Hamlet’s soliloquies, articulacy “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am l” accentuate the inner conflict in Hamlet that gives rise to a central element of this play, of delaying to act. The corruption of the society further stimulates Hamlet’s search for answers and ultimately leads to his isolation from those around him. This conflict leads to inevitable catastrophe, due to the conventions of tragedy.
The disjuncture between the two worlds in which Hamlet is caught leads to indecision, presenting the notion that a society in transformation gives rise to these human flaws. Ingrained within Hamlet is his society’s belief in chivalry ND honor, which urges him to avenge his father’s death. However, Hamlets humanist leaning provokes him to question the validity of immoral action on the pretense of honor, and as such he becomes trapped in inaction.
This indecision is revealed in the soliloquy “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I” where Hamlet acknowledges that he is “prompted to [his] revenge by heaven and hell” alluding to the divine right of kings- a doctrine that was prevalent at the time and showing his belief in those values. However the harsh simile “like a where, must unpack my heart with words” reveals the introductions in both thought and action, as well as the self-hate that comes from his indecision.
Hamlets need to search for meaning and validation in his actions as apposed to acting in “dreams of passion” leads him to question the integrity and the motives of the actor exclaiming with allusion “what’s Hectic to him, or he to Hectic”. The lyrical nature of the alliteration is an example of the beauty of the language, upholding the values of the Renaissance, which is directly contrasted to the accumulation of the derogatory adjectives “remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindles villain! Later in the soliloquy.
These reveal the struggle between the two worlds he is caught. This self-reflective soliloquy reveals the nature of his delay as a direct product of his changing world and as we live in a constantly fluctuating environment we thus engage with Hamlet. All Of this contributes to the textual integrity of Hamlet being able to identify his own fatal flaw provoking the acknowledgement of its own human flaws. Hamlet’s awareness of the moral corruption initiates his struggle for answers, a characteristic inherent in humanity.
This is a reflection of the disparity of the intent, which was a time of disruption for Elizabethan England- a transition into a new era. The ghost reveals the catalyst for the play “a serpent stung me/ so the whole ear of Denmark”, the biblical allegory alluding to the metaphorical first sin committed, casting Denmark out of its Eden-like state. This extended metaphor of the serpent’s poison seeping throughout the “unwedded garden” of the state, that “grows to seed things and and gross in nature”, shows the corruption by society, of many characters within the walls of the castle.
Polonium is the physical representation of corruption within the lay, his actions and sly attempts of manipulation are poorly covered by his long winded speeches. In counseling Alerter to ‘thin own self be true”, the disparity between his selfish intended meaning- be loyal to your best interests- and the New Age self-knowledge that the phrase now suggests, the motif of appearance versus reality is affirmed and it is revealed how deep corruption is rooted in the play.
His death is a precursor, foreshadowing to the audience the ultimate fate of corruption. Hamlet himself strives to set his noble qualities apart from the circumstance and treachery in which he has come entangled; yet he is corrupted by his very purpose. The situation he is placed in “by heaven and hell” forces him to question the moral integrity of his options and of his society, the juxtaposition confirming his predicament and he is thus unable to make a decision.
Hamlet questioning his own corrupted society invites the audience to re-examine our own flaws that are a reflection of society and it is this exploration of the universal attributes of flaws that reiterates the plays textual integrity. The situation within which Hamlet is placed, leads to his inevitable isolation, a ear prevalent in the human condition, assuring its enduring relevance. Throughout the unraveling of Hamlet’s life, the play deconstructs the notion of isolation to demonstrate it as both a social construction and a social evil.
Feeling trapped in his duty to avenge his father and his duties to his throne and society; both his humanist leading and his knowledge of the corrupted state cause his battle to become psychological as he retreats from the world. His unwillingness to reveal the state of Denmark caused him to isolate himself from the corrupted figures around him and from Aphelia trying to rotten her as “hell itself breathes out contagion to this world”. Seeing himself too as contaminated, Hamlet draws a comparison between himself and hell, suggesting an almost noble reason for his antic disposition.
Were Hamlet purely a Renaissance man he would be able to walk away from the “rotten… State Of Denmark” until it collapsed, however Hamlet is an embodiment Of the transformation that is occurring in the social context at the time he has too much of the old order within him, as he is after all a hereditary prince and so he is trapped in inaction which causes him to retreat from the world. This Ella is a subversion of Aristotelian tragedy and further isolates Hamlet from both his society and the characters.
Hamlet’s isolation culminates in him returning to Elision, simply “alone”. This one world represents Hamlet’s emotional and physical isolation in the face of his disjointed society. The universal human experiences of doubt and need for connection and the depiction of the fear of isolation becoming fully realized allows for reflection on what we value as important. At the heart of this text, the tragedy of Hamlet is not a flaw of procrastination but of a man trying to exist in two conflicting worlds with different doctrines f thought.
