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 of the fact that Hamlet himself fails to find a healthy balance: between anger and depression, reason and emotion, thought and action. Therefore, the use of antithesis in his fourth soliloquy serves to illustrate the uncertainty and dissymmetry that define aspects of his character. In the case of this soliloquy one of the most important effects of the use of antithesis is to accentuate the instability of Hamlet's mentality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout the play, Hamlet proves incapable of thinking evenly. Either it idealizes a person or a concept, or it demonizes them; he sees no gray area, no middle ground. A perfect example of this is how Hamlet vilifies his mother for marrying Claudius, partly because she has a completely romantic idea of ​​what marriage should be like. Hamlet's inability to find balance is exemplified at the very beginning of the soliloquy. Hamlet, elaborating on his earlier question of “to be or not to be,” asks another question: “Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea of ​​troubles , and opposing their demise?” (3.1.65-68) Hamlet is an extreme man, 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 haunted by misery and misfortune, or rebel against cruel fate by committing suicide. He doesn't stop to consider that not everyone's life is full of suffering, or that perhaps killing oneself isn't the only way to find peace. This is why he is so inclined to use antithesis in this example, since such a literary device only allows the presentation of two courses of action. It also helps convey his distorted view of what it means to take action. 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 is actually an act of reaction, even though it is usually seen as an act of cowardice. Hamlet's irrationality is so prevalent throughout the play, that he himself is a walking paradox; he exemplifies the very concept of antithesis. One of the reasons Hamlet is unable to act is because he is caught between righteous anger, paralyzing devastation, and cerebral thinking. Using this parallel grammatical structure, he piles up the possible consequences that arise from the choice between life or death like a merchant loading weights onto a scale, and yet still finds himself unable to come to any kind of conclusion. Hamlet gives voice to this concern when he says, “And so the native color of resolution / Is made sickly by the pale tinge of thought” (3.1.92-93). Going back and forth between whether it is better “to be or not to be” he himself argues with himself. Hamlet is, by nature, a man who adheres to reason. Born into nobility and well educated, he was taught to think logically and rationally. Therefore, he does not feel comfortable being guided solely by emotions. Whenever he appears to have powerful feelings, whether due to anger, depression, or disgust, he reasons out of passion and convinces himself not to act. This self-entrapment is brought into stark relief by the use of antithesis. What's interesting about this. 2016.