Soliloquy Analysis
"The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?" (3.1.80-83)
- In this quote Hamlet creates an image of the uncertainty of death.
"For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes" (3.1.71-75)
- The negative experiences of life.
Hamlet is depressed and it grow more severe each passing day, he tries desperately to convince himself and ophelia that death is better than going on living in the cruel world they are apart of using reasoning and argument, meaning Hamlet utilized all three of the appeals.
Ethos:
"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 wished!" (3.1.61-65)
- In this quote Hamlet expressed his heartache and sadness, and he -- not the first time he's done this -- says he wishes for death.
Pathos:
"ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life." (3.1.66-70)
"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (3.1.84-86)
- Hamlets says both "we have" and "us" , as he tries to explain that there may be better opportunities waiting from them - everyone - in death. But because everyone is afraid of the unknown, they just decide to live with what they have been given. He groups the entire human race into one conventional thinking pattern.
Logos:
"For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes" (3.1.71-75)
- His argument is strengthened when he adds irrefutable real world examples of the types of sufferings people are objected to, making his points not only emotional but equally logical.
Paradox (self contradictory):
Parallelism (repetition of syntactical structure): "To be, or not to be? That is the question—
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them? 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 wished!" (3.1.57-65) This format is used continuously throughout the monologue, Hamlet proposes a question and answers it himself to portray his internal struggle.
The infinitive:
Synechdoche (part for a whole): " or to fight against all those troubles by simply putting an end to them once and for all?" (3.1.59-60) Later in the soliloquy Hamlet lists out the specific troubles that people go through on a daily basis, but here he shortens it for the sake of dramatics, "short and sweet" if you will.
Tone (general attitude): To be, or not to be? That is the question—
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them" (3.1.57-61) This opening sentence sets the tone of the soliloquy by establishing Hamlets view on the world, showing his internal struggle between live and death.
Diction (word selection): "’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished!" (3.1.64-65) The eloquent diction reveals just how badly Hamlet wishes for death, "consummation" and "devoutly" play up his dramatics.
Metaphor (comparison w/o like or as): "To die, to sleep—
No more—" (3.1.61-62) Dying and sleeping are very different things and cannot be accurately compared. One is momentary relief from the world and one is definite.
Two Main Metaphors: Dying is portrayed as sleeping which is a major metaphor because Hamlet is trying to draw parallels between the two in order to convince himself death is the answer. Dying is also portrayed as freedom from the evils of the world we live in.
"To be, or not to be?" (3.1.57) The opening line is a comparison between the major theme of the monologue, life on earth or death? "and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to" (3.1.62-64) Here he compares afterlife to life on earth by imply the afterlife will be more pleasant, without heartache and the "shocks" that being alive comes with. "ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil" Humans are the root of all of Hamlets problems and he is honestly comparing them to all the flaws in the world, and as the "noise and commotion". It makes perfect sense because everything bad that has happened thus far in the story has been because of the ignorance of a human. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (3.1.84-86) Thoughts and over thinking are briefly connected to fear of the future, death, and the afterlife.
Oppositions:
1. Hamlet only sees the negative in the world around him because his fathers death has cast a dark over hanging shadow over his world, his depression does not make him a reliable source for thoughts on life and death.
2. He says that the fear of the unknown beyond life frightens people so they do not consider death a happy thing, but the fear of the unknown is just as bad if not worse than the fear of the known. Essentially, Hamlet is forfeiting life because it is not going as he planned it to and he no longer possess the will to fight.
3. Hamlet has been making very rash decisions throughout the last 3 acts of the play, and shows that he has no value in the human life, and not many of the things he has done are well thought through and he has proved that ever since he first chased after the ghost of his father.
Eternal Philosophical Questions:
- Why live in an awful lifetime when there are unknown opportunities masked by death?
- When is enough? When is it time to stop fighting?
Conclusions:
Hamlet decides that humans are weak and cruel, and that there are better opportunities awaiting him in the afterlife. He also decides not to be afraid of the unknown because those evils cannot be any worse than what he has already been put through.
Acting Analysis
WE WILL WATCH THESE IN CLASS: Analyze four depictions of this soliloquy using
elements of mis en scene (editing, sound -- diegetic/non-diegetic, setting, props,
costume, make-up, camera angles).
Write a full paragraph for each excerpt analyzing mis en scene, addressing EACH
of the components listed.
Write a final paragraph or two analyzing which delivery is most effective. Why is it
most effective? Write this analysis from the perspective of your character.
Remember, many of them could have been watching Hamlet as he delivered the
speech.
THEN . . . What would YOU have changed about any of these approaches with
regards to mis en scene? WHY? Write at least one full "chunky" paragraph.
Kenneth Branagh:
The room Hamlet was standing in was still and quiet, very clean with little distractions from Hamlet himself. He was standing in a mirror and the camera was shooting from behind him, this showed how Hamlet felt towards himself. He was talking to himself in the mirror and holding a knife towards the middle of the soliloquy. When the subject of "quitting" arose he slowly drug the knife across his face, proving just how easily he could end it all, he held all the power.. Hamlets make up was pale and his eyes were dark and clothes black as if to portray he was not in a healthy state mentally or physically, both very true.
Laurence Olivier:
First of all, the entire movie is in black and white adding to the authenticity of it. The scene opens up with the camera spinning and winding its way up a very tall and long staircase. When at the top of the staircase, there is a shot of the angry waters of Denmark. There was ominous music playing in the background like the crescendo of classical music, constantly rising). All you can hear after the steps have been climbed, is the waves crashing against the side of the cliff and the wind whistling. There are both digetic and non-dietetic noises involved. As Hamlet starts talking when the waves begin, the camera swivels up to the back of his head to watch the ocean and try to be at peace with his recent decision. Hamlet has a dagger as well as a bottle fo some sort ot drink in-case he wanted to take his own life. Hamlets is wearing old traditional dress and still mostly in all black.he's also wearing make up that makes Hamlet look pale and washed out as if he has seen a ghost.
Mel Gibson:
The setting is very dark and the light is coming from very few candle placed around the set. There is no sound other than Hamlets voice to portray the loneliness Hamlet feels while making this decision, the same reason why Hamlet is alone in some sort of cellar or basement. The camera was from an angle of always being on Mel Gibson's left to create the illusion of deep thought and pondering. Hamlet wears dark tattered clothing fitting in perfectly withe his depression proving how much he had let go of himself.
Ethan Hawke:
This interpretation of Hamlet took a modern day perspective with colors, the setting being a blockbuster, the electronics. A head on straight camera angles even though he looks at the camera a few times to show how serious he is about the decision he is making. Hamlet is wearing dark nice clothes, again to bring the future element into the story and the make up is dark and clean around the eyes showing displeasure and stress.
Best Devlivery:
Laurence Olivier had the most effective delivery in my eyes. He portrayed Hamlet as he really is, a grief-stricken son who misses his father, a confused man who's depression may get the best of him or even a man in the process of going mad. The Hamlet in Olivier's movie had an amazing delivery. I truly believed that all he really wants to do is die. He speaks slowly and clearly making it seem as if he has considered every other option, and there is no other choice.
Other than the actor, the setting also puts Olivier's movie out in front of the others. The waves rolling in the background and the fog gathering around Hamlet as he sits on the rock pondering his actual existence, it gives off a sort of ominous feel as if Hamlet is not just being dramatic and talking about it, but like he might actually do it. The end of the scene where Hamlet travels deeper into the fog and disappears down the steps was the best of all the endings, its gives you chills, and if I didn't know Hamlet myself and know never took his life, I would have thought that is what this Hamlet was about to do.
In Branagh's, I would have made the scene darker. Hamlet standing in a brightly lit room in a mirror is no different or dramatics than the rest of the film. It didn't truly feel like at the end of his soliloquy, Hamlet wanted to die. In Hawke's version, I would not have put Hamlet in a Blockbuster video store, it made no sense and did not pertain to the monologue at all. If anything I could not take it seriously. Lastly in Gibson's, maybe I would just change this actors delivery, or put dramatic music behind it, because his words did not seem impactful enough, all the mice en scene elements were correct but it was definitely lacking
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