Soliloquy Madness in Hamlet

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A soliloquy, as defined by the Mariam-Webster Online Dictionary, is “a long, usually serious speech that a character in a play makes to an audience and that reveals the character's thoughts.” Soliloquys are often used in plays to clarify how a specific character(usually the protagonist) feels. Some of the speeches show a lesson learned and others are simply used to add to the play’s intensity. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Includes many soliloquys made by the main character Prince Hamlet who throughout the play is avenging his father’s death. The first three acts of Shakespeare’s Hamlet each contain a significant soliloquy from the main character, and each has a separate message or theme to it: 1) Act I, scene II’s soliloquy starting on line 131 explains Hamlet’s frustrations concerning his mother and her actions, 2) Act II, scene II’s soliloquy in the last lines of the act, Hamlet explains his frustration with himself and his lack of action against the king, his uncle, and 3) Act III, scene I’s soliloquy starting at line 63 explains the difference between thinking and acting and pe...

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