Hunt 1 Taylor Hunt Carter AP Literature and Composition 10 February 2013 Hamlet: Melancholia William Shakespeares classic play

Hamlet presents a unique perspective on interfamily relationships and the integrity of mental health when placed under extreme stress. The latter is particularly prominent in the main character Hamlet who becomes increasingly melancholic throughout the play. This downward spiral is best illustrated through five particular soliloquies that we will examine in chronological order. The first soliloquy we will analyze is in Act one scene two, O, that this too too solid flesh would melt/Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!/Or that the Everlasting had not fixd/His cannon gainst self-slaughter! O God! God (H I.ii)! This soliloquy is the first time we hear Hamlets honest thoughts laid out plainly for all of the audience to see and hear. In opening with wishful thoughts of suicide the author sets a precedent for his character. The audiences first impression of him is that of a suicidal young man who dwells on the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This important bit of characterization begins Hamlets journey down the melancholic path that will wind deeper as the play progresses. In this soliloquy Hamlet is the framed picture of melancholia, brooding on his evil mother and heavenly father. In the next soliloquy we see Hamlet swing to the antic side of melancholia. After viewing an emotional actor preform a moving scene involving a dead king Hamlet swears to action. . . . Yet I,/A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, . . . / . . . unpregnant of my cause,/ . . . am pigeon- liverd and lack gall/To make oppression bitter, or ere this/ I should have fatted all the
Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:30 AM Comment [1]: Dense/Hard to read. Rewrite/break up a little to make it easier to understand Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:30 AM Comment [2]: Remove Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:30 AM Comment [3]: Insert period

Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:31 AM Comment [4]: Better/easier way to say this Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:32 AM Comment [5]: Remove Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:33 AM Comment [6]: More detail

Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:34 AM Comment [7]: Better/easier way to say this. Also more support?

Hunt 2 region kites/With this slaves offal: bloody, bawdy villain (H II.ii) In this scene we watch Hamlet swing from too depressed to take action, to being angry at himself for not taking action sooner. This sudden mood change is another symptom of the Elizabethan melancholia. This new development in Hamlets character shows his manic side. As the play moves into Act three Hamlet seems almost giddy with happiness and playful sarcasm. The audience witnesses Hamlet swing back to the melancholic frame of mind in the next famous soliloquy. In his second soliloquy about suicide Hamlet openly asks the question To be, or not to be . . . (H III.i). His desire to kill himself has become more serious and the tone of his speech more somber. . . . To die: to sleep;/No more; and by a sleep to say we end/The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to, tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wishd. To die, to sleep; (H III.i). This once again illustrates Hamlets tendency to swing from angry action to deep depression. And, as this soliloquy shows, his depression has grown drastically since the first act. Just as Hamlet has become more depressed since act one, he will become increasingly frenzied. In Act three scene three we see Hamlet swing once again into his antic mind frame. When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,/Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed;/At gaming, swearing, or about some act/That has no relish of salvation int:/Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,/And that his soul may be as damnd and black/As hell, whereto it goes . . . (H III.iii). This soliloquy is when Hamlet becomes so manic that he begins to plan out specifics about how he will kill his uncle. In his anger he refuses to murder his uncle when hes praying because Hamlet doesnt just want his uncle dead, he wants him to go to hell as well. Act three goes on to show just how violent Hamlet can become.
Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:43 AM Comment [13]: Wow this needs way more detail. Doesnt talk about anger enough. Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:38 AM Comment [14]: Better/more explicative word, more support. Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:41 AM Comment [10]: Used this word before. Highlights? Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:37 AM Comment [11]: Better/more explicative word Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:42 AM Comment [12]: This needs more detail and support, it feels out of place. Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:34 AM Comment [8]: Better/more explicative word Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:35 AM Comment [9]: More detail/support

Hunt 3 Almost to the closing of the play, we see Hamlet swing one last time into the antic mind frame. . . . I do not know/Why yet I live to say This things to do;/Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To dot. . . . /May thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth (H IV.iv) This last impulsive, violent decision sets Hamlet on the path to his death as well as his revenge. This development springs Hamlet from indecisive conspirator to determined murderer. From this point on Hamlet is far more serious about his violent impulses. Just by looking at Hamlets soliloquys in this play we can see the swing from melancholic to antic that is consistent of melancholia. At the beginning of the play Hamlet is already depressed and with each passing soliloquy we can trace the growth and progression of his anger and depression that sends Hamlet and most of the people he loves to their deaths.
Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:36 AM Comment [17]: Rewrite. Can be written clearer with more detail and support so its not so dense to read. Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:40 AM Comment [16]: More textual support

Taylor Hunt! 4/29/14 12:40 AM Comment [15]: Better word. I dont like almost