George Awtrey
English
April 16, 2011
Hamlet’s Psychological Analysis William Shakespeare was and still is one of the most renowned play writers of all time. Shakespeare had a talent like no other that allowed him to create plays that entertained viewers of his era and beyond. One of his most popular plays is Hamlet. Because this play was one of his more complex works it is also became of the most analyzed plays as well. The main character, Hamlet, has fascinated readers and audiences for centuries, and one of the first thing to point out about him is that he is indecisive (22 Newell). But even though he is thoughtful to the point of obsession, Hamlet also behaves rashly and instinctively. When he does act, it is quickly with little or no premeditation, like when he stabbed Polonius through the curtain without even checking to see who he was. He seems to step very easily into the role acting crazy, behaving erratically and upsetting the other characters with his careless speech (22 Newell). It is also important to note that Hamlet is extremely laid back and unconcerned with it comes to the state of affairs in Denmark and in his own family. He is extremely disappointed with his mother for marrying his uncle so quickly. He rejects, Ophelia, a woman he claimed to have loved once. At a number of points in the play, he contemplates his own death and even the option of suicide. But, despite all of the things with which Hamlet expresses dissatisfaction, it is remarkable that he thinks about these problems only in personal and philosophical terms. He spends little time concerning himself about the threats to Denmark’s national security from outside forces or the threats to its stability from within (1 Hamlet's). Also, there is always a little more to Hamlet than the other characters in the play can figure out; even the most intelligent readers come away with the feeling that they do not know everything there is to know about his character. Hamlet actually tells other characters that there is more to him than they can see. When he talks in the play, he sounds like there is something he is not saying, maybe something important even he is unaware of. The ability to write soliloquies and dialogues that create this effect is one of Shakespeare’s most impressive achievements. Hamlet’s character is so complex analyzing Hamlet’s four soliloquies is the best way to understand his mental state. Hamlet’s first soliloquy, takes place shortly after first meeting Hamlet. He speaks these lines after sitting through an upsetting scene at Gertrude and Claudius’s court. Then against his wishes, he was asked by his mother and stepfather not to return to Wittenberg to continue his studies, but to remain in Denmark. This is where Hamlet thinks for the first time about suicide (1 Hamlet's). He reveals his desire for flesh to “melt,” and wishes that God had not made “self-slaughter” a sin (1414 Kennedy). He also says that the world is “unprofitable, flat, stale, and weary.” In other words, suicide seems like a less painful alternative to his troubled life in the world, but Hamlet feels that the option of suicide is out of the question because it is forbidden by religion (1 Hamlet's). Hamlet then goes on to describe the causes of his pain, stressing he strongly dislikes his mother’s marriage to Claudius. He cannot understand why his mother remarried so quickly. Hamlet states that the shoes his mother wore to his father’s funeral were not worn out before her marriage to Claudius. He then compares Claudius to his father, who was “so excellent a king”, while Claudius had none of his father’s traits as a ruler (1417 Kennedy). It is also important to note that this marks the first emotional “low” that we see Hamlet experience on his emotional roller coaster that will be present throughout the play. This soliloquy obviously shows hamlet is emotional, however, at this point in the play everything he is having trouble accepting would be reasons for anyone to be upset. In addition to revealing Hamlet's plot to trap the king in his guilt, Hamlet's second soliloquy uncovers the very essence of Hamlet's true conflict. He rambles incessantly and wallows in his own self-pity as he realizes he has not fulfilled his promise to the Ghost to avenge his father's murder. Instead, he has thought more about his own death than that of his father's supposed murderer, Claudius, and is a coward for taking no action towards this murder. He realizes that he should be upset and channels the energy to his fulfilling his promise. He is now committed to getting revenge for his father’s murder; however he cannot act on behalf of his father due to his indecisiveness of calculating revenge. Determined to convince himself to carry out the premeditated murder of his uncle, Hamlet decides he needs proof that Claudius is indeed a murder. So he next tries to focus his attention on a plan to ensure Claudius admits his own guilt. He comes up with an ingénues plan; he decides to stage the play “The Mousetrap”. Hamlet is convinced that, as his uncle watches a detailed re-enactment of his murder, he will reveal his own guilt. Hamlet mentions that he cannot take the word of his father's ghost, who could really be "the devil", tricking him into damning himself. Therefore, he must have more proof before he takes Claudius's life. Although Hamlet seems to still be think logically, his ideas and the reasoning behind them are becoming more and more farfetched. Also, during this point in the play the other characters become more concerned about the mental state of Hamlet and find themselves wondering what is happening inside Hamlet’s head. This soliloquy marks an emotional “high” opposed to the “low” Hamlet was experiencing before. He is not necessarily happy, but he is not talking about taking his own life anymore. He is refocused with fulfilling his father’s murder and finds meaning to his life. This soliloquy is one of the most famous speeches in the English language. Hamlet once again purposes question of whether to commit suicide: “To be, or not to be,” in other words, to live or not to live. He then states the moral pros and cons of living and dying. Is it nobler to suffer through life without passion or to actively seek the end one’s suffering? He repeatedly compares death to sleep and suggests that it would bring the end to uncertainty, suffering, and pain. Based on this metaphor, he decides that suicide is a desirable course of action. But, in a religious sense there is more to that question, mainly, what happens after death. He decides that the uncertainty of life after death is what prevents all of humanity from committing suicide. He says no one would choose to live, unless they “dread of something after death”. That “dread” makes people suffer through their lives rather than die and passover into the afterlife which could be even more miserable. In addition to the connection between life and death, this speech is important for what it reveals about the quality of Hamlet’s mind. His passionate personality is complemented by his persistent intellect, which works extremely hard to find a solution to his unhappiness. He has resulted to his religion and found that it was unable to help him either kill himself or to kill Claudius. As a result, he turns to logical methods and found that they are equally frustrating. Frustrated, Hamlet once again finds himself on another emotional “low”. Hamlet's last soliloquy is crucial to our understanding of his character development. By the end of his final soliloquy, Hamlet stops his contemplation on whether or not the murderous revenge of his father is moral, and finally accepts that it is his necessary duty as his son. It is not that Hamlet has found solid evidence to convince him that it is truly his responsibility to get revenge; rather after distorted and intense thoughts he has driven himself to this unfortunate conclusion. It is obvious that Hamlet's state of mind has gone through a metamorphosis (1 Soliloquy). Unlike his "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet realizes how much of a coward he has been and he mentions this in his last soliloquy by comparing himself to Fortinbras. He admires Fortinbras for the simple fact that he able to stay in control of his state and his army, on the other hand Hamlet can barely stay in control of himself. Hamlet says, "Rightly to be great/Is not to stir without great argument, /But greatly to find quarrel in a straw/When honor's at the stake"(1431 Kennedy). He is finally realizing what he has to do in order to protect his honor, and the honor of his father. After Hamlet’s final soliloquy and recognizing the honor of Fortinbras actions, he finally commits to go through with his feelings and states, "O, from this time forth/My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!"(1431 Kennedy) Hamlet ends his ride on the emotional roller coaster on a “high”. It is at this pivotal point where Hamlet no longer has an inner struggle and determines the actions he must take in order to regain his family honor and bring peace to himself. Hamlet's character is so complex and unstable that analyzing his soliloquies is the only way to understand his state of mind (1 Soliloquy). As the play progresses, Hamlet becomes increasingly more confused and his inner struggles seem to be getting worse. Throughout the play Hamlet is continuously rising and falling from emotional “lows” and “highs”. After an exploding ending scene, Hamlet ends up winning the battle within himself, causing him to act against his own morals in order to get revenge on the murder of his father (1 Soliloquy). After analyzing all of hamlets soliloquies and noting the rise and fall of his attitude and state of mind, it is clear the hamlet is bipolar to some extent. However, to what extent is a question the Shakespeare purposely created for the ages.

Citation Page:
"Soliloquy Essays - Analysis of Hamlet's Soliloquies." 123HelpMe.com. 19 Apr. 2011 .
Kennedy, X.J. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing: Drama. 2010.
Newell, Alex. The Soliloquies of Hamlet. London: Associated Unversity Presses, 1991
“Hamlet's Soliloquy: Commentary”. Shakespeare-Online.com 19 Apr. 2011 .