The Importance of Hamlet’s Soliloquies
In the Shakespearian tragedy Hamlet, we see the main character, who shares the name of the play, process many of his thoughts and evaluate many different options before he makes each of his decisions through the soliloquies he delivers throughout the play. From the first soliloquy in act 1 to the final one in act 4, many of major events in the play that involve Hamlet are decided through his trains of thought, as well as his opinions on various matters and his methods of dealing with his emotions. In the play, Hamlet’s soliloquies reveal his character by showing three of his most important traits; his indecisiveness, his nobility and his apparent self-hatred.
Although Hamlet has many different character traits, and is perhaps one of the most complex characters in any of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the most prominent one is his indecisiveness. He contemplates every one of the major decisions he makes and makes sure that what he is doing is what he thinks is the right thing, and he rarely acts without thinking about it beforehand. Much of this thinking is described in his 7 soliloquies, for instance in the third soliloquy he delivers, he mentions “The spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T’ assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds more relative to this” (2, 2, 577) which shows that although the ghost of his actual father gave hamlet an order to execute his uncle, he still has doubts that it was actually his father, and perhaps it may be the devil attempting to trick him. Instead of deciding right away to follow his father’s orders, he beats around the bush and decides that the better option is to prove his uncle’s guilt beforehand.
Another major character trait shown in Hamlet’s soliloquies is his nobility. Hamlet is in fact, a very fair and just thinking person, and his views on the world and peoples affairs are based on his high moral principles. One of the better examples of this is when he describes his mother’s relationship with his uncle in his first soliloquy, “Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing in her galled eyes, she married. O most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (1, 2, 154). Throughout this soliloquy and many of his others in which the focus is on his mother, he judges her heavily on the fact that she did not mourn over his father as long as she should have in his views, as well as the fact that she is sleeping with Hamlet’s uncle, and Hamlet looks down upon this incestuous act and shows an almost outright hatred for his mother for doing these things, as they conflict with his noble views.
The final major character trait shown in Hamlet’s soliloquies is the fact that deep down, Hamlet is a very depressed and self-loathing person. Much of this self-hatred stems from his father’s death and how his indecisiveness prevents him from making major decisions throughout the play as quickly as he would have liked. In most of his soliloquies, Hamlet is overly self-critical and blames himself for many of what he sees as mistakes in his life, even to the point of contemplating suicide on many occasions. A good example of this is in his third soliloquy, “Swounds, I should take it, for it cannot be but I am pigeon livered and lack gall to make oppression bitter, or ere this. I should have fatted all the region kites with this slave’s offal.” (2, 2, 553), when he is blaming himself for not yet fulfilling his father’s demands and killing his uncle like he had been told. He mentions that if people were to call him out for his flaws he would not respond as he views himself as useless and not able to retaliate. Another quote from the same soliloquy is “Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” (2, 2, 526), further demonstrating how disappointed and self-loathing Hamlet truly is with himself. Although suicide arises as an option in his first soliloquy, “… Or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” (1, 2, 131), his nobility and morality prevent him from acting upon this temptation.
Once again, Hamlet has perhaps one of the most complex and intricate personalities of any character in Shakespearian tragedies. He has many different personality traits that are demonstrated in his different soliloquies throughout the play with the most prevalent examples being his indecisiveness, his nobility and his self-hatred. This play is a very good example of how Shakespeare is a master of character building, and how the soliloquies from his characters help the audience a great deal in understanding the character along with his/her intentions and views on different matters in the play. It leaves one thinking, would Shakespeare’s Hamlet even be remembered in this day and age if it weren’t for the all-important soliloquies that were incorporated into the play?

Works Cited

1. Shakespeare, William. No Fear Shakespeare: Hamlet. New York: SparkNotes, 2003. Print.