O that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! / Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d / His canon ’gainst self-slaughter. O God! O God!
Act I, Scene 2 · Hamlet
Context
Alone after the court exits, Hamlet begins his first soliloquy by wishing his body would dissolve or that suicide were not forbidden by God.
Analysis
The three-stage process—'melt, / Thaw, and resolve'—stretches out what could be instant, making dissolution feel slow and almost gentle. The liquefying imagery (solid to liquid to vapor) offers escape through gradual disappearance rather than violent action, aligning with Hamlet's paralysis: even his fantasy of self-destruction is passive, something that would happen to him rather than something he would do.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that even Hamlet's desire for death reveals his inaction—he imagines melting away rather than acting, a fantasy of effortless vanishing that contrasts with the agency required for revenge.