Throughout Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet struggles with his assumed obligation to avenge his father's death. Hamlet repeatedly deplores himself for not avenging King Hamlet's death, yet he is never quite ready to do so whenever the opportunity presents itself. “Oh, what a thieving, peasant slave I am!” by Hamlet The soliloquy in Act II, scene 2 of the play reveals the internal conflict Hamlet has between the seemingly forced option of killing Claudius as revenge for King Hamlet's death and his lack of commitment to doing so. Through the firm decision Hamlet makes at the end to expose Claudius' supposed guilt, the "Oh, what a rogue slave and peasant am I!" the soliloquy serves the thematic function in the play of marking the beginning of a transition from an emotionally distressed Hamlet to a more rational one. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is an internally emotional character who is still grieving for his recently deceased father. In a conversation with Claudius and Gertrude, Hamlet says regarding his feelings regarding King Hamlet's death: “[Nothing] can truly denote me. [This dress and behavior] indeed "seem," / for they are actions a man might perform; / But I have that within which the passages are seen, / These are but the ornaments and clothes of pain. (1.2.86-89). Hamlet states that nothing can truly represent the pain he feels over his father's death. Anyone can fake grief by wearing dark clothes and faking a few tears – which Gertrude and Claudius no longer do even though King Hamlet died only a month ago – but this grief that Hamlet currently feels is much deeper than any superficial pain. , the external expression of pain can show. Although Hamlet is not an extremely emotional character if we judge him by our... middle of paper... rice to the passion with which the First Player portrays an imaginary character. Afterwards, he remains torn between the option of killing Claudius and his reservations about it, and achieves absolutely nothing as a result. At the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet reaches a reasonable solution by devising a plan to determine whether Claudius is truly guilty. Then, later in the play, the more rational Hamlet intellectually contemplates the value of his life in the world through his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy. Overall, the phrase "Oh, what a thieving and peasant slave am I!" the soliloquy is a turning point in the play that has the thematic function of marking a transition from an emotional Hamlet to a more rational one, as Hamlet abandons his previous emotional pain and anguish to devise a plan of action to avenge the death unjustified by his father..