(7)+How+all+occasions+do+inform+against+me...

 //INTRODUCTION://
 * (7th soliloquy-- Act 4, Scene 4, lines 34-69, Folger Edition)**

//In this soliloquy, Hamlet is seen as incredibly indecisive about retaining his "honor." He is deciding whether to take action against his uncle and claims that any fight is worth it if one's honor and reputation is at stake. Also he comes to the realization that mankind acts so violently and dramatically for so little personal gain. This is inspired by the army that Hamlet witnesses in this scene. The entire soliloquy is given while an army is scene marching by, and it is this army of men that Hamlet refers to in the soliloquy.//

 //ANNOTATED SOLILOQUY: //


 * Hamlet:**

And spur my dull revenge! What is a man, 35 If his chief good and market of his time Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. ** = =  //Here, Hamlet is stating that there is no worth in being a man without a purpose.// //In that humans have lost their animal/beast-like nature which he feels would have bettered them.// //Therefore, he too must act with purpose. //
 * How all occasions do inform against me,

Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and god-like reason 40 To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple Of thinking too precisely on the event, (A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom 45 And ever three parts coward), I do not know Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do;' Sith I have cause and will and strength and means To do't. ****Examples gross as earth exhort me: **  **Witness this army of such mass and charge 50 Led by a delicate and tender prince, Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd Makes mouths at the invisible event, Exposing what is mortal and unsure To all that fortune, death and danger dare, 55 Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw When honour's at the stake.**
 * Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,

//Hamlet seems to state that he does have the reason and cause to believe in what has happened. When he speaks of thinking too precisely on an event or of "Bestial oblivion," he refers to whatever it is that has caused his inaction. He now sees over-thinking as being 3/4 "coward" and 1/4 "wisdom."// //He now realizes that he has the motive and ability to act, so he must just as the men marching across the field are doing.//

That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, 60 Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men, That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,** Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, Which is not tomb enough and continent To hide the slain? O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!**
 * How stand I then,
 * Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot 65

//Here Hamlet justifies his violent means. Hamlet feels it is in his name and honor, as well as being that he must avenge his father's death or he is nothing. The conclusion of this soliloquy flatly states that he finds himself to be nothing if he cannot complete that goal. //

38-39. **discouse,…before and after:** power of thought that looks into the past and the future 41. **fust:** become moldy 42. **Bestial oblivion:** mindlessness like the beasts 42-43. **craven scruple / Of thinking:** cowardly hesitation that results from thinking 49. **gross as earth:** as evident as the earth itself 53. **Makes mouths at:** makes faces at (i.e., holds in contempt) 56-59. **Rightly…at the stake:** i.e., to be truly great, one should not fight except when the argument is itself great, unless honor is at risk **at the stake:** at risk (as in gambling) 64. **trick of fame:** illusion of honor 66. **Whereon…cause:** on which the numbers of fighting men do not have room to fight the battle 67-68. **Which is not…hide the slain:** which is not large enough to be a tomb or receptacle for those who will be killed **continent:** container = =

//CONCLUSION: //

//Hamlet seems to be a dynamic character but he is merely acting out his craziness. ////By the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet brings to a halt his contemplation over the immoral act of murderous revenge, and finally accepts it as his necessary duty. Hamlet's 'reason,' the part of him that has been dominant and that has questioned the "honor" in murder and revenge throughout the play, this time does not counteract against his decision. // = = //He wonders if his inaction is because he is too dull to act or too weak or overly moral. Furthermore, he questions his honor. He states that it is right to examine thoroughly issues before acting upon them, but to not stir when "honor's" at stake is different. In a final rally of his strength of character, Hamlet reasons that many a soldier has gone to his death "for a fantasy," so he should not hesitate to revenge his father's death. At the end of the soliloquy Hamlet comes to the conclusion that all his thoughts from now on will be "bloody" and "violent" and if they are neither of the two, then these thoughts can be deemed "nothing worth" or useless. //