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Shakespeare's Most Famous Soliloquy With A Mark Of Their Own Artistry

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Actors interpret Shakespeare’s most famous soliloquy with a mark of their own artistry.

In films and on stage, actors who play Hamlet exhibit various degrees of emotion and pacing

speed. It is difficult to evaluate the soliloquy on its own because the way the play is performed in

its entirety gives meaning to the soliloquy while the soliloquy also illuminates a special

interpretation in the play. However, I argue that the soliloquy has a musical structure – a sonata

form, specifically – that can serve as a framework under which performances can be analyzed.

Even though they were viewed discretely from their entire play, there are performances of the

soliloquy that may be considered more effective than others under the framework examined

under the sonata form.

The sonata form usually has three main parts: the exposition, the development, and the

recapitulation. In the exposition, the composer introduces a theme that will set the groundwork

for the entire work. Once the theme is introduced, it is often played in a different key but in a

parallel structure. Hamlet’s soliloquy begins with the theme of the uncertainty of death: “To be

or not to be, that is the question.” The rest of the soliloquy expands on this central theme as it

clearly sets the groundwork for Hamlet’s internal struggle. A repeat of this theme is heard when

Hamlet speaks, “To die: to sleep; No more.” Now instead of considering the difficulties and

possibly the “nobler” act of

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