapsed. This state of mind is influenced by several events that amplify his emotions. Firstly, the death of his father has a drastic impact on him, as it probably would for any child. Hamlet idolised his father, believing him to be a great king who could be compared to Hyperion. This state of mourning develops into disgust as his mother marries Claudius less than two months after his father’s funeral. He accuses her of incest, and giving in to her lust. He says, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” as he becomes angrier and more emotional. The final aspect that makes him believe that his life is not worth living is the fact that he feels alone and isolated in his emotions. A hierarchal system still exists in the family which means he can’t express his true anger. He has a passive aggressive attitude towards Claudius and his mother but doesn’t clearly disrespect them. He obeys his mother when he she tells him not to return to university, but still expresses how he is still in true mourning, in terms of behaviour and attire – implying that she moved on too quickly. When Claudius asks why Hamlet is still so gloomy, he responds that he is too much in the sun. Although Claudius doesn’t realize it, Hamlet is expressing how he is uncomfortable being so closely related to him. This quote reveals, Hamlet’s despair as a result of the disorder around him.