Essay on "Action Explored in Hamlet the Soliloquy"

Essay 4 pages (1222 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Action Explored in Hamlet

The soliloquy, or "deep passage" is from Scene IV, Act IV and the paper explores, or analyzes, the human and the divine, considering the Reformation, just as the original instructions requested. The model paper also needed at least two sources per original instructions. These sources are Bloom and Blits. This is really a good model paper and a solid foundation.

William Shakespeare would have undoubtedly been a successful writer regardless of when he lived. His keen ability to capture the essence of man is unmatched. Hamlet stands as Shakespeare's most discussed character, his complex character arresting the minds of many. Since Hamlet was created during years considered "among the most exciting in English history" (Mowat xxviii), we should expect him to be complicated at the very least. He is borne from a time when society is releasing old worldviews and reaching toward new ones. Hamlet is a victim of society in this sense: his famous hesitation stems from religious undertones, reflecting a debate generated by the Protestant Reformation and the Renaissance, each refusing to give way to the other. Hamlet reflects the signs of his times, wrestling with the notion of man being a rational, thinking, acting animal. When Hamlet returns from the sea, he is remarkably changed. He begins to realize that man has two elements to his character: his soul (the divine) and his life (his humanity). His soul is what sets him apart from the best and prevents him behaving like a beast at times. Awareness of these attributes keeps man living a balanced life and when the balance shifts, mankind suffers. Hamlet fails to grasp this notion and thinks without acting and acts

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without thinking, making him a prime candidate for the conflict that arises from within when man must grapple with his soul with the cost of his life. In the soliloquy in Act IV, Hamlet questions what it means to be human and how that coincides with the ability to think and act. He demonstrates the trouble involved with thinking and acting to the point of self-destruction. We are born human but Hamlet illustrates how difficult it can be to act that way during times of trouble.

Upon returning from the sea, Hamlet is compelled by his inability to act. Everything seems to tell him to seek revenge but he cannot bring himself to act. He is split and the division he experiences is taking its toll on him emotionally. He says:

What is a man,

If his chief good and market of his time

Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.

Sure he that made us with such large discourse,

Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and godlike reason

To fust in us unus'd. (Shakespeare IV.iv.35-41)

Here Hamlet recognizes God's divine part in creation but he cannot place the soul in a place where he feels at ease. Hamlet's society reflects the "Neoplatonic wonderment at mankind" (xxviii), writes Mowat, a time of "intellectual rebirth and religious reformation in Denmark" (Blits). A significant aspect of this society involves pagan beliefs "rediscovered by the Renaissance and pursued by Hamlet" (Blits), emphasizing the "radical inwardness of the soul" (Levy). The struggle between new humanistic beliefs and traditional ones wear on Hamlet, forcing him to approach an impasse. Even as the Renaissance pushed new ways of thinking into the minds of man, religion still controls thoughts and beliefs. Blits writes, "Virtually all the characters in Hamlet still believe in purgatory, angels, saints, and ghosts, and take very seriously the rites of the Catholic church. Denmark is still a Catholic country" (Blits). Man posses a soul and… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Action Explored in Hamlet the Soliloquy" Assignment:

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In your topic sentence, state your point of view, and then follow up with reasoning and evidence to support your assertion. Evidence may emerge from readings in the assigned text(s), and also from editorial materials in the textbook, the Internet, and other support sources. You need not use outside sources, but you must cite all sources you choose to use. Append a list of *****Works Cited***** and, within your paper, cite your sources through parenthetical (author-page number) citations.

This essay should be a close analysis of a particularly compelling passage in Hamlet, a passage that raises questions about the relationship between notions of the *****human***** and the *****divine***** during the early modern era. Use the knowledge that you have gained in the Reformation unit. Again, make an assertion in your paper, and build an argument through reasoning about the evidence you have gathered. Look at the Hamlet text for references to ideas about the *****human***** and the *****divine,***** and select the passage that you want to write about. In addition, return to your lecture notes from the first weeks of class and think about how the Reformation affected the Elizabethan audience*****s views on the nature of the human and the divine. This will help you build an argument, too

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