Analysis of "To be or not to be"

In Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet's language distinctly identifies his feeling towards the betrayal of his kingdom. If I were to direct this scene, there would definitely be certain words and phrases that I would be sure to resonate throughout my audience. Through the words "heart-ache," "suffer," "troubles," "die," and "dreams," Hamlet emphasizes his pain for losing his dad, the betrayal of his mother, and the current king who murdered his brother without consequence. Hamlet is forced to hide this pain and choses to act like a madman in his plan to overtake the kingdom and find the king guilty. Through the use of the word "dreams," Shakespeare reveals Hamlet's crushed dreams of kingship and the "suffering" that he now must face.

Figurative Language

Figurative language is a way to analyze language. When authors use figurative language, they take a word or concept and compare it to another concept that exaggerates its meaning. Through this comparison, the writer can put better emphasis on a concept by creating a clearer and more distinct definition for the reader. Similar to imagery, the author elaborates on a concept or even a scene through language by creating a visual aspect throughout their story that engages the reader and allows them to picture the story through the details given. Although Hamlet lacks a narrator, stopping the reader from visualising a given scene, Shakespeare uses figurative language to create a setting through the language of his characters. In Hamlet's soliloquy, Shakespeare uses Hamlet's language to create an image of the current problems in Hamlet's head and kingdom: "The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks, that flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation" (3.1). Through the "thousand natural shocks" and "flesh," the reader can further understand the true pain and heartbreak of Hamlet through the image given by Shakespeare.

King Claudius and Laertes

After Hamlet kills Polonius, Laertes' father, Laertes goes to the Kingdom in attempts to gain the thrown. Instead, Claudius uses Laertes' pain against him, convincing him to carry out a duty he doesn't want the blame for while also pleasing his personal agenda. Similar to the death of Hamlet's father, Claudius questions Laertes' love for his father: "Laertes was your father dear to you? Or are you like a painting of sorrow, a face without a heart?" (Act 4, Scene 7). This appears directly as an insult to Laertes, as Claudius assumes that he pretends to love his father since he has done nothing to rectify his death. By questioning his love for his father, Claudius guilts Laertes into this action as a sense of pride and duty to his father: "To show yourself your father's son in deed more than in words?" (Act 4, Scene 7). Claudius wants Laertes to go after Hamlet for killing his father, and manipulates him to do so by guilting him and his self pride. By murdering Hamlet, Laertes will fulfill his duty to his father in action rather than words.

Hamlet and Gertrude

In Hamlet, Hamlet faces the uncomfortable situation between his mother and uncle (now father). Although he has let this situation make him almost mad as he must call the man who killed his real father "father" now, Hamlet chooses to confront his mother and alert her of her wrong doings. Through this emotional scene, Hamlet opens up to his mother about the conflicts that have bothered him, but the only outcome of this scene is Gertrude's faith in his craziness strengthened: "A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother,
As kill a king, and marry with his brother" (Act 4). Hamlet accuses his mother of doing a deed as bloody as murder, marrying the person who killed her true love. By pointing out her marriage and complete betrayal of his real father, Hamlet belittles not only his mother, but her choices as well. Unfortunately, Gertrude fails to acknowledge her betrayal in full, but forces Hamlet to calm down: "O Hamlet, speak no more:
Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul"(Act 4). She refuses to look into her soul and her wrongdoings, allowing the readers to fully see the truth in Hamlet's accusations as her soul tells her she is truly wrong. Although there is a shimmer of hope at the end of the scene as Hamlet and his mom rekindle their love, Gertrude leaves her room to King Claudius, only to tell him of Hamlet's craziness and have him sent away.

Sound

Sound is created through rhyme, enjambment, and caesura. Through these devices, a muscial sound is released while reading poetry, adding to its meaning and the way the poem flows. In "Out, Out," Frost uses sound to personify his objects and give the reader a visual perspective of its actions. "Buzz-snaw snarled and rattled" uses consonance to enforce the constonants of the sentence and personify the saw's actions. The "s" sound lets the reader flow through the sentence and draws the attention to the way the saw moved. Similarly in Pope's poem, "A bid alternate passions fall and rise!" also uses consonance to exaggerate the forcefullness and power of the sentence. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses a different kind of sound device to illuminate the language of his characters.  Ophelia often uses onomonopeia to reveal her feelings of sadness after the loss of her father: " At his heels a stone. O ho!" By using "O ho!" instead of a sentence, the phrase reveals her pain and resonantes with her feelings of regret and sadness. Sounds contribute greatly to the attitudes and language of each character as it gives insight into their feelings while creating a rhythm throughout the words.

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Although Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship creates conflict throughout their peers, the true conflict rests among themselves. Shakespeare presents two characters with an incredibly complex relationship, manipulated by their families, as exemplified through their distinctive language. As Hamlet pretends to become a madman, his language towards Ophelia reveals incredibly verbose, filled with long and expressive language. In contrast, Ophelia’s appears short with reserved emotions as manipulation by her family changes her mind. The reader can infer that Hamlet and Ophelia are madly in love, but the way they show their love leaves the reader unsure, as their language proves unequal; “ Soft you now! The fair Ophelia!—Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remember’d” (3.1.88-89). Based on his language, Hamlet’s love for Ophelia reveals immense and powerful. After his soliloquy expressing his agony for the loss of his father and kingdom, his language becomes softer once Ophelia appears in the court. His ability to diminish all his painful feelings and become peaceful upon Ophelia’s presence reveals his admiration for her, another symbol of their relationship. But his language proves the complete opposite of Ophelia’s as she reveals unsure of their relationship while hiding her emotions behind her words; “My honour’d lord, you know right well you did; and, with them, words of so sweet breath compos’d as made the things more rich: their perfume lost, take these again; for to the noble mind rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind” (2.1.98-101). Ophelia hides her love for Hamlet, manipulated by her father and his disapproving opinion of their relationship. Although her cynical words prove harsh as she returns her undesired gifs, her language hints at her true feelings. “So sweet breath compos’d” reveals Ophelia’s struggle for love as she is forced to neglect her feelings for Hamlet, but also must obey her father’s orders and reject Hamlet’s offerings. Although Shakespeare presents both characters’ speech as widely different, their language allows the readers to discover their love beneath their shallow and manipulated words. 

Symbols and Themes in Yeats'

Symbols and themes are objects or people that reoccur throughout a story to make the reader think. As the symbols reoccur throughout the story, the readers make connections from those symbols and relate them to the actions and personalities of each character. In William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming," the use of symbolism helps to extend the meaning of the story, drawing the reader in. For example, the "falcon" and its flight represents the spiraling down of human society, "The falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."By explaining that this "falcon" is falling down, the Second Coming gains its purpose for the survival of the world and mankind. Also the "Spiritus Mundi" represents the "soul of the world," as Yeats reveals it as desperate for the Second Coming.