Performative Utterances Essay

Hamlet’s speech elicits actions and causes things to happen throughout the play.  Hamlet’s words have a noticeable effect in his life because he makes promises and commands, demanding a response from his words.  The characters are compelled into action because Hamlet’s words force, persuade, or beguile them.  Hamlet’s words also have an effect on his character.  In my life, self-overhearing is very crucial to my character.  The way I act and talk with some friends and the way I act and talk with others accumulates into my character.  I am reminded of the idea that “thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, and habits become character.”  This idea sums up “self-overhearing.”  What we say will ultimately define us.  In Hamlet, this can be seen in the demands he gives, the promises he makes, and the soliloquies he performs.  Word prove to be a double edged sword that will help receive what you want from others as well as well as change who you are yourself.
When Hamlet tells the actors to perform a play in a way that will reveal to Claudius that he knows his sin, he is using locutionary force.  His words commence a chain of events that will inevitably lead to a conflict between him and Claudius.  People use this roundabout way of reaching conflict all the time.  People go out of their way because subtlety is coveted and respected, and using words to elicit actions rather than simply using actions demonstrates a sort of restraint.  This also adds to the argument that Hamlet is not in fact crazy and is rationally using his words before he commits a reckless action.
There are a couple of oaths that are taken in the play, all of which demonstrate performative utterances and have an effect on the characters.  When Hamlet swears that he will remember his father’s ghost, he has placed a guideline to follow throughout the play.  Note that he does not swear that he will avenge his father, only that he will remember his appearance.  By doing this he gives himself some moral leeway in case he decides that cannot kill.  Had he made the outright promise to avenge his father, there would be no indecisive dilemma and he would have carried out the deed with celerity.  The other instance of oath in the play occurs right after Hamlet makes his oath, when Hamlet makes Marcellus and Horatio swear to secrecy.  This promise is slightly different in that it forbids, rather than obligates one to, an action.  Promises are amongst the most powerful of performative utterances.  Whether they compel someone to do something or not to do something, they hold someone accountable.  After making a promise, one is subject to either follow their words or deal with the hefty consequences of dishonesty.  This is evident in my life.  I expect my friends and family to keep promises, and if they do not, they will have lost my trust.  Inversely, when I make a promise, I am expected to keep it.  For this reason I try make promises that I am not completely committed to.  I have learned that it is best to tread softly with words to prevent being held accountable for simple thoughts and ideas.  One must know when to leave room for doubt with phrases like “I think” or “I predict”; and when to speak boldly to remove doubt from your audience.
Hamlet reveals the most about himself in his soliloquies and this is also where “self-overhearing” has the most profound effect.  The soliloquies are the sole time when Hamlet truly speaks his mind, so naturally “self-overhearing” is most likely to take place.  One could argue that the whole time that Hamlet is playing the charade of a madmen his words subconsciously have a pernicious effect on him, causing him to actually believe that he is actually mad.  To a marginal extent, I believe this may be true.  But I think that ‘self-overhearing” will have a much stronger effect when the character means what he says.  Most people today have a couple of identities. For myself, I have an academic identity, an athletic one, and a social one.  Things I say while in one persona may not truly represent the other facets of me. These words do have an effect on me, though usually being conscious of them will negate this effect.  The words that are genuinely changing are the ones spoken from the heart. When I am perfectly honest with people who I really trust, the words I say do in fact shape my way of thinking.  After saying something aloud, I am much more likely to believe it.  Suddenly it becomes part of my identity.  When Shakespeare wrote for Hamlet to make those soliloquies, I believe that he was doing more than giving the audience a peak into Hamlet’s mind.  I also believe that he was allowing Hamlet’s thoughts vocalize and thus become part of who Hamlet is.  Memorizing “to be, or not to be” involved multiple repetitions of the soliloquy.  Each time it was vocalized, the words made more sense and became more ingrained into my way of thinking.  Through the power pure vocalization and repetition Hamlet’s rationale became inherent to me.  This demonstrates that “self-overhearing” has real and tangible effects on us all.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet hosts and abundance of examples of performative utterances.  Hamlet’s words define his character when he gives a demand, swears an oath, and speaks his true thoughts.  The effects of “self-overhearing” are evident in my life as well. The act of speaking ingrains ideas into our mindsets and ultimately shapes us into who we are.  Words should be recognized as a tool that when wielded correctly, will serve you well but when used carelessly will come back to cut you.