Hamlet The Soliloquies The Second Soliloquy Act 1

Hamlet: The Soliloquies The Second Soliloquy Act 1 Scene 5 O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? And shall I couple hell? O, fie! — Hold, my heart; And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, But bear me stiffly up. — Remember thee! Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat In this distracted globe. Remember thee! Yea, from the table of my memory I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there; And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven! — O most pernicious woman! O villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables, — meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and be a villain; At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark

Hamlet: The Soliloquies The Second Soliloquy Act 1 Scene 5 This soliloquy occurs immediately after Hamlet meets his father's ghost. The ghost reveals to him that he has been murdered. It has also charged him with the duty of taking revenge upon his murderer. The ghost also reveals to Hamlet that as he slept in his garden, the murderer poured poison into his ear. Then it reveals the murderer to him by saying: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown”

Hamlet: The Soliloquies The Second Soliloquy Act 1 Scene 5 This revelation makes it clear that Claudius is, indeed, the real murderer of Hamlet's dead father. Hamlet is shocked, stunned, and in great grief upon realizing that his father was murdered by his uncle. He refers to his mother as the “most pernicious woman” and to his uncle as a “villain”, a “smiling damned villain”. In the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet swears to remember and obey the ghost.

Hamlet: The Soliloquies The Second Soliloquy Act 1 Scene 5 This soliloquy has a very special significance in the development of the plot of the play as it is here that Hamlet dedicates himself to the role of revenger.

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