Hamlet Act 1, Scene 2,
Lines 129 – 159 Soliloquy
By: Justin W, Jake L, and Taylor L
Teacher: Mrs. Monosky
Date: Friday, June 10, 2011
Introduction
• The soliloquy for act 1, scene 2, 129-159, is Hamlets
first soliloquy which he expresses all his inner thoughts
concerning his fathers death and his Uncle marrying
his mother Gertrude. Hamlet is shocked at how
quickly his mother remarried. Hamlet despises his
Uncle Claudius and can not accept him as a father.
Hamlet wishes his father was still alive since Hamlet
describes him as a remarkable king. The troubles
Hamlet is experiencing must stay to himself because if
he reveals his feelings aloud people may become
suspicious to what he is planning.
Soliloquy Line
Breakdown
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
Hamlet does not want to continue living and is thinking of committing suicide
but holds back due to religion beliefs.
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
Life is not worth living and that all things become foul.
Soliloquy Line
Breakdown
• But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
King Hamlet was a terrific king that loved Gertrude very much.
• Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet, within a month
Let me not think on’t.
Gertrude remarried so soon after King Hamlet died, only took a
month.
Soliloquy Line
Breakdown
Frailty, thy name is woman!-A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she-O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month:
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married.
After only a month Hamlets mother remarries Claudius his uncle. Hamlet can not seem to
understand this mix up because he assumed his mother deeply loved his father.
O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good:
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.
Nothing good can come out of this, but he must not tell anyone about his feelings. Hamlet has to
keep his thoughts to himself.
YouTube Link
• For a better overall understanding of the soliloquy we are
going to show a clip from the Hamlet movie.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCBVmiVkzTM&feature=related
significance of the soliloquy to
the plot
• The soliloquy in act 1, scene 2 is very significant to the plot
because it shows how Hamlet is feeling at this point in the
play. With no one around to hear him, he is able to express
his true feelings. This being his first soliloquy of the play,
Hamlet speaks on how painful the situation is for him.
Hamlet feels as if he is ‘dirty’ just because of his mother’s
decision to remarry so quickly to his uncle. In this soliloquy
it clearly shows that he is depressed as he wishes that God
didn’t have a rule against suicide. This soliloquy is
important to the story as it outlines exactly what is causing
Hamlet’s depression; that being, his father’s death and his
mother’s quick remarriage. If the play did not have this
soliloquy, the readers would be left to draw conclusions as
to what was creating his depression.
Significance to
Hamlet and others
• This soliloquy is significant because it shows the depth of
Hamlet’s sadness and depression. It shows just how much
he resents King Claudius and foreshadows what may come
of this. This soliloquy also shows his frustration and
isolation from the society that he is in, and the norms which
restrict his expression (“But break, my heart; for I must hold
my tongue). The “frailty thy name is woman” quote
illustrates Hamlet’s negative opinion on the weakness of
women, particularly his mother Gertrude. This soliloquy
will affect Hamlet and Gertrude’s relationship, and could
also affect his relationships with future woman (i.e.
Ophelia).
What methods are used
•
Methods: Shakespeare uses metaphors and mythology to communicate Hamlet’s
thoughts:
•
Metaphors:
•
-Wishes that his ‘sullied flesh’ will ‘melt into a dew’. Sullied flesh represents physical
life, melting into a dew represents dying. He wants to commit suicide but respects that it
is against the teachings of God.
•
-He compares the world to an ‘unweeded garden’ which produces ‘things rank and gross
it nature’.
•
Mythology:
•
-Compares his father to Claudius: “Hyperion to a satyr”. Hyperion is a titan god, while
a satyr is a half man half goat creature.
•
-Compares Gertrude to Niobe, who is known for her everlasting tears. (Illustrating how
much she cried after Hamlet’s death, and how it is despicable that she could re-marry so
quickly after that).
•
-Says that Claudius is no more like his father than Hamlet to Hercules.
Parts of the soliloquy
that support themes
• The theme violation and reestablishment of order is
presented because Hamlet feels like he has been
violated with his fathers death occurring, and Claudius
remarrying his mother so soon after the tragic
accident.
• The theme of revenge comes into play because hamlet
keeps his thoughts to himself not letting anyone
become aware of his future plans to revenge his father
death.
Conclusion
• In Hamlet’s first soliloquy of the play, he speaks on all
that contributes to his depression which includes his
father’s sudden death and mother’s quick remarriage.
During this soliloquy Shakespeare uses metaphors to
clearly communicate the character’s thoughts and
feelings. Shakespeare also portrays themes of violation
and reestablishment of order. This soliloquy introduces
us to Hamlet’s mindset throughout the play and is
essential to the entire plot.