英国文学作业

Hamlet Soliloquies and Speeches: The Undiscovered Country

Shakespeare’s language is incredibly rich. As we read Hamlet, we are trying to discern multiple

levels of meaning. One the one hand, there is of course the denotative meaning, the “gist” of the

passage; this is what you might come up with if you were to paraphrase the lines and interpret

them strictly in terms of plot. But Shakespeare’s text is also rich in connotative meaning; the

1.4.26-41

So, oft it chances in particular men,

That for some vicious mole of nature in them,

As, in their birth--wherein they are not guilty,

Since nature cannot choose his origin--

By the o'ergrowth of some complexion,

Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,

Or by some habit that too much o'er-leavens

The form of plausive manners, that these men,

Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,

Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,--

Their virtues else--be they as pure as grace,

As infinite as man may undergo--

Shall in the general censure take corruption

From that particular fault: the dram of evil

Doth all the noble substance of a doubt

To his own scandal.

Hints:

?Clear relation to Hamlet’s opening soliloquy and the “rotten” state of Denmark under Claudius

?Thematic ties –Natural defects, determined by fortune and fate, stand in opposition to reason (look at the imagery).

?2.2.577-634

O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!

Is it not monstrous that this player here, O, vengeance!

But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Why, what an ass am I! This

is most brave,

Could force his soul so to his own conceit That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,

That from her working all his visage wann'd, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,

Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with

A broken voice, and his whole function suiting words,

With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing! And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,

For Hecuba! A scullion!

What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have

That he should weep for her? What would he heard

do, That guilty creatures sitting at a play

Had he the motive and the cue for passion Have by the very cunning of the scene

That I have? He would drown the stage with Been struck so to the soul that presently

tears They have proclaim'd their malefactions;

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, For murder, though it have no tongue, will

Make mad the guilty and appal the free, speak

Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed With most miraculous organ. I'll have these

The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I, players

A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, Play something like the murder of my father

Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;

And can say nothing; no, not for a king, I'll tent him to the q uick: if he but blench,

Upon whose property and most dear life I know my course. The spirit that I have seen

A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward? May be the devil: and the devil hath power

Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across? To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps

Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face? Out of my weakness and my melancholy,

Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the As he is very potent with such spirits,

throat, Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds

As deep as to the lungs? who does me this? More relative than this: the play 's the thing

Ha! Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.

'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be

But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall

To make oppression bitter, or ere this

I should have fatted all the region kites

With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain!

Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless

villain!

Hints for 2.2.577-634:

?Interrogate the opening line –Why does Hamlet call himself a slave? Slave to whom, or what? What if he is a

rogue slave? What’s the connotation? I s there a connection to free will, choice?

?Look at the “whore” simile? Why would Hamlet liken himself to a whore? Who else might be considered to be a

whore in this play? How might Hamlet be considered like them here? ?Consider how the discussion of the power and impotence of speech and words; who ‘says’ something here (2x),

and when (2x)? To whom? (2x)? What words produce an effect (action) within the context of this soliloquy, and

what words are associated with inaction? What accounts for the difference? What does this suggest about words in

relation to Prufrock’s (and Hamlet’s?) question? What’s the relationship between language and action (effect on

others) in the case of the player? In Hamlet’s case?

?Look at the kinds of birds referenced in this passage. What does effect does this implicit comparison – the

juxtaposition of bird types – have?

?Consider the possible irony of Hamlets resolution to set the “mousetrap” to ‘test’ the veracity of the Ghost’s claims

– What stance is he taking here? What system of thought does it suggest? Does this contrast with his stance when

he compares himself to the Player in any way? Is there any tension between reason and faith here?

3.1.64-96

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 heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: 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;

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

The 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 the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscover'd country from whose bourn

No traveller returns, puzzles the will

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

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,

And enterprises of great pith and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry,

And lose the name of action…

Hints:

? Some assume this is just about Hamlet contemplating suicide – the question is far more universal, yet still

particular to Hamlet’s si tuation!

? Explore the connotations of posing a question –contemplative, philosophical stance; how does this relate to

Hamlet’s character? What system of thought does this suggest?

? Look carefully at the diction and imagery in lines 65-68 – How do these relate to the themes expressed in “O,

what a rogue..” and “So oft it chances”?

? Trace the battle imagery throughout the passage –what parallels might exist between Hamlet’s question &

“The Myth of Sisyphus?

? Examine the contrast between references to the flesh and references to the mind (and its activities) – how do

these relate to Hamlet’s first soliloquy?

? Investigate the references to knowledge and the unknown –how do these references serve to underscore the

tension seen in “O, what a rogue…”? What’s the tension between reason, intellectual activity, and action?

Reexamine the motif of the satyr and Hyperion, especially the less-obvious connotations – can you tie this

motif to this passag e? Consider the difference between “high” and “low” in terms of intellectual stance, and

consider scholasticism vs. humanism, perhaps.

3.1.163-175

O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!

The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword;

The expectancy and rose of the fair state,

The glass of fashion and the mould of form,

The observed of all observers, quite, quite down!

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,

That suck'd the honey of his music vows,

Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,

Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;

That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth

Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me,

To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!

Hints:

How does Ophelia’s speech here recall themes and motifs– directly or indirectly –from Hamlet’s “O, what a

rogue…” soliloquy?

?Diction points to thematic tension –“soldier” & “scholar”, “tongue” & “sword” – as well as possible irony

?Explore connotations of observation, esp. as they pertain to Hamlet: what is the nature of the observer’s stance,

the act of observation?

?Congruence, or the lack thereof, between outward appearance (and the effect this has on others – see Player - and

interior thoughts and emotions.

?“Expectancy and rose of the fair state” – who expects something of Hamlet? Who really might represent the fair

state in this play?

?Power of words?