Question

In his first appearance in Act I, Hamlet protests that his grief is not feigned but deeply felt. In his soliloquy ending Act II, he berates himself for not showing as much grief as the First Player. Write a paragraph explaining which speech reflects Hamlet’s actual level of grief. Use evidence from the play to support your answer. Your answer should be at least one hundred words.

Answer 1

The Act II soliloquy best reflects Hamlet's actual level of grief. At the beginning of Act I, Hamlet still doesn't know the cause of his father's demise. There, he grieves naturally, like a son would grieve after his father's death. Of course, he is resentful towards Gertrude, but only because she married his uncle so soon. However, at the end of Act II, Hamlet knows everything and still fails to act. In this soliloquy, his grief has become far too complicated with mundane matters, such as plotting to prove the king's guilt. He reprimands himself for the futility of his grief and all his knowledge. In a way, he annihilates his own integrity, and just wants to deal with the problem finally. He makes the decision to step out of his emotional and spiritual preoccupations into the dirty, down-to-earth world of treachery and intrigue. He is obsessed with the desire to avenge his father's death and punish Claudius and Gertrude. Still, he is aware how poisonous this feeling is, and how much it clouds his reason and, in a way, renders him handicapped. Having played a madman, he is now half-mad indeed.