Weiwei Wang

English XI
March 2015
Analyze Hamlets character as revealed through several of his soliloquies.
Death does not necessarily refer to an end. Contemplating the meaning of death
makes a person become more mature. This situation is the case in Shakespeares
tragedy, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, which tells story of Hamlet. The loss of his
father old King Hamlet and his mother Queen Gertrudes betrayal cause Hamlet to
question his previous idealistic worldview and to lose his faith in people around him.
Through several of his soliloquies, Hamlet reveals a growth to maturity through the
change in his emotional state when facing death.
Hamlets opening soliloquy reveals his previous idealistic world view and focuses
on his pessimistic worldview after his fathers death. Hamlet used to have a
consummate family, which causes him to hold an utopian worldview. Hamlet recalls his
father is so loving to my mother (1.2.144) and Gertrude would hang on him (1.2.147).
He lionizes his father and compares him as Hyperion. Old King Hamlets murder
upsets Hamlet and affects his state of mind. He behaves like an obstreperous
adolescent and blames his mother for her marriage. After his fathers death and his
mothers hasty marriage, Hamlet only lets his hatred toward Gertrude and Claudius
stain his mind and can do nothing but be miserable. The shattering of his idealistic
values lead Hamlet to hate his mother, to extend his hatred to all women frailty, thy
name is woman(1.2.150). and to view the world as an unweeded garden(1.2.139).
The world now is rank and gross to Hamlet. Though his heart breaks, he must hold

his tongue. At this point, life is meaningless to Hamlet and thus he wants to end his
tormenting life by committing suicide.
After his fathers ghost reveals the murder, Hamlet decides to live his life to
avenge his fathers death and begins to think more closely about the meaning of life and
death. Hamlet is a man of thoughts, not a man of action. When he realizes that his
revenge will cause actual death, he begins to explore the values of human lives and
human emotions, and contemplate on death. He then questions himself: To be or not to
be--tis is the question. Before, Hamlet just wants to die because he hates this gross
world, but now he has to live to avenge for his father. He has partly recovered from the
depression of his fathers murder and view his situation with reasons. After watching the
players performance, Hamlet wants to take actions, yet his philosopher nature leads
him to ponder what he should do: Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings
and arrows against a sea of troubles/ And, by opposing, end them (3.1.65-67). Hamlet
wonders either he should suffer through his revenge or end his troubles with death. He
still has fear toward death because he does not know what dreams may come(3.1.74).
This soliloquy reflects a change of Hamlet from passively lamenting his life and desiring
suicide to actively seeking the meaning of life.
Finally, Hamlet is determined to take revenge as Fortinbra inspires him to take
actions, and to keep calm when facing death. The revenge ultimately makes him
become a mature person, yet the maturity also leads to his death. Polonius death
makes Hamlet become calm when facing death and Fortinbras bravery motivates
Hamlet to eventually takes actions to fight for his cause, and will, and strength, and
means. Hamlet is not afraid of death any more after stabbing Polonius and sendng

Guildenstern and Rosencratz to death. After contemplating and hesitating for so long,
Hamlet eventually decides to end his tormenting inner struggle and slaughters
Claudius:my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth. He has become a mature
person, and death and bloody thoughts cannot stain his mind anymore because he
has chosen to end the struggle and will not let death torment him. He has no fear when
facing death
Through his soliloquies, Hamlet reveal the change in his attitude toward death.
Hamlet is not able to withstand the death of his father and thus wants to commit suicide,
but the revenge makes him contemplate on life and death. Ultimately, he is able to face
death calmly and finishes his revenge. He eventually becomes a mature person after
seeking meaning of death.