A soliloquy is a literary device that writers employ to allow readers to see into the mind of a single character. In a live performance, it would appear that the character is talking madly to himself. In reality, these monologues are the character's swirling thoughts expressed, giving the audience a dramatized insight into the character's deepest emotions and opinions. It is through these soliloquies that Hamlet's truest colors are revealed and readers get a glimpse of what kind of person Hamlet is. Readers first get a glimpse of Hamlet's innermost thoughts in Act I, scene 2. At this point in the play, Hamlet's mother and uncle, Queen Gertrude and Claudius, have just announced their marriage . For several months, Hamlet has been constantly mourning the sudden loss of his beloved father and king. In the eyes of the queen and the new king, Hamlet has cried enough and their marriage is intended to end the depressing state of the kingdom. Hamlet's uncle, now father-in-law, even goes so far as to say that Hamlet is behaving like a stubborn girl in the face of his prolonged misery, urging him to stop crying. Once his mother and uncle leave the scene, Hamlet reflects on the current situation. He begins by stating that he simply longs to cease to exist, for his flesh to disintegrate into the earth again. He knows the Lord condemns suicide, but wishes it would be permitted for him. These first two lines emphasize Hamlet's suicidal tendencies and his lack of self-esteem and personal worth. Not only does he have a low opinion of his own life, but he compares the world of his time to a “garden without weeds” that produced and nourished a vile and corrupt humanity. At this point, existence seems lifeless and insignificant to him, cla...... middle of paper ....... The key characteristics revealed throughout this speech are those of dedication and responsibility. Hamlet's devotion to his father is so strong that he says it will completely erase his mind of "all frivolous records, all book saws, all forms, all past pressures of that youth and copied observation there,” erasing everything he ever heard. read, seen, or experienced throughout his life so that he could devote his mind solely to following his father's orders. Fueled by a new sense of responsibility, he vows to keep his promise to avenge his father's death, making his "damn evil smiling" uncle pay for his crime. Later in the play, Hamlet's piety and loyalty to his father is further emphasized when he points out that he did not want this duty to avenge his father's death, but he knows that if he does not take on not this task, no one will do it..