Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, one of the most known and important of all his soliloquies, is worth discussing. In the play, Hamlet is experiencing a crisis after encountering the death of his father, the betrothal of his mother to his uncle as well as the self-crowning of his uncle who wished to replace the deceased king. His entire life as he has known it has suddenly changed and it is apparent that he mistrusts everyone he knows including his own mother. The instability and uncertainty he faces renders him vulnerable. His soliloquy is supported by an existentialist tone where Hamlet questions the meaning of life and it provides the reader with an idea of how Hamlet views life at this point of his life, and by extension how he views humanity. Hamlet questions how it would be best to deal with the hardships of life. It is unmistakable that he has a pessimistic …show more content…
In the first scene of act five he is bold enough to question the funeral of Ophelia and therefore the hypocrisy of society which is exemplified through Ophelia’s funeral. The funeral would not be performed if she was not a noble woman but rather a peasant: “Why, there thou sayst, and the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christen.” (Hamlet, act 5:1.26). For the gravedigger, a suicide is what it is and the consequences of committing it should be identical, despite the social status one may have. It is unmistakable how the character is sarcastic and bold while provoking the status quo with his utterances. This is visible through his encounter with Hamlet who states: “(…) the ageis grown so picked that the toe of the peasant come so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.” (Hamlet, act
His best friend, Horatio, sees death as a natural part of life and encourages Hamlet to accept his fate. On the other hand, the gravediggers' scene presents a more cynical view of death, where the inevitability of mortality is shown to be universal and inescapable. Hamlet's final acceptance of death comes after he realizes the futility of his revenge plot and the inevitability of his own demise.
The best portrayal of Hamlet’s “To Be, Or Not To Be” soliloquy is the Kenneth Branagh interpretation of the scene because, in my opinion, Branagh does the best to demonstrate Hamlet’s feelings of madness through his tone and body language. Even though Branagh’s speech is quite slow, and in my opinion too slow, the speed at which he is speaking allows him to place more emphasis on the topics that drive Hamlet insane, such as “Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay…” The slow listings of these flaws Hamlet sees in today’s world places emphasis on each and every one, as well as an emphasis on the total flaws themselves. Branagh also does an excellent job of demonstrating Hamlet’s madness
But growing up with Hamlet made me think of the days before he became mad. We used to play the common game known as football on the grassy plains. A few more people would join but would feel uncomfortable tackling Hamlet as he was the
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to cope with his late father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. In Act 1, Scene 2, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet are all introduced. Hamlet has just finished publicly speaking with his mom and the new king, and after he is interrupted by his good friend Horatio, who reveal the secret about King Hamlet’s ghost. Hamlet’s soliloquy is particularly crucial because it serves as his initial characterization, revealing the causes of his anguish. Hamlet’s grief is apparent to the audience, as he begins lamenting about the uselessness of life.
Hamlet himself is characteristically indecisive of what role to play as is seen in his "to be or not to be" monologue (3.1). On another note, Hamlet appears to be the only one grieving for his late father. Claudius assumed the throne and carried on as king, Hamlet 's mother remarried and carried on as queen. Hamlet even acknowledges "how/ cheerfully [his] mother looks" (3.2.116-117) so soon after his father 's death. Hamlet 's grief juxtaposed with the lack of grief in the other characters serves to alienate him from the world around him, as briefly mentioned before.
In Act 2, Scene 2, a theatrical troupe arrives at the castle to perform a speech from Aeneid. Impressed with the player’s performance, Hamlet asks that the player act out a short speech he has written for the next day. Once alone, Hamlet undergoes an introspection that sheds light to his cowardly disposition. The soliloquy is divided into three sections: problem, cause, and resolution. Through his initial self-condemnation for being passive, Hamlet realizes the essence of his internal struggle and devises a plan to take action without having to go against his true nature.
If Hamlet’s monologue “To be or not to be” was placed at the end of the tragedy, then Hamlet could have been called a skeptic who has no clue of what to do. In any case, at the time of proclamation of the monologue, Hamlet acknowledges that any action may cause unpredictable consequences. This monologue questions the unity of thought and conscience, which is a must for a hero. The monologue is placed at the beginning of the third act, followed by a mournfully sarcastic dialogue with Ophelia, by a scene “mousetrap”, and finally by the murder of Polonius. What is the sense of life for Hamlet?
Hamlet no longer wanted to live in this life despair and pain. Another illustration of his indecisiveness is during the play when he had a clear chance to avenge his father by killing Claudius but choose not to do so, because he thought that Claudius was repenting for his
Throughout Hamlet, Prince Hamlet is faced against many situations that question his mental stability and ability to make decisions. His indecisiveness comes from the way he reacts to the situations he is put in and the way his mind presents these situations to him. The most important indecisive moments are Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts, his father’s ghost, and his vengeance to Claudius. When Hamlet is told by a ghost that has a resemblance of his father that Claudius had killed him, he vows to take vengeance and revenge his father’s death.
A decision is the thought process of choosing between two or more outcomes that may or may not have a great impact. When thoroughly pondered, living life is fundamentally based on making the best decisions. Whether or not they are great or small decision making is critical. Often times, it is the smallest decisions one can make that impact the even bigger decisions later to come. Starting from the time people wake up in the morning, the will be surrounded by the most basic decisions until they go to sleep that night.
In the beginning of the play Hamlet, the main character, is struggling with events that have taken place in his life. His Father has recently died and his Uncle has now married his Mother. With sorrow and pain, Hamlet tries to understand and unravel the aberrant events that have taken place with his family. The events have amended the way Hamlet views death. After his Father’s death, Hamlet questions the afterlife; whether it offers a “peaceful slumber” or an “everlasting nightmare”.
Hamlet’s perspective causes him to stall and make excuses as to why he should wait to kill Claudius such as waiting till Claudius has sin, in order to ensure that he wouldn’t go to heaven. His perspective on life through his soliloquy “to be or not to be” allows us as readers to interpret to the development of Hamlet’s character. It reveals his inner thoughts and adds more quality to the play. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, but is haunted by the unknowns of the
This quote reveals how all these things have affected Hamlet psychologically and emotionally. The death of King Hamlet has led the play toward more death themes, making this the most tragedy
In Hamlet's soliloquy in act 1 scene 2 of Hamlet by Shakespeare, the central idea is that life is not fair. This is first shown as the central idea when Hamlet says that he wants to commit suicide, but it is against his religion (lines 129-132). To him, life seems unfair because when he wants to do something, he is not allowed to. The central idea is further shown when Hamlet says that his father loved his mother so much "that he might not [allow] the winds of heaven [to] / visit her face too roughly" (lines 141-142), and his mother "would hand on him as if [an] increase of appetite had grown / by what it fed on" (lines 143-145), and his father dies (lines 148). Soon after, she remarries.
Hamlet’s hesitant nature is well presented in the play. For one, Hamlet cannot bring forth the strength to end his own life; his indecision of whether or not to commit suicide plagues him for more than half the play.