In Hamlets soliloquy his overall tone is disappointment and grief for Old Hamlet his fathers death and the marriage of his uncle Claudius and Gertrude his mother. His grief and disappointment can be seen through the use of figurative language. Hamlet uses imagery, diction, and allusions to convey the tone to the reader. He reveals his inner most thought feelings and gives the reasons for his misery.
In the first line of his soliloquy (l.ii. 133-134) Hamlet says O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew. This line can be seen as a metaphor and also imagery. Hamlet is showing how miserable he feels by comparing himself to an ice. An ice that is melting, and he wishes his flesh would melt he is saying he wishes we were dead. The use of the word sullied which is solid is showing imagery because he is like an ice that is solid but he wants to convert into an ice that is melting or dying. In (I.ii. 139-140) Hamlet says Fie on `t, ah fie! Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. This line can also be considered to be a metaphor because he is comparing his life to a garden that has not been taken care of. The imagery is the garden and one can see how Hamlet feels his life has changed going from happiness to misery. It is clear that Hamlet is in disagreement with the marriage of his mother to his uncle. His life went from being a beautiful garden to a garden full of weeds. There was a drastic change to his life and he feels confused and angry towards his situation.
The diction used in (I.i.i.137-138) How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world! is used to show Hamlets perspective of the world and his life. All these words are negative and they show how the world has lost its purity. In Hamlets eyes the world is stale because of his fathers death and has lost its purity because his fathers brother has married his mother. Also the usage of the words wicked speed and incestuous are very important to Hamlets soliloquy. The wicked speed is used to show how fast his mother stopped mourning his father and remarried. He uses the word wicked to show that he is not content with the marriage. Incestuous is used to show how disgusted he is to thinking his uncle is now his mothers husband, they were like brother and sister and it is hard for Hamlet to see them together. Hamlet uses the word frailty to describe his mother he know sees her as weak because of her decision to marry Claudius. Hamlet now has a different perspective on women, he know sees them as weak.
The allusion used in (I.i.i.153-156) Like Niobe, all tears-why she, (even she) (O God, a beast that wants discourse...) There are two allusions within these lines, the first one is an allusion to Niobe which in Greek mythology lost her children and she could not cease her tears. Hamlet says that his mother was like Niobe when his father died and does not understand why her tears have ceased so quickly. The second allusion is a reference to a beast or animal. Hamlet thinks to himself that even a beast who has no reasoning would have mourned longer than his mother mourned Old Hamlet. These allusions help the reader see his anger towards life and his mothers decision.
Hamlets grief and depression can be seen clearly. The tone thought the soliloquy remains the same and emphasizes how hurt he feels toward his mother. The figurative language helps build the tone of the soliloquy and show Hamlets true feelings which he must keep to himself.
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