Hamlet Analysis of Soliloquy Act I, Scene ii, 129-159

Hamlet’s first soliloquy strikes a note of despair and reveals his feelings towards life and the hasty marriage between his mother and his uncle. Hamlet wishes to “thaw and resolve […] into a dew” but is restrained by the canon law that condemns him to eternal suffering in hell if he were to do so. Hamlet is disheartened and full of sorrow because he continues to mourn his father’s death, but the primary source of his sadness is his mother’s wedlock with his uncle.

Hamlet’s tone is one of anguish. He desires to commit suicide because he considers his daily routine to be “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.” (I, ii, 133) He describes the process graphically, stating that his “sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into dew.” (I, ii, 129-30) He uses such terms as ‘sullied’ to describe himself and his life; he finds himself scarred and stained by his mother’s decision to wed his uncle.

In his soliloquy, Hamlet makes use of comparisons to illustrate his feelings towards his uncle. In the first comparison, Hamlet compares the state of Denmark to a weeded garden. Hamlet believes that the garden is “unweeded […] /[and that] things rank and gross in nature/Possess it merely.” (I, ii, 135-37) The weeds represent the evil in Denmark and the garden itself represents Denmark’s current state. Hamlet believes that Claudius is the evil that is spreading through Denmark and this comparison demonstrates why Hamlet is so upset with his mother’s decision to marry Claudius; not to mention the fact that Claudius and Gertrude’s relationship is incestuous.

Another comparison is that between Hamlet’s father and Claudius. Hamlet believes that his father was very righteous and compares him the God of sun, Hyperion. Meanwhile, in Hamlet’s eyes, Claudius is corrupt which explains why he compares him to a satyr.

The last comparison is that between his mother being Niobe (Niobe is green mythology, was so grief stricken she could not cease crying and was transformed into a statue where water continually flows from it) and an incestuous bride. Hamlet is very upset and full of despair because his mother decided to marry her brother-in-law instead of mourning longer. Hamlet also accuses all women of being frail because of his mother’s imperfection.

Hamlet and the main character of a book written in French called “Aller, Retour” possess many similarities in character. For one, they are both faced with obstacles involving their families. In the novel, the main character is young man and his father passed away and he was forced to move in with his uncle who beats him on a regular basis. Although Hamlet and the main character’s conflicts are different, they both handle it in the same manner; they remain men of inaction. Both characters just decide to “[hold their] tongue” (I, ii, 159)