HAMLET ESSAY

Using what you've learned about Hamlet the character and Hamlet the play, evaluate the impact of performative utterance on Hamlet and your own sense of self. How does the way Hamlet speaks constitute action in itself? How does it impact the characters and the plot? How does this compare with your own "self-overhearing"? How does the way you reflect on your experience create a sense of memory, expectation, and real-world results? Use the text, your reading/lecture notes, the experience of memorizing the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, de Boer's paper (and Bloom's/Austin's theoretical frameworks), and the many online and offline discussions we've had.

Performative utterance, the description of reality that changes the reality which is being described, is not only presented throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, but occurs in the real-world as well. The use of performative utterance in Hamlet helps Hamlet's language constitute action in itself. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet often speaks but never actually seems to act. Locutionary force, illocutionary force, perlocutionary force, and self-overhearing are the types of language which Hamlet utilizes when communicating with the other characters throughout the play.

Language is not only significant in one's everyday life, but is essential in every single piece of literature. Locutionary force, the ability of language to deliver a message, is demonstrated when King Claudius informs both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that Hamlet has "transformed" and that he's different than he was before. In the play, Hamlet is considered to be "mad," due to the fact that he struggles to express himself. But wouldn't that make almost every human being "mad" as well? Illoctionary force which is what is done in being said, occurs when the ghost orders Hamlet to seek revenge and kill Claudius for murdering King Hamlet. However, perlocutionary force, the intended effect, plays a major role in the play. In Hamlet, Hamlet strives to follow the ghost's order and makes killing Claudius his main priority. Locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary forces are key components utilized in Hamlet which ultimately help the audience characterize each and every character.

 The characters in Hamlet seem to evolve through self-overhearing. Hamlet demonstrates self-overhearing through his many soliloquies presented throughout the play. Through his soliloquies, Hamlet is able to express his very emotions where we, as an audience, are allowed into his mind, which gives us the opportunity to learn about his feelings through his words. I experience self-overhearing on a daily basis. My mind is drowning in thoughts about school, life, my future, and almost everything else that you could possibly think of. Once I begin to overhear my very thoughts through my speaking I often gain self-knowledge. This self-overhearing gives me the opportunity to learn about myself through my thoughts and help me understand every goal in which I strive to accomplish in life. 

Words are extremely powerful and it is often these words that lead to actions. The performative utterance in Hamlet allows us to ultimately understand the characters through the language in the play. Performative utterance isn't what is done with the language in Hamlet, but what this performative language tells us about the characters.