When analyzing Shakespeare's Hamlet through a deconstructionist lens, various elements of the play become clearer. Hamlet's beliefs about himself and his crisis due to indecision are exposed by the binary oppositions created in his soliloquies. Hamlet's first soliloquy comes in act one, scene two, as Hamlet reflects on the current state of events. The main focus of this soliloquy is essentially the rot of the king, queen and the world in general. In this passage the reader is introduced to Hamlet's pseudo-obsession with death and suicide, which later becomes a major point of indecision. In this particular speech, however, Hamlet is quite confident. He longs for his "too fouled flesh to melt" (Shakespeare 1.2.129), and laments that God has "fixed / His canon against self-killing" (1.2.131-2). These two lines establish the fundamental dichotomy of indecision in Hamlet, which is primarily action or inaction, but can be expressed in terms of suicide or continuing life. It is important to note that there is little indecision in this particular passage, and while this makes it somewhat more difficult to deconstruct, it provides a point of comparison for Hamlet's eventual madness. Here he clearly and categorically rejects the idea of ​​suicide as contrary to God's law, and is therefore free from the indecision seen later in the work. The rest of the passage is essentially a platform for Hamlet to air his grievances, and thus the deconstructionist lens for this soliloquy can best be applied to Hamlet's beliefs about other characters rather than his internal conflicts. Hamlet directly establishes a series of oppositions by comparing his father to his uncle. First he uses the comparison between "Hyperion and a Satyr" (1.2...... middle of the paper ...... the worry of how to capture Claudius and how to take revenge on his father. Recognizing the fear of the unknown and of the power of doubt to derail his undertakings, Hamlet resolves his indecision and is able to move forward in the play viewed through the deconstructionist lens, Hamlet's personal demons, and his oppositions to the king, queen, and the. his inner : St Martin's Press, 1989. Elliot, T S. "Hamlet and His Troubles." New York: Bantam Books, 1980.