![]() ![]() It has been quoted an innumerable number of times in all forms of media, it continues to grab the attention of audiences and leave them bewildered, and it is perhaps the greatest line penned by one of the greatest authors of the English language. Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech in 3.1.56-90 of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps the most famous section of dialogue in the English language. That is the Monologue Andrew Cowan College The irony of all this is that ultimately, the tragic consequences of Hamlet's inaction are the multiple unintended deaths he causes.Join Now Log in Home Literature Essays Hamlet To Be or Not to Be…. The consequence for taking his own life to escape his troubles could be even worse troubles in the next life. The consequence for Hamlet killing Claudius could very well be his own death. Bradley points out, it all comes back to consequences. Of course, there is only one way to be certain, and the decision is irrevocable.Īs A.C. If death were oblivion, it might be desirable, in Hamlet's mind the fear that it might not be is what makes it frightening to him. The afterlife permeates Hamlet, whether it's the ghost's appearance, Hamlet's equivocation over whether to kill Claudius while he prays, or the controversy over Ophelia's burial rites at the graveyard. In any case, this philosophical soliloquy builds on a recurrent theme throughout the playthe afterlife. However, if Hamlet enters the scene suspecting that he is being watched, it casts the entire scene in a different light. Perhaps he enters lost in thought perhaps he enters with suspicion. Claudius even says "we have closely sent for Hamlet hither." As a result, Hamlet should clearly be expecting to meet someone when he enters the scene. Keep in mind that the scene does not open with Hamlet's entrance it begins with the plot of Claudius and Polonius to spy upon Hamlet's interaction with Ophelia. If the choice is made instead to play Hamlet's madness as anything less than genuine, then there could be an entirely different element at work here. There is another general way in which we could interpret this speech, however. ii ("O, that this too too solid flesh would melt"), Hamlet in his grief has mused upon the prospect of suicide. Surely, given Hamlet's first soliloquy in Act I, sc. Hamlet really is depressed and thinking about killing himself as a means to end his "sea of troubles." Going by this interpretation, Hamlet is further waxing depressed with the reasoning that he's a coward for not killing either Claudius or himself. If Hamlet is portrayed as truly descending into madness, then one can take much of this soliloquy at face value. This is also a speech that explores the idea of consequence.Īs with many elements of Hamlet, much of the interpretation lies in the eye of the beholder and the choices made in the production. Here, however, Hamlet seems less introspective about his failure to kill Claudius than perhaps his failure to take his own life. The underlying theme remains Hamlet's inaction and his frustration at his own weaknesses. ![]() In what is arguably Shakespeare's most recognizable soliloquy, Hamlet attempts to reason out whether the unknown beyond of death is any easier to bear than life. ![]()
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