Hamlet’s First Soliloquy Commentary

By: Autumn Reay

January 12^th, 2010

The metaphor and image “Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed,” is the synecdoche in Hamlet’s first soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 2.  Hamlet expresses his disappointment and disgust towards his mother’s remarriage of his uncle Claudius.  Hamlet mentally breaks down when struggling to accept the remarriage.  Literary devices, techniques and references help illustrate Hamlet’s emotions through his passionate soliloquy and connect to the synecdoche.

The ambiguous phrase of an “unweeded garden” helped Hamlet describe his perceptions of contemporary Denmark and how he feels jinxed that evil has shadowed goodness.  The image illustrates how dreary everything felt to Hamlet.  It also hints at Hamlet’s hatred towards Claudius at his mother’s remarriage.  The ‘garden’ or Denmark became “rank and gross in nature”.  Claudius taking the throne brought evil to power.  This began Hamlet’s angry mental state.           

His anger and despair gradually ruptured as Hamlet wept the words; “O God, a beast, that wants discourse of reason, would have mourned longer.” Hamlet’s image of his parent’s great relationship was an ache to tolerate.  The love that kept his parent’s bond was magnificent. “Must I remember?” shows Hamlet’s hardship in coping with the remarriage as he quotes “within a month,” “it should come to this (remarriage)!” The time span between his father’s death and his mother’s second marriage was at “wicked speed,” which made Hamlet question the true reason behind his mother’s marriage with Uncle Claudius.  His mother did not mourn over her husband’s death.  To him, her previous marriage seemed perfect as “she would hang on him.”  However, his mother acted otherwise. 

Through the soliloquy numerous literary devices are used to express Hamlet’s disgust towards his mother’s re-marriage.  The Caesuras throughout the whole soliloquy emphasize Hamlets irritating range of emotions. The ongoing iambic pentameters do too. For example, “By what it fed on: and yet, within a month-- Let me not think on't.”  Hamlet is continuously expressing his sorrow and endless hate towards Claudius.  He does so with no control; thus, using iambic pentameters.  Shakespeare uses exclamation marks to end Hamlet’s vigorous phrases, plus, the repetition of the praise “O God!”  Both of these devices demonstrate Hamlet’s strong emotions.  The audience/reader may also notice Hamlet’s unhappiness towards the remarriage through an alteration in the text.  Hamlet begins to refer to his mother as his “lovely mother” then slowly modifies to “she.”  This demonstrates that Hamlet began to accuse his mother for marrying Uncle Claudius.   

Hamlet was very stressed and angry.  The imagery through his soliloquy was sinister.  Vocabulary words such as “stale, dead, rank, gross” and “unrighteous” were all used to emphasize his confused, furious and shady mood.  One powerful line quotes “with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” clearly paints a vivid picture that because of the skill or “dexterity” of the uncle, Claudius was able to exploit the “incestuous sheets;” which refers to the bed which belonged to his mother and birth father.      

‘Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed’ is a “figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole,” and/or is the synecdoche. (Dictionary definition) In this case, a part or phrase is used to explain/connect the whole text.  This is because, not only does the phrase refer to Denmark and the governing position but as I stated earlier, helps connect Hamlets painful feelings.  Due to his anger towards the new King Claudius, Hamlet ties in his distraught feelings towards his father’s death, as he mourns “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,” over the demise of his father, “a poor body.”  The main idea of Hamlets uncle becoming King frustrated him.  In comparison to his uncle taking the throne, Hamlet recalled a relatively small scene: his father’s death.  This led Hamlet to consider death as he quotes “his canon ‘gainst self slaughter! O God, God.”  He only considered this because the main idea sparked his emotions.        

However, God is “Everlasting,” which juxtaposes to Hamlet’s death.  God’s body is eternal which contrasts to “thaw, resolving itself into a dew”, which Hamlet desired to become.  Death was “weary, stale, flat and unprofitable; seem to me all the uses of this world!”  The idea of death was logically ineffective to Hamlet.     

Shakespeare then uses a simile to compare himself and his uncle, to his father.  “My father’s brother, but no more like my father, than I to Hercules,” refers to Greek mythology. Hamlet is admiring the goodness of his father as “so excellent a king” while criticizing himself and his uncle.  Referring to past mythology has given allusions to support Hamlet’s thoughts and ideas.  “Hyperion to a satyr” criticizes his uncle again as if simplified, means a ‘hero to a Greek creature similar to a Minotaur.’       

Juxtapositions, comparisons, metaphors and similes were strong devices which allowed Hamlet’s sorrowful emotions to be revealed.  His tone was also expressed through his first soliloquy. The tone was dreary and blunt. As he talks to himself and thinks aloud, he justifies his personal feelings which are straight forward and regard serious topics.  The soliloquy in the play ‘Hamlet,’ allows the audience to grasp an insight on Hamlet’s thoughts.

Hamlet’s first soliloquy did indeed allow the audience to be acquainted with Hamlet’s feelings, concerns and personality. Hamlet is a trickster with mad behavior. It was also about the context and background of the setting.  His soliloquy proves that Hamlet was mad which creates a sense of sympathy from the beginning.  The metaphor and image “Tis an unweeded garden that grows to a seed” is the synecdoche in his first soliloquy as it links Shakespeare’s ideas and thoughts.  Hamlet had trouble coping mainly with his mother’s re-marriage to his Uncle Claudius but minutely over the death of his father. He quotes, “But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue”…“it is not, nor it cannot come to good.” This is stating that Hamlet has to deal with the circumstances whether in favor or not. The literary devices and techniques did help portray Hamlet’s emotions.