Ilustration of a skull with a crown on its head

Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

Start Free Trial

Explain the significance of the Hecuba speech in act 2, scene 2 in the play Hamlet. Hamlet asks player 1 to recite a poem of Hecuba—what was the significance of that concerning Hamlet's own royal tragedy?

Download PDF PDF Page Citation Cite Share Link Share

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles
| Certified Educator
Share Link Share Page Citation Cite
In The Iliad, Hecuba is the wife of the King of Troy, Priam, and the mother of Hector. When Achilles kills Hector, Hecuba suffers great grief, a contrast to the lack of grief Gertrude shows over the death of her husband, the late King Hamlet. However, Hamlet's grief over his father's death is very similar in its depth to Hecuba's grief over Hector.
But while the parallels between Hecuba's situation and his own are apparent to Hamlet, the chief importance of the speech lies elsewhere. When Hamlet dwells on the speech in his soliloquy, he is primarily amazed that the actor can display such grief for someone who died thousands of years ago. Hamlet contrasts this display of fake grief to the grief he feels inside for his father. Hamlet says that if the actor had Hamlet's grief, he would flood the stage with tears:
For Hecuba!
What’s Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba
That he should weep for her? What would he do
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears . . .
Hamlet is wondering about the disjunction between appearance and reality, a theme that runs throughout the play. The actor can pour out fake grief, but, ironically, Hamlet is not capable of expressing the much more intense sadness he really feels inside. This seems odd to him, and so he talks about the grief he has bottled up within, trying to describe it in words.
Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles
| Certified Educator
Share Link Share Page Citation Cite

The Hecuba speech is significant in several different ways. It is significant to the plot, because it sparks Hamlet's idea of the play within the play. It is significant as a sign of Hamlet's psychology, because it shows how much he hangs on to the past and passions from the past, dwelling on them. This marks him throughout the play.
However, it is symbolically significant to the play because the queen in that play explodes with passion at the sight of her dead husband, so much so that the gods themselves would have cried if they'd seen it. This is a direct comment on how Hamlet's mother DIDN'T weep this way.

Greg

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Get 48 Hours Free Access

Already a member? Log in here.

Approved by eNotes Editorial

Popular Questions

Browse All

Hamlet

Latest answer posted January 18, 2021 at 3:34:02 PM

In Hamlet, what does the quote "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not now, yet it will come" mean?

3 Educator answers

Hamlet

Latest answer posted November 19, 2020 at 1:33:52 PM

In act 1, scene 3 of Hamlet, what is Polonius's advice to Laertes?

4 Educator answers