Hamlet 4

Hamlet:

"O vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! this is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear [father] murdered,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell...
...The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King."

-I chose this passage because it further develops the main conflict in the play. Hamlet is finally making a plan to find out the truth about his father's death. It is also important because the lines within it, and before it, show a lot about Hamlet's character. He continues to be consumed by his father's death, when clearly he has other issues he could be dealing with (such as his love for Ophelia).

-Shakespeare uses a lot of devices within this passage to tie the entire scene together. The scene starts with King Claudius trying to use other people to find the truth beneath Hamlet's distress. This passage then ends with Hamlet deciding to do the very same thing to find out the truth about Claudius. This passage connects these two events, and makes the reader aware of this recurring idea of finding "truth" in a dishonest manner. Also, the diction - the use of words such as promted, struck, proclaimed, play, power, assume, abuses- creates an idea of things being controlled, or maniplulated for a larger cause. The diction creates suspense and reflects the desires and actions fo the characters within the scene.