Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Hamlet

Hamlet, the classic play written by William Shakespeare, tells the story of a prince whose throne is taken from him by the same uncle who he learns has murdered his father and then married his mother. These events throw the prince into thoughts of suicide, revenge, and the purpose of his own life; ideas that can best be examined through the four soliloquies given by Hamlet. These four soliloquies not only give the audience a window into Hamlet's troubled mind, but also reflect the significant themes of justice and revenge and destiny and the purpose of life.

The first soliloquy is at the beginning of the play, where Hamlet describes his disgust with his mother for marrying her husbands' brother. He makes this speech after his "parents" ask him why he is depressed, and they both think it is time that Hamlet stops mourning his fathers' death. Hamlet views the marriage of his mother to his uncle as incestuous, and he feels like his mother has betrayed his father for marrying so soon after his death. He views her as a weak, sinful woman whose tears of mourning her late husband had hardly dried before her tears of marriage bliss had flown. A very compelling line is spoken in line 146, one that summarizes Hamlet's view of women

These four soliloquies in themselves form a summary of the play, Hamlet, by outlining the most significant themes in the play, the themes of justice and revenge and destiny and the purpose of life. These themes are very important to the play because Hamlet deals with these profound issues because of the treacherous murder of his father. These themes are advanced by the speeches because they give the audience a window into Hamlets' mind and show us first hand how these themes affect Hamlet's mindset and his movement towards action, and through these soliloquies the two major themes of the play can best be understood.

The second soliloquy takes place after Hamlet speaks to his fathers' ghost, who explains to him that Claudius, his uncle, has in fact murdered him and Hamlet must seek revenge. Shortly before Hamlet makes his second speech, he watches a play put on by actors that have been brought in, and he realizes that he is a coward for not taken revenge for his fathers' death yet. He goes on about how cowardly he is , that he is a "rouge, peasant slave, an ass, and a coward"; and how these actors can cry over a fictitious person, but he cannot avenge the death of his beloved father. After lines of self -criticism, suddenly the soliloquy shifts and Hamlet begins to discuss the fact that the ghost may have been a devil trying to trick him, and that he needs more proof before he takes revenge on Claudius. He decides to have the players act out a script of his fathers' murder, to see Claudius' reaction. This decision on Hamlet's part is contradictory to what he had said just moments before, that he was a coward for not taking action. In waiting to see what Claudius's reaction will be to the play, "to catch the conscience of the king," Hamlet is again procrastinating what the ghost had commissioned him to do- seek revenge. Thi

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Approximate Word count = 1245
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English