Running head: HAMLET’S DILEMMA 1

Hamlet’s Dilemma

Name

Institution
HAMLET’S DILEMMA 2

Hamlet’s Dilemma

In the hamlet play by Shakespeare, there are many instances where rhetoric language is

used to catch the attention of the audience. Shakespeare uses characters such as Claudius and

hamlet as masters of rhetoric. In most parts of the play, hamlet uses soliloquies to communicate

to the audience. The most common hamlet’s soliloquy is in Act 11 where he says “to be or not to

be”. Hamlet uses the rhetoric language to express his emotions, logical reasoning and morals of

his language to reveal his real plans to the audience and assure himself of vengeance.

Logos can be said to be logical appeal. It is not necessarily that a statement is considered

logical to be a logical appeal. In most instances when logical appeal is used, the reader is able to

recognize that the character is using logos to persuade the audience, however, this does not

necessarily indicate that the rhetor has succeeded. Logos are often used to define the kind of

rhetorical appeal that is being made to the audience. Mostly it does not matter whether the appeal

makes sense or not to the audience. When using logos, the rhetor uses strategies of logos to

influence the audience. A statement is said to be a logical argument if it attempts to persuade the

audience by making a reasonable claim and offering proof to augment the claim.

Hamlet persuades himself by using logos. For instance, one of the logos used by hamlet

is in Act 3 where he utters the phrase “to be or not to be”. By using this phrase, Hamlet is trying

to decide whether living or dying is the best. Thought most people have different interpretations

of his speech, the point that he was communicating to the audience remains the same. Therefore,

by using logos in his speech, Hamlet is trying to convince himself to act fast and carry on his

revenge because he has the power to take action. By using logos in his arguments, Hamlet is also

trying to convince the audience to believe that he should execute his revenge. By using logic in

the given situation, Hamlet encourages the audience to trace their path of thinking and verify it
HAMLET’S DILEMMA 3

for correctness. Logos enables the rhetor to encourage the audience to logical and rational

thinking. On the contrary, the use of logos might make the audience to deduce a wrong

conclusion. Further, human minds might not elaborate perfectly and consistently what is being

communicated by the narrator.