In Hamlet’s first Soliloquy how does Shakespeare use imagery

In Hamlet’s first soliloquy it is painfully obvious that he is suffering great mental anguish. In all parts of his speech, excepting his descriptions of his parents’ relationship, Hamlet is disturbingly pessimistic. He even opens with notions of suicide saying ‘that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!’ He continues to describe why he feels this way using a list of unfavourable adjectives. Hamlet is clearly suffering from what would be diagnosed as depression with his main symptom the inability to see any good in any worldly activities, preferring to describe them as ‘weary, stale, flat and unprofitable.’

Hamlet uses the image of an ‘unweeded garden’ to describe his perceptions of contemporary Denmark. This shows how bleak everything seems to him and how he feels it is evil that is currently triumphing over goodness and justice. This also gives insight into his hatred of Claudius which spurs his disgust at his mother’s remarriage. Hamlet describes the garden (Denmark) as overgrown with things ‘rank and gross in nature’ which can be under

Some topics in this essay:
Soliloquy Shakespeare, Hercules Grecian, Titan Hyperion, Overall Hamlet, father’s goodness, mother’s remarriage, bears reference, hamlet image, hamlet feels, hamlet describes, hamlet’s soliloquy, father hamlet,