Director's Notes For Hamlet's First Soliloquy

Choose one of Hamlet’s soliloquies.
Using your knowledge of Shakespeare’s

language, theatrical practices (including implicit and explicit stage direction),
thematic concerns and theatrical interpretation, write a director’s notes for the actor
performing the soliloquy. You will need to state your approach to the soliloquy and
justify your choice.
Soliloquy is an essential element in a play. It is a speech delivered by a

character alone on stage so as to inform the audience of thoughts and feelings that
cannot be communicated to other characters (Fox, 2005). Hamlet’s first soliloquy is
in Act I Scene II line 129-160 which takes place in the castle after the marriage
ceremony between Claudius and Gertrude. In this soliloquy, it is Hamlet’s first time
revealing his inner thoughts and feelings. Therefore the actor performing Hamlet will
be informed on the stagecraft and how to convey the message in this soliloquy to the
audience throughout this director’s notes.
Stagecraft is paramount in every dramatisation. Thus, the actor must to be

notified on this matter. The actor performing Hamlet should be alone on the stage
when he is delivering his soliloquy. He should wear black attire as it is a universal
colour to symbolise mourning. The props needed for this soliloquy are two chairs
with armrests and portraits of the kings of Denmark arranged in sequence. The lights
should be dimmed during the entire soliloquy except for one spotlight. It is needed to
follow Hamlet’s movement on the stage.
Hamlet in this production should be portrayed as a victim of circumstances

which is parallel to what a revenge tragedy outlines. In a revenge tragedy, the
protagonist begins at a disadvantage and is forced to engage in an intrigue against
the antagonist (Barnet, 1998). He is normally caught up in a situation not of his own
making and confronted by an evil foe who forced him to act more violently than the
foe (Barnet, 1998). Similarly in this play, Hamlet’s father has been murdered and his
mother, Gertrude, marries Claudius the murderer. Claudius plots against Hamlet by
manipulating Laertes whose father has been killed by Hamlet. Claudius incites
Laertes to challenge Hamlet in a fencing match. Here, Claudius himself gives Hamlet
the right moment to seek revenge when Hamlet realised that Claudius tried to kill him
with a poisonous drink. Unfortunately, Hamlet’s realisation’s of Claudius murderous
attempt comes after his mother died after drinking from the poisonous cup.
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Hamlet is at a disadvantage in this first soliloquy. The tone of this soliloquy is
serious and personal and it requires the actor to swiftly change his emotion from
despair to outpouring of cynicism, disgust, anger and agony. The actor should start
the soliloquy by expressing despair through his suicidal thoughts. If God does not
against suicide, Hamlet wishes that his sullied flesh would melt and disappear like
the morning dew does. To get into character, the actor’s voice should only be a little
better than a groan and his breaths is a succession of sighs. The actor should
position himself between the two chairs seated by Claudius and Gertrude during the
marriage ceremony. His body must bend simultaneously holding the armrest of the
chairs with a firm grip when he delivers the soliloquy:
O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt,

Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!
Then the actor can stand straight and walk a few steps further towards the
audience when he delivers this part of soliloquy:
O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah, fie! 'tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
In these lines Hamlet appears cynical as there is nothing seems of interest to him
and he believes that his mother has gone morally corrupted for marrying her brother-
in-law. The phrase “unweeded garden” and words like “rank” and “gross” should be
stressed by the actor to highlight his mother’s fall from grace.
After that Hamlet appears to change his emotion from cynicism to disgust. He
is disgusted by his mother’s hasty marriage which is less than two months after his
father’s death. Her thoughtlessness reflects her pretence love for the late Hamlet.
Hamlet compares his father and Claudius as God to a beast to prove that his father
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makes a better king as well as husband. The actor performing Hamlet should retain
the emotion of disgust within this extract:
But two months dead! Nay, not so much, not two;

So excellent a king, that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on;
As a result, every movement of the actor’s body should be rapid, irregular and
reckless. The head of the actor should be dishevelled and uneasy. When the actor is
reciting the phrase “Hyperion to a satyr”, he can direct his dominant hand towards
the portraits of his father and Claudius to show comparison is being made between
the two. When the hand is directed towards his father, the eyes of the actor should
sparkle with affection. Meanwhile, the actor should show the feeling of disgust
through his gesture when he directs his hand towards Claudius. For example, the
actor can turn his head and body away from Claudius’ portrait. Other than that, the
arms and hands should press the head and thrown convulsively from it when the
actor delivers the phrase “Heaven and earth!” This is to show the struggle for control
going on within Hamlet at that moment.
Done with disgust emotion, Hamlet now speaks with rage. He keeps stressing
the short duration her mother spent mourning for his father. He claimed that his
mother possibly cried “unrighteous tears” during the funeral. Hamlet passes an unfair
judgement saying that all women are weak due to his mother’s deeds. This can be
seen in lines:
and yet, within a month—

Let me not think on't! Frailty, thy name is woman—
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body
Like Niobe, all tears—why she, even she—
O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason
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Would have mourn'd longer—married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married
Since anger is synonymous with rising voice and speedy utterance, the actor should
therefore apply these techniques when performing this part of soliloquy other than
turning easily from right to left. “and yet, within a month”, “A little mont” and “O God!
a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourn'd longer” are phrases and
sentence that need to be uttered in a high-pitched voice. In addition, when people
are in the middle of an outrage, they often talk nonsense and make insensitive
remarks. Thus the sentence “Frailty, thy name is woman” should be uttered speedily
by the actor to show Hamlet’s thoughtlessness due to his uncontrollable anger.
Lastly Hamlet is in agony thinking that the fact that his mother married his
uncle less than two month after his father’s death is inevitable. His heart is broken
but he must hold his tongue. These are the lines that show Hamlet’s agony:
O, most wicked speed, to post

With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to, good.
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue!
During the recitation of the above lines, the actor should not move around anymore.
He should stand on the middle of the stage and close his eyes and look up when he
recites the last line of this soliloquy which is “But break, my heart, for I must hold my
tongue!” This gesture is intended to show Hamlet hopelessness.
To sum up, with all the guidance given to the actor performing Hamlet, it is
expected that he will be able to deliver this first soliloquy with the correct gestures,
intonations and facial expressions. It is also hoped that this soliloquy will be a
success during the dramatisation.
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REFERENCES
Barnet, S.(1998). Introduction. In Shakespeare, W.(Eds.), Hamlet (pp.lxii-xcii).

London: Signets Classics Printing.
Fox, A. (Ed.). (2005). How to Study Literature in English: A Guide for the Advancing
Student (3rd ed.). Dunedin: University of Otago Press.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Analysis of Hamlet's First Soliloquy. (2007). Retrieved September 30, 2009 from
echeat: http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=29369 –
enotes.com: Hamlet Group-Question and Answer. (2009). Retrieved September 30,

2009, from enotes.com: http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/.../act-1-scene-2-
hamlets-soliloquy-which-gives-69423 -
"Hamlet: Act 1, Scene 2". (2000). Retrieved October 1, 2009 from

http://www.bookrags.com/notes/ham/PART2.html
Holdridge, E. (2008). Eleanor’s Holdridge’s Director’s Notes. Retrieved August 18,

2009 from http://www.shakespeare.org/hamlet/materials/
Hills, T. E. (1888). Hill's Manual Of Social And Business Forms: A Guide To Correct
Writing. Chicago: Hill Standard Book Co.
Pasternak, B. (2008). Hamlet Director's notes: "HAMLET is not a drama of

weakness, but of duty and self-denial". Retrieved August 18, 2009 from
http://www.stageplay.jp/en/performances/2008_spring_hamlet/pdf/2008HAML
ETprogramme.pdf
St. Peter, R. (2007). Hamlet Director’s Notes. Retrieved August 18, 2009 from
http://www.actorsguildoflexington.org/hamlet-directors-notes-28.blog

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What is the purpose of a soliloquy in a play?

How does the director suggest portraying Hamlet in this soliloquy?

Choose one of Hamlet’s soliloquies.

Using your knowledge of Shakespeare’s

Soliloquy is an essential element in a play. It is a speech delivered by a

Stagecraft is paramount in every dramatisation. Thus, the actor must to be

Hamlet in this production should be portrayed as a victim of circumstances

O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt,

But two months dead! Nay, not so much, not two;

and yet, within a month—

O, most wicked speed, to post

Barnet, S.(1998). Introduction. In Shakespeare, W.(Eds.), Hamlet (pp.lxii-xcii).

enotes.com: Hamlet Group-Question and Answer. (2009). Retrieved September 30,

"Hamlet: Act 1, Scene 2". (2000). Retrieved October 1, 2009 from

Holdridge, E. (2008). Eleanor’s Holdridge’s Director’s Notes. Retrieved August 18,

Pasternak, B. (2008). Hamlet Director's notes: "HAMLET is not a drama of

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