Claudius's Soliloquy In Hamlet
Claudius’s Soliloquy
Hamlet is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s. In the beginning of the play, Prince Hamlet was called back to Denmark to attend his father’s funeral. One surprising element Hamlet came home to was the marriage of his mother to his uncle, King Claudius. From there, the mystery of what happed to his father began to unfold. Shortly after his return to Denmark, the ghost of his father visited Hamlet. During this scene, the ghost reveals to Hamlet the mystery behind his father’s dead. However, as the audience of the play, we are unsure of the reality of this statement until Hamlet showcased a play within the play of what the ghost had told him. King Claudius was outraged and could not handle the guilt …show more content…
This speech incorporates two major themes of the play including tragic dilemmas and sins; however, these two themes coincide with minor themes of the soliloquy that are seen as vital themes throughout the play and will be …show more content…
In Claudius’s soliloquy, he contemplated whether or not to announce his crime to his people or to keep it secrecy for personal gain. His selfishness is revealed in line 40 of the speech as he stated, “my stronger guilt defeat my strong intent” (3.3.40) According to John Farrell, Claudius attempts to be a “royal exemplar, but his crown literally weighs him down” under the guilt he carries (Farrell, 2012).This meaning, Claudius would rather live with the guilt of murdering his brother than to give up his precious throne and wife. However, Claudius is only one of the many characters who is faced with a tragic dilemma. For example, in Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech, he questioned whether to live with the pain and agony of his father’s death and the desire to kill Claudius or to commit suicide. He suggested that he would not disobey his family’s moral values in this type of situation. Claudius’s soliloquy is in direct parallelism to Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech when referring to the themes displayed within each one. Therefore, this monologue plays a vital role in the understanding of other soliloquies in the play, and the play’s themes in general. The theme of sin coincides with the major theme of the pervasiveness of death. As early stated, the killing of another person is a sinful act against God and humanity. Therefore, the pervasiveness of death exists when this type of
Hamlet is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s. In the beginning of the play, Prince Hamlet was called back to Denmark to attend his father’s funeral. One surprising element Hamlet came home to was the marriage of his mother to his uncle, King Claudius. From there, the mystery of what happed to his father began to unfold. Shortly after his return to Denmark, the ghost of his father visited Hamlet. During this scene, the ghost reveals to Hamlet the mystery behind his father’s dead. However, as the audience of the play, we are unsure of the reality of this statement until Hamlet showcased a play within the play of what the ghost had told him. King Claudius was outraged and could not handle the guilt …show more content…
This speech incorporates two major themes of the play including tragic dilemmas and sins; however, these two themes coincide with minor themes of the soliloquy that are seen as vital themes throughout the play and will be …show more content…
In Claudius’s soliloquy, he contemplated whether or not to announce his crime to his people or to keep it secrecy for personal gain. His selfishness is revealed in line 40 of the speech as he stated, “my stronger guilt defeat my strong intent” (3.3.40) According to John Farrell, Claudius attempts to be a “royal exemplar, but his crown literally weighs him down” under the guilt he carries (Farrell, 2012).This meaning, Claudius would rather live with the guilt of murdering his brother than to give up his precious throne and wife. However, Claudius is only one of the many characters who is faced with a tragic dilemma. For example, in Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech, he questioned whether to live with the pain and agony of his father’s death and the desire to kill Claudius or to commit suicide. He suggested that he would not disobey his family’s moral values in this type of situation. Claudius’s soliloquy is in direct parallelism to Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech when referring to the themes displayed within each one. Therefore, this monologue plays a vital role in the understanding of other soliloquies in the play, and the play’s themes in general. The theme of sin coincides with the major theme of the pervasiveness of death. As early stated, the killing of another person is a sinful act against God and humanity. Therefore, the pervasiveness of death exists when this type of