Hamlet Soliloquy Rhetorical Devices

In scene two of the first act of Hamlet, Hamlet is extremely depressed and is still mourning his father’s death. When he is alone, he wishes that he could commit suicide and grieves his father’s death. Hamlet is also angered at the fact that his mother married his lesser uncle believing that his father and his mother were truly in love. Hamlet finds that neither religion nor his family can give him support. Hamlet’s soliloquy in this scene features many literary rhetorical devices such as synecdoches, metaphors, allusions, and personification. His miserable attitude conveys that the world is nasty and a bitter to place to live in and that fighting through it requires overcoming obstacles such as thoughts of suicide, depression, and religion.

In the first line of Hamlet’s soliloquy he states, “O that this too solid flesh would melt/ Thaw and resolve itself into a dew.” Shakespeare uses a synecdoche in this line with “solid flesh” representing Hamlet’s life. By saying that he wants it to thaw and melt, he wants his life to be taken. At this point, Hamlet wants to become insignificant, like dew that evaporates in the sun or a candle that melts away. Shakespeare uses metaphors and synecdoches to show Hamlet’s hardships and how his view on the world is stained and all he
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wants to do is escape this cruel society.

If one were to go through Hamlet’s situation in life, nothing would be appealing.

Shakespeare also makes a metaphor about the world saying that “tis an unweeded garden/ That grows to seed; things rank gross in nature/ Possess it merely.” The world was a garden when Hamlet’s father was still alive, but his death and the reign of Claudius made the world seem worthless and empty. No seeds will grow and “ gross” things have assumed control. He enters a state of depression or heavy sadness, which is something readers can relate to. The things that once interested him no longer gives him pleasure. One’s thoughts become focused on one subject and it is retained in their mind.

Allusion in the soliloquy can be also be found when Hamlet compares his mother’s lamentation to Niobe,”… she follow’d my poor father’s body/ Like Niobe, all tears.” Niobe once ruled Thebes and it is said she angered the gods and lost her children. Niobe began to cry until she turned into stone. This shows Hamlet’s contempt with his mother because of her ungrateful and untruthful actions. Her show of grief was marrying her husband’s brother. Hamlet loses faith in his mother and turns her away. Hamlet is so lonely that he is losing people to go to because he feels that Claudius is inferior and his mother’s actions do not respect her ex husband and the relationship they had. One can relate to Hamlet in that a loved one did not react to a situation as one may have

expected.
Shakespeare reinforces the theme through these rhetorical devices, but his strategy is complimented and accomplished by appealing to pathos as well.
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Hamlet is put in a situation where he experiences the traumatic death of a loved one. Because of this, many thoughts run through his mind including taking his
own life. People today can relate because they are not much different in terms of how painful that experience can be. They begin to change their perspective on the world and begin to have a negative view. The world becomes a place of grief and desolation. Hamlet expresses these emotions after his father’s death and people today also can experience these feelings.
Hamlet becomes lost and puzzled after his father’s death. He demonstrates his viewpoint that the world can be a cold and awful place to live in; many barriers are faced that makes it difficult to get through. People are able to relate to this because everyone has encountered losing a loved one and the experience of trying to cope with the loss can be agonizing. This idea is further developed through Hamlet’s first soliloquy. Many rhetorical devices are found in this passage, which Shakespeare uses to communicate this idea.