What Does The First Soliloquy Reveal About Hamlet?

Hamlet’s first soliloquy is a necessary component of the play as it provides background knowledge that is mandatory in order to understand future occurrences within the play. This soliloquy delves into Hamlet’s inner emotions regarding his mother’s marriage, his current position in life, and God’s contribution in his depression; all of which reveal different aspects of the plot and provide pivotal background information about the major characters that are vital to the play as a whole.
In an attempt to reason with his own mind, Hamlet expresses the intense anger he feels towards his mother’s remarriage to his uncle in this soliloquy. This sets the tone for the entire play as it informs the reader on the depths of his distaste for his uncle, which is the driving force behind his revenge and, essentially, composes the storyline. He first mentions that his anger stems from his mother’s haste marriage to Claudius, which she does at a “most wicked speed” after his father’s death. This highlights his disillusionment with her loyalty to his father, introducing the relationship dynamic between them and influencing the audience to believe that Gertrude is deceitful and untrustworthy.
Adding onto the stress of parental pressure, Hamlet also expresses in this soliloquy his dissatisfaction with the fact that his position as royalty was taken from him by Claudius. He says that it “is not nor it cannot come to good,” in reference to his mother’s marriage and Claudius’ new kingship. Claudius becoming king rather than Hamlet disappoints him because with a man he despises as king, Hamlet cannot go to the extent he desires in terms of honoring his father. Each of these factors arise suicidal thoughts in Hamlet, which are revealed through his confession that “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!”.
The disclosure of the fact that he views the world as pointless explains his actions throughout the rest of the play, as it became evident that he granted minimal value to his own life and dedicated his entire being to the revenge scheme. Without knowing about his hopeless attitude towards life, it wouldn’t make as much sense to readers that he jumped at the opportunity to fulfill a task that had numerous risks attached to it.