Hamlet Essay (Impacting Quotes)

Human life is made up of relationships. In these relationships, the primary form of communication between people is through spoken language. Thus spoken language takes on a more powerful purpose than being mere words and definitions, they often influence us and our perception of reality. Shakespeare demonstrates this through Hamlet, and how Hamlet’s phrases "to be or not to be" and "I have sworn't" develop his character while influencing those around him.

Hamlet’s phrase seems to hold multiple related purposes: to act as an exposition of Hamlets emotion through the audience, and to give Hamlet a sense of direction. During Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, he shows the audience his troubled mental state and his fading desire to live. However, starting out from the black and white question: to be or not to be?, to live or to die? He leads himself into the philosophical, existential question of whether death is the end of life, and if it isn’t what might be. You see him develop into the questioning, unsure individual who convinces himself that just dealing with his pain would be a better alternative than killing himself. Without the train of thought brought about by his recitation of this soliloquy, Hamlet would not have developed as such a complete, humanized character.

Saying certain things out loud turn them into reality. When you say something out loud to someone, you obligate yourself to keep your word to the person with whom you talked. This phenomenon can be seen in Hamlet’s discussion with his late father. From the moment he said “I have sworn’t”, he had to acknowledge his duty to his father, himself, and the honor of his family. This duty to his family forces him to grudgingly, though effectively pursue revenge against Caudius. You can see a change in his motives as the play progresses. During the beginning of the play, everyone could see and hear the ghost of Hamlet’s father; he had, in a sense, a physical presence. When Hamlet is confronting his mother about her relationship with Claudius, he sees the ghost of his father again, but his mother does not. The ghost appears to Hamlet alone; he seems to be speaking into thin air. This shows the development of Hamlet and his quest for revenge. Initially, the ghost was the outward pressure that forced Hamlet to kill Claudius, illustrated by his insecurity and desire to ensure that Claudius was guilty. However, as his conflict and displeasure with his uncle escalated, the ghost ceases to act as an external pressure. The ghost develops into an internal manifestation of Hamlet’s anger and personal desire for revenge. Hamlet’s dialogue with the ghost , or debatably himself, gives the audience valuable insight into the development of Hamlet’s drive and motivation.

Hamlet is a confusing character, one who seems to be so good at acting that one cannot tell which version of his is the “real” Hamlet. However, the way he speaks and influences himself through the spoken word shows the balance between internal and external conflicts created by thought and action; Hamlet though near indecipherable himself, can give us a clear example of how speech and dialogue can affect the momentum of the play and surrounding audience.