by Martin Reftorr

Created on: June 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

As a master playwright, Shakespeare included many image patterns and correlating themes in his writing of Hamlet, ranging from disease and decay to parallels with the world of theater. The main character, Hamlet, serves as the focal point of many of these themes, and he utilizes many image patterns to enhance Shakespeare's portrayal of the primary themes in the play. Notably, the change in imagery present in Hamlet's soliloquies mirrors the phases of his character evolution.

At the outset of the play, Hamlet's soliloquies contain a more passive and sorrowful image pattern of water, which correspond to how his emotions seem to run like water. In starting off his first soliloquy, Hamlet expresses his desire that his flesh would disappear "into a dew" (I, II, 130). This visual image emphasizes the softness of water and establishes a connection between Hamlet's sullen emotional state and the liquid. He also alludes to Niobe, an ancient Greek mythological figure famous for her endless crying, to create a contrast with his mother (I, II, 149). The endless flow of tears intensifies the water image pattern, and also serves to illuminate Hamlet's troubled feelings regarding his mother, Queen Gertrude, who, from his point of view, remarried while still having tears in her eyes from mourning Old Hamlet's death. The primary image pattern of water, in both creating perspective on Hamlet's situation and relating metaphorically to his sentimental conflicts, represents a Hamlet overridden with extreme emotions.

As Hamlet actively ponders the nature of death and how he might die while taking vengeful action for his father's murder, the predominant image pattern in his soliloquies shifts from water to bodily organs and parts. His numerous references to "the ear" and "eyes" mark this change, and emphasize that he has begun to contemplate the nature of "being", or existing, on a physical (or bodily) level. While he mentions these body parts, he specifically does so in a negative light, using phrases such as "cleave the general ear", "plucks off my beard", and "tweaks me by the nose" (II, II, 523-524). The negative connotation which Hamlet creates for these words hints that he feels pessimistic towards the physical aspect of existence, and this reflects his inner conflict in regards to how to deal with taking revenge for Claudius' murder of his father, since he might die in the act. He even notes that he "is pigeon-liver'd" and "lacks gall", signifying his complete lack of confidence

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