Free Essay To Be or Not to Be, Hamlet Soliloquy Interpretation

hunterg · Uploaded by **hunterg** on May 20, 2005

Hamlet: To Be or Not To Be"

The "To Be or Not To Be" speech in the play, "Hamlet," portrays Hamlet as a very confused man. He is very unsure of himself and often wavers between two extremes. In the monologue, he contemplates death; over whether he should commit suicide or seek revenge for his father's death. The play also shows how Hamlet thinks over things too much. From the analysis over life and death he comes to the conclusion that he would rather live and seek revenge for father's death than die. So he follows out his plans and kills Claudius after much person debate as he had done in his soliloquy. Evidence of his unsureness, fickleness, and thinking too much is not only shown in this speech, but throughout the entire play.

In the soliloquy, Hamlet considers suicide. His character is clearly shown in this speech. The speech itself shows that he thinks too much. He is wavering between the two extremes: life and death. "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them" (3, 1, 56-60). He wonders whether he should live and suffer or die and end the suffering. He believes that life is synonymous with suffering. The "whips and scorn of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes" (3, 1, 70-74) are all the suffering he sees in life. He contemplates whether or not he should endure these pains of life. "To die, to sleep -no more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks...To sleep, perchance to dream" (3, 1, 60-65). If he chooses death all his pains and heartaches would end. He would not have to worry about Claudius, Gertrude or any other aspect of his life that bothers or causes him stress.

The only thing keeping him from death is what lies behind death. The "dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will" (3, 1, 78-80) and keeps people from choosing death due to the fear of what lies after death. His entire monologue compares the two extremes: life and death. He analyzes both situations and thinks over it too much. This occurs not only in this speech, but also later in the play.

Hamlet knows that he thinks too much over everything. He plans to kill Claudius, but does not because he is confused and unsure. He says, "Whether it be Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple of thinking too precisely on th'event -A thought which quartered hath but one part wisdom And ever three parts coward -I do not know Why yet I live to say this things to do" (4, 4, 39-44). He sees himself as either being a coward or over thinking his actions for not killing Claudius when he had the chance and delaying it. His unsureness present in the soliloquy is also present here. He is unsure and thinking too much over his actions just like he was about committing suicide. Another time in the play outside of the monologue is evident when he is talking to Horatio. "Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon. He that hath killed my king, and whored my mother, Popped in between the'election and my hopes" (5, 2, 63-65), he states his reasons for killing Claudius. This shows his insecureness and over thinking of his actions. He must list reasons and make sure he has reasons to kill Claudius; he must justify himself. His character traits are evident as they were in his soliloquy.

In his speech, "To Be or Not To Be," Hamlet shows his character to be confused, fickle, and an over thinker. He shows this by his attitude towards life and death. How he compares the two and analyzes them both shows that he over analyzes everything that he does. He thinking about death shows his confusion. His character is not only shown in this monologue, but in other parts of the play too. He learns from the contemplation over life and death that he would rather live and revenge his father's death than die. Partly because the unknown after death scares him and the other part is because he wants revenge.