The famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet is, in fact, not a soliloquy at all. A soliloquy is a speech characterized by the character talking to him or her-self. Only the character and audience hear the inner thoughts and feelings of the character. Although the tragedy Hamlet is characterized by a series of soliloquys by the play’s namesake, the most famous of the bunch is not a soliloquy at all. Details in the scenes leading up to the soliloquy scene illustrate that the speech was heard by the king, Claudius and his advisor, Polonius. Not only do these two eavesdrop on the soliloquy, but Hamlet is also aware of their presence, thus invalidating its status as a soliloquy. Furthermore, Hamlet uses his knowledge of their presence to further his “antic disposition” …show more content…
These specific references give the soliloquies a time and place in the play where only they can occur. The lack of time stamps in the fourth soliloquy adds to its insincerity. Hamlet would not have mentioned plot specific thoughts because he would not have wanted Claudius to know that he was conspiring against his life. In fact, in his review of The Soliloquies in 'Hamlet:' The Structural Design, J. C. Saunders makes note of the “lack of congruence between the vague, hypnotic images” (Saunders) of the “to be or not to be” monologue. Since the speech is used as a tool to misdirect Claudius, it lacks the language, passion, and personality shown in the other six soliloquies. In addition to the format and style of the monologue, the actual content implies that Hamlet is aware of the fact that his words would be reported to Claudius. The speech takes on a suicidal tone as Hamlet questions daily struggles and whether or not it is worth it to continue living. In the last lines, he concludes that man continues to live because of the uncertainty regarding what follows