Hamlet's First Soliloquy

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. William Shakespeare’s tragic play, “Hamlet” revolves around this theme. The story follows a young prince, who has gone through numerous obstacles to get revenge on his treacherous uncle, Claudius, who had killed his father and married his mother. A major scene which enforces this idea would be during act IV when Hamlet decides that the ideal opportunity for retribution has come. When making this play, Shakespeare's definitive objective was to impress the Elizabethan audience. Citizens from the Elizabethan times had very different taste in entertainment and the plays in those days were performed with a high degree of expertise. A successful approach to engaging the audience with the play is through the use of a soliloquy, which was what Shakespeare did. A soliloquy is a literary device that is used when a character speaks aloud about his thoughts, without the presence of other characters. When a

The audience would now realize that Hamlet regrets his indecision to avenge his father, and decides that the time for retribution has come. It is seen when he discloses to himself, “How all occasions do inform against me, / And spur my dull revenge” (IV. iv. 31-32). Seeing that the audience knows what Hamlet is thinking, it allows them to foresee what his future actions would be. Hamlet also subliminally provides the audience with questions and answers that further involves the audience. An example of this would be, “How stand I then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep.” (IV, IV, 55-58) Audience members are able to observe the disorder going through Hamlet's mind and can relate the agony to instances in their own lives. Thus, the use of a soliloquy connects the audience to the play by allowing them to see further into Hamlet's