The Hamlet Group

Question:

savi65
savi65
Student
High School - 12th Grade

What are the main concerns expressed by Hamlet in his soliloquy of Act 4, Scene 5 which begins "How all occasions do inform against me.......".

 

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Posted by savi65 on Tuesday March 17, 2009 at 12:15 PM and tagged with act 4, character, hamlet, how all occasions, shakespeare, the hamlet, tone.

Answers:

  1. mwestwood
    mwestwood Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    eNotes Editor

    In his soliloquy of Act IV, Hamlet berates himself for his inaction and delay in seeking revenge against Claudius for the death of his father, King Hamlet:

    Now, whether it be/Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple/Of thinking too precisely on th'event--(39-41)

    He wonders if his inaction is because he is too dull (bestial) to act or too weak (craven) or overly moral (scruple).  Furthermore, he questions his honor.  He states that it is right to examine thoroughly issues before acting upon them--

    ....Rightly to be great /Is not to stir without great argument (53-55)

    --but to not stir when "honor's" at stake is different.

    ....How stand I then,/That have a father killed, a mother stained,/(56-57)

    In a final rally of his strength of character, Hamlet reasons that many a soldier has gone to his death "for a fantasy," so he should not hesitate to revenge his father's death:

    ...O, from this time forth,/My thought be bloody, or be nothing worth (65-66)

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/act-iv-scene-5-summary-analysis

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    Posted by mwestwood on Tuesday March 17, 2009 at 1:20 PM