Hamlet Soliloquy: O That This Too Sullied Flesh Would Melt

Context:
Hamlet has just returned from an unpleasant scene at Claudius and Gertrude’s court, then he has been asked by his mother and stepfather not to return to his studies at Wittenberg, but to instead remain in Denmark. He accepts, but it is against his wishes. He has also found out about his mother’s marriage to his uncle (her dead husbands brother), merely a month after the king’s death.

Meaning and theme:
the main focus of this soliloquy hamlet’s contemplation of suicide. The dominant reason for this is his mother’s remarriage to his uncle just after her husband died. He feels horrible having come from the womb of someone who would commit such a horrible deed. He does not understand how she can grieve for the man she loved and then remarry “A little month; or ere those shoes were old, with which she followed my poor father’s body”, before the shoes she wore to her husband’s funeral were worn out. He no longer wants to stay in his flesh, but would rather be dead. But he is unable to kill himself because of his religion.

Mood and language:
Shakespeare’s word choice in parts of this soliloquy create a gruesome image of suicide in the watcher’s/reader’s mind. “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!” creates the image of his body melting like an icecream. The irrational tempo of the words: ‘how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,’ (line 133), shows his weariness due to the issues at hand. The mood is very negative and corrupt.

What it reveals about Hamlet’s character:
This soliloquy reveals the way he feels about his uncle, and that he does not think that his uncle ad father are anything alike.
The way he contemplates suicide but will not go through with it due to the rules of his religion reveals that he is a greatly religious person, and that he will not dishonour himself by committing such a sin. This is quite hypocritical as later on throughout the play he partakes in murdering other characters.
His disapproval of his mother’s marriage could also be due to the religious sin of remarrying.