Shakespeare begins this soliloquy by having Hamlet express his anger at heaven by exclaiming “O all you host of heaven” (Shakespeare 129). …show more content…
Shakespeare hammers home that King Claudius is a villain in this soliloquy as Hamlet exclaims the word “villain” four times in just three lines. Not only does he repeat “villain” throughout, all the lines in which Hamlet calls his uncle a villain, they do not break scansion. Shakespeare also clues the audience in on the fake persona Claudius is presenting as he is described specifically as a “smiling villain” (143) multiple times. The only line that does not scan towards the end of Hamlet’s soliloquy is one where Hamlet speculates about the corruption of Denmark. This break in scansion shows that Denmark is corrupt and the only way for it to be cleansed is for all things rotten to be removed, which by the end of the play includes