One rhetorical device often used in Hamlet is metaphor. When Hamlet discusses how Claudius has damaged his kingdom, he says "Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed." This is a metaphor because it is a description based on an implicit comparison between the kingdom and an untended garden.
Hamlet also contains similes, which are direct comparisons using the word "like" or "as." One example of this is "Reason, like sweet bells jangled."
Shakespeare also frequently employs alliteration, or repetition of beginning sounds in words. Examples include the phrases "frighted with false fire?" and "Be soft a sinews."
Lastly, Hamlet contains many allusions, which are indirect references to past works. For example, Claudius references Cain from the Bible when he says "It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder!"
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