Hamlet is one of the most famous theatrical plays ever written. However, Hamlet was originally written by a man named Thomas Kyd. Shakespeare rewrote Hamlet and kept the same plotline as Kyd, but polished it and added so much more substance to the story to make it his own.
Hamlet’s soliloquies provide his personal thoughts and plans of action; this creates a whole other play/perspective within the play. You see the play with all the characters, and then with Hamlet’s soliloquies, you see another play; one where you learn Hamlet’s thoughts, feelings; his side or reaction to whatever is happening in the story. The famous line, “to be or not to be,” greatly ties in with what his view is on life. In Hamlet, you notice that it seems as though everyone is always watching everyone else. Someone is always looking for someone, spying on someone, watching out for someone…etc. It is a reaccuring theme throughout the play. After Hamlet discovers the truth about how his father died, there is a sort of silent battle throughout the rest of the play until Hamlet finally kills Claudius. It is a secret, and in order to not hurt anyone else (particularly his mother, Gertrude) Hamlet has to keep his newfound knowledge secret; which is ironic because all of the secrecy and the pretended “madness” and the spying is exactly what harms and kills people in the end. That is another ongoing theme in Hamlet: speaking the unspeakable. The soliloquy also serves as a way that Hamlet can speak and talk himself through all the secrets and things that are happening in the story. However, he still isn’t speaking any of it to another person; so it is just his thoughts coming out loud, but besides the fact that he is speaking the thoughts, this is really no different than merely thinking them because no one can hear him either way. So this is frustrating for Hamlet; only being able to share his innermost thoughts with himself. Some things he does share with Horatio, but his most sensitive side and thoughts he merely keeps to himself. In the end of the story, Hamlet dies feeling that he still has a story that needs to be told. Although Horatio agrees to tell Hamlet’s story, it won’t be Hamlet telling it. Horatio, although knowing the general idea of everything that went on in this epic and tragic tale, does not know the in depth version, the specifics and particulars that Hamlet knew. Those things will never be passed on, and that leaves the story with a sense of incompletedness.
Hamlet’s soliloquies provide his personal thoughts and plans of action; this creates a whole other play/perspective within the play. You see the play with all the characters, and then with Hamlet’s soliloquies, you see another play; one where you learn Hamlet’s thoughts, feelings; his side or reaction to whatever is happening in the story. The famous line, “to be or not to be,” greatly ties in with what his view is on life. In Hamlet, you notice that it seems as though everyone is always watching everyone else. Someone is always looking for someone, spying on someone, watching out for someone…etc. It is a reaccuring theme throughout the play. After Hamlet discovers the truth about how his father died, there is a sort of silent battle throughout the rest of the play until Hamlet finally kills Claudius. It is a secret, and in order to not hurt anyone else (particularly his mother, Gertrude) Hamlet has to keep his newfound knowledge secret; which is ironic because all of the secrecy and the pretended “madness” and the spying is exactly what harms and kills people in the end. That is another ongoing theme in Hamlet: speaking the unspeakable. The soliloquy also serves as a way that Hamlet can speak and talk himself through all the secrets and things that are happening in the story. However, he still isn’t speaking any of it to another person; so it is just his thoughts coming out loud, but besides the fact that he is speaking the thoughts, this is really no different than merely thinking them because no one can hear him either way. So this is frustrating for Hamlet; only being able to share his innermost thoughts with himself. Some things he does share with Horatio, but his most sensitive side and thoughts he merely keeps to himself. In the end of the story, Hamlet dies feeling that he still has a story that needs to be told. Although Horatio agrees to tell Hamlet’s story, it won’t be Hamlet telling it. Horatio, although knowing the general idea of everything that went on in this epic and tragic tale, does not know the in depth version, the specifics and particulars that Hamlet knew. Those things will never be passed on, and that leaves the story with a sense of incompletedness.
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