Hamlet’s Second Soliloquy Commentary

•  Is in Act 2, scene 2
•  Happens after Hamlet sees the player acting a speech towards "Hecuba"
•  This soliloquy is divided into 2 parts:

o   Comparison to the player

o   Creating a plan

Devices

•  Tone:

o   "What a rogue and peasant slave am I" (2)

Rogue useless vagrant, peasant slave person with little integrity

o   "What an ass am I" (35)

§  Hamlet is insulting himself

o   Emotions words: "Ha!" (27), "O, vengeance!" (34),

o   All Used to generate the tone: Anger, Hatred, undermining. It Illustrate Hamlet's anger, and the undermining of himself as he did not show emotions, rage towards Claudius for the murder

•  Comparison:

o   " Yet I, a dull and muddy – mettled rascal" (17-18)

o   Comes after the description of the player.

o   Used to show the ongoing evaluation of Hamlet

•  Listing:

o   "all his visage wanned,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting" (6-8)

§  Hamlet describes the performance of the player

o   "He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears. (13-17)

§  Hamlet assumes what the player would have done if the player was in his situation.

o   All these lists are used for the bigger device of comparison. Used to enhance the idea that Hamlet berates himself for not acting out his plan to avenge his father's murder

o   "Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!" (33)

§  Hamlet shows his hatred towards Claudius

o   Used to show a raging tone that rises from Hamlet's soliloquy

•  Rhetorical Questions:

o   “What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her?" (10-11)

o   Hecuba – mythological queen – appears in the play

-          Hamlet does not understand how the player can show such great emotions to a person that he had no connection with

o   Used to highlight again Hamlet's criticism of his lack of emotions

o   "Am I a coward?
Who calls me “villain”? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this?" (22-26)

o   A series of rhetorical questions.

o   Used to show anger that arouses in Hamlet (ties into town)

o   Audience can understand the emotions that come from the character of Hamlet

•  Simile:

o   "Like John-a-dreams" (19)

§  Hamlet compares himself to an absent-mind dreamer.

o   Used to show that Hamlet is undermining himself, saying he is just an ideologist, not an action man

o    "I'll have these players play something like the murder of my father" (46-47)

-          Hamlet devises a plan

o   Used to show Hamlet's feelings towards the murder, (maybe: murder was well planned and executed like a play), also to show the change in the personality from an ideologist to an action man

•  Caesuras:

o   "a scullion! Fie upon't! foh!

About, my Brain! (39-40)

o   Used to illustrate rage and anger that come from Hamlet

o   "Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent him to the quick:  If he do blench,
I know my course. (48-50)

o   Used to give a sense of action. Show Hamlet's hastiness, may illustrate his upcoming madness

•  Rhyme + Iambic pentameter:

o   Soliloquy ends with:

o   "More relative than this. The play 's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King."

-          Hamlet's final plan

o   Used to show a final resolution to his growing dilemma and to the whole soliloquy. Emphasizes Hamlet's decision.