7/28/2019 Hamlet's 2nd Soliloquy
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Tacacho, Paola EstefanaAnglophone literatura III
Analysis of Hamlets 2nd soliloquy
During Hamlets O all you host of heaven soliloquy, Hamlets
thoughts are
centered on revenge upon his satyr-like uncle, which is one of
the three
tasks his father enlisted him with. The other two duties are to
not harm hismother and to maintain his sanity.
At the beginning of the soliloquy, the Prince is very confused,
sad, and with
feelings of anger, since he now knows the truth about his
fathers death. So,
what he does first is to ask heaven, earth, and hell to calm him
and help him
keep his strength so as not to fail in his duty to maintain
sanity: O all you
host of heaven! O earth! What else? And shall I couple hell? O
fie! Hold, hold
my heart (page 79-80, act I, scene V, line 98, 99).
As the soliloquy goes on, Hamlet recalls his fathers ghost last
line
Remember me (page 79, act I, scene V, line 97). This line meant
that
Hamlet should both remember him and his request for revenge.
And,
Hamlet assumes this duty imposed on him: Remember thee, ay, thou
poor
Ghost, while memory holds a seat in this distracted globe.
Remember thee!
Yea, from the table of my memory I'll wipe away all trivial fond
records, all
saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, that youth and
observation
copied there, and thy commandment all alone shall live within
the book and
volume of my brain, unmixt with baser matter (page 80, act I,
scene V,
lines 101-110). So, it can be inferred by these lines that
Hamlet is willing to
carry out the act of revenge his father asked for.
Yet amidst this and his attempt at dedicating his mind to a
resounding
resolution for retribution, he utters O most pernicious woman!
(page 79,
act I, scene V, line 111). As it can be observed here, his
mothers
unfaithfulness continues to distract him from becoming a
one-minded agent
of vengeance. However, he must remember that his father has
charged him
with the duty of not harming his mother.
Hamlet ends with a remark to King Claudius, which reads: So
uncle, there
you are. Now to my word: Its Adieu, adieu! Remember me! I have
swornt
(page 79, act I, scene V, lines 116-118). In the passage, the
Prince demands
Claudius to remember Old King Hamlet and warns him about his
revenge,
which, of course, is unknown to Claudius at this stage.
