Performative Utterance: Hamlet

Performative utterance is used to explain thought in Hamlet. Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy is an example of performative utterance in the play. It is used to show the emotions of one character towards other characters. His soliloquy brings about a state of mind or affair. Hamlet’s soliloquies involve him talking to himself about his ideas and thoughts of other characters and situations. Shakespeare uses performative utterance through Hamlet’s speeches, which allows us to see his view on everyone else including Hamlet himself.

Hamlet's most famous performative utterance is “to be or not to be”. It shows us his thoughts and feelings of the characters and his thought process on whether he should commit suicide or stay alive and kill Claudius. This gives the audience the opportunity to see what Hamlet’s thoughts are about the other characters and his plot for revenge just through his words, without any action. The audience has the opportunity to think through a course of action that may or may not really occur. Shakespeare uses the performative utterance in Hamlet’s soliloquy to show his two separate plans of action. Hamlet through his soliloquies describes his plot to seek revenge on Claudius by killing him. What actually happens in the play is way different than what Hamlet describes,

Hamlet’s speeches involve a lot of action and calls for action from others. It shows us how bad he wants revenge on Claudius for killing his father and taking the throne. Hamlet’s speeches impact the whole story, because we get to see the characters and the plot according to Hamlet. while reading Hamlet’s speeches I got to experience and understand the characters in a different way. They also allowed me to view the plot of the story through one of the characters.

Shakespeare’s  use of performative utterance has a big impact in the play. Through Hamlet’s soliloquies we are able to witness and listen to his inner thoughts and feelings. His soliloquies are examples of perfromative utterance because it shows us exactly what he is thinking without directly explaining it.