Hamlet's Second Soliloquy

The inspiration to motivate someone can be anything from as simple as a few words to even actions the inspiration takes. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the young Prince Hamlet’s duty to fulfill his dead father’s revenge came from a variety of sources. Mostly, it’s other influential people like the ghost, the first actor, and Fortinbras. Hamlet character goes from indecisive but willing to go through with the revenge in the second soliloquy, but transforms into being decisive and willing to go through with the revenge in the fifth soliloquy, which it highlights his desire to uphold his honor even though all actions have consequences.

The second soliloquy characterizes Hamlet as the more devoted to his revenge than the first actor. Imagery from the
Hamlet believes that the actor isn’t as passionate as Hamlet and uses a rhetorical question: “What would he do, had he the motive and the cue for passion that I have?” (II.ii.509-511). He uses synonyms of “dumb” -dull, muddy-mettled- along with a simile “like John-a-dreams” to enhance his contrasts with Fortinbras (II.ii.516-519). Two more similes with the same meaning- like a whore, like a very drab- create the idea that the actor is (II.ii.534-539). Hamlet believes that his cowardice is one of the reasons for him not being able to take action: “For it cannot be but I am pigeon-liver’d and lack gall to make oppression bitter, or ere this I should have fatted all the region kites with this slave’s offal”
Repetition of certain words “Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, but greatly to find quarrel in a straw when honour’s at stake” like “great” emphasizes that honor is an important aspect in a man’s life, and should be able to uphold it even in the ordinary arguments (IV.iv.53-56). He questions his purpose after seeing Fortinbras: “Now, whether it be bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple of thinking too precisely on the event, a thought which, quarter’d, hath but one part wisdom and ever three parts coward, I do not know why yet I live to say ‘this thing’s to do’” Prince Hamlet questions why he’s alive if he can’t live up to being like Fortinbras (IV.iv.39-44). He agrees that there should be a reason why he was alive: “Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, looking before and after, gave us not that capability and god-like reason to fust in us unused” (IV.iv.36-39). Prince Hamlet agrees that there should be a reason for his existence and figures out that his existence is to take revenge for his dead father, but he takes into consider what might happen because of it.

Throughout the soliloquies, Hamlet discovers that the meaning of life is to fulfill the destiny that he acquired. Hamlet does this through questioning the scenery around him, and he compares the others to himself. Prince Hamlet comes to the conclusion that he’s fated to