Yohairah Erika Malabad
Stuckey, 3 rd Period
Hamlet Rhet. Essay - Act I, Scene ii, Pages 10-11
In Act I, Scene II of the novel Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Gertrude and Claudius, who is now the king, just got married. Prince Hamlet, Gertrude’s son, shows his melancholy and disgust at his mother for marrying his uncle after the death of his father. Later, Horatio tells Hamlet that he had just seen the ghost of his now dead father. Throughout this scene and the rest of the play, there are recurring themes of madness, Hamlet character, and his attitude towards women. Shakespeare describes these themes by using rhetorical devices. Some rhetorical devices he uses include apostrophe, hyperbole, and similes.
Shakespeare uses apostrophe to show the reader Hamlet’s feelings towards girls. During his speech, Hamlet says “Let me not think on’t – Frailty, thy name is woman!”(I, ii, Pg 11). Hamlet describes the weakness of character his mother has by generalizing the attribution from one particular woman to womankind but speaks directly to frailty. Shakespeare uses apostrophe by addressing someone who is absent. Hamlet continues on to say “A little month, or ere those shoes were old/ With which she follow’d my poor father's’ body…”(I, ii, Pg 11). Hamlet is angered by his mother. This shows Hamlet’s view towards women.Not only does Shakespeare use apostrophe to dramatize, but he also uses hyperboles.
Hyperboles are used in Hamlet to further exaggerate Hamlet’s character. Hamlet says “O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew” (I, ii, Pg 10). Hamlet wishes that he could die and shows that he feels that everyone is against him. Hamlet claims that he wants to die but does not mean it literally making what he says a hyperbole. He also says “With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!”(1,ii, Pg 11). Hamlet continues to overreact and seems to think that everything is wrong. Again, Hamlet exaggerates that everything in his life is wrong. By overemphasizing and not being literal, Shakespeare demonstrates hyperboles through Hamlets Character. Shakespeare effectively uses hyperboles in his plays as well as using understatements.
Shakespeare uses similes to describe Hamlet’s character. Hamlet claims “My father’s brother, but no more like my father/ Than I to Hercules” (I, ii, Pg 11). Hamlet compares his father to his uncle saying that his father is completely different than his uncle in a greater way, showing the little respect
Hamlet has for his uncle. By comparing Hamlet’s father to his uncle, Shakespeare uses similes comparing the two men and also by comparing Hamlet to Hercules.
The novel Hamlet demonstrates several rhetorical devices to explain the story. Some of the devices that Shakespeare uses such as apostrophe, hyperbole, and simile shape the themes of madness, and Hamlet’s character by dramatizing and comparing phrases that Hamlet says.