Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which two contrasting words or concepts are juxtaposed within a parallel grammatical structure (literarydevices.com). In this case, the repeated use of this literary convention and the balanced structure it employs is intended to highlight the irony that Hamlet himself cannot seem to find a healthy balance: between anger and depression, reason and emotion, thought and action. Therefore, the use of antithesis in his fourth monologue serves to illustrate the uncertainty and asymmetry that define aspects of his character. In the case of this soliloquy, one of the most striking effects of the use of antithesis is to accentuate the instability of Hamlet's state of mind. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout the play, Hamlet proves incapable of balanced thought. Either he idealizes a person or a concept, or he demonizes them; he sees no gray area, no in-between. A perfect example of this is how Hamlet vilifies his mother for marrying Claudius, in part because he has a completely romanticized idea of ​​what marriage should be. Hamlet's inability to find balance is illustrated early in the soliloquy. Hamlet, expanding on his earlier question about "to be or not to be", asks another question: "Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of scandalous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea ​​of ​​troubles, and opposing their end? (3.1.65-68) Hamlet is a man of extremes, and this is one of the main reasons why he cannot seem to find any semblance of inner peace. In his mind, there are only two options: live a life marked by misery and bad luck, or rebel against a cruel fate by committing suicide. He doesn't take the time to consider that not everyone's life is filled with suffering, or that committing suicide may not be the only way to find peace. This is why he is so keen to use the antithesis in this example, because such a literary device only allows two lines of action to be presented. It also helps express one's distorted view of what it means to act. By using the word “suffer” when talking about life, he implies that humans are helpless beings at the mercy of fate. Yet he describes the act of suicide as taking up “arms,” as if killing oneself were actually an act of fighting back, even though it is generally seen as an act of cowardice. Hamlet's irrationality is so prevalent throughout the play that he is himself a walking paradox; it illustrates the concept of antithesis itself. One of the reasons Hamlet is unable to act is that he is caught between righteous anger, paralyzing devastation, and cerebral thinking. Using this parallel grammatical structure, he piles up the possible consequences of choosing life or death, like a merchant piles weights on a scale, and yet he still finds himself unable to reach any conclusion. Hamlet expresses this concern when he says, "And so the native tint of resolution / Is sick with the paleness of thought" (3.1.92-93). By going back and forth between whether it is better to “be or not to be,” he is arguing with himself. Hamlet is, by nature, a man who adheres to reason. Born into the nobility and well educated, he learned to think logically and rationally. Therefore, he is not comfortable being guided solely by emotion. Whenever he seems to have powerful feelings, whether due to anger, depression, or disgust, he reasons with passion and dissuades himself from action.. 2016.