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To Be or Not to Be: Analyzing Hamlet's Soliloquy

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The Ultimate Question For my soliloquy I chose Hamlet’s “To be or not be” for me this speaks deeply to me. I also believe this piece speaks specifically to teenagers in this generation. Since many of us deal with that nagging question of why are we here? Is all the pain we endure worth it? Is there going to be a light at the end of the tunnel? This soliloquy obviously does not answer this question, but it makes some good points. In this essay the following points of the soliloquy will be discussed the timing, content, language, and character analysis. The soliloquy appears in the beginning of Act Three with Hamlet being watched by Claudius and Polonius to see what the cause of his insanity is. It is placed perfectly by Shakespeare we know enough about Hamlet’s situation to understand why he would want to die. Who could blame this guy for those kinds of thoughts? His father has died, his uncle has married his mother, and his father’s ghost has told him that his uncle …show more content…

“Or to take arms against a sea of trouble”(3.1.60), this metaphor is to explain how his troubles are like fighting currents of the see. “The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns,” (3.1.80-81). He makes this metaphor of comparing death to a travel no one knows about, which is why everyone is terrified of death. People put up with the turmoil life throws at us, because no one knows what death brings. The unknown frightens people more than the known ever would. The entire soliloquy is pessimistic. Hamlet attempts to lighten the mood by comparing death to sleep, “To die-to sleep, no more; and by sleep to say we end”(3.1.61-63). This fails when he then states we do not what dreams may come to, “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come”(3.1.66-67). Overall, this soliloquy brings hope in no such way to the reader or to Hamlet’s

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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.

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I like that he is shown descending the stairs into darkness; symbolizing Hamlet’s descent into madness, as well as darkness. Through his is questioning of life, one can see he is bereaved. Consequently, he goes to his father, or his tomb, to speak with him. In hopes he may find an answer, he looks up to the sky. I feel this is vital to the scene in order to display Hamlet’s desperateness.

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This is explained by the Ghost when Hamlet learns of his father being murdered in Act 1 Scene 5, in lines 35 -39, “’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life . Now wears his crown.” 2) The soliloquies that Hamlet provides over the sequence of the entire play allows us to distinguish what Hamlet was thinking about and display how he was losing his sanity.

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It is an aspect of human nature to desire the ability to take decisive action, since often the choices individuals make display their beliefs and establish self worth. When making these decisions, successful outcomes are determined by the individual’s resolve to stay committed to the decided course of action or completely abandon it. Individuals who posses this ability display confidence in their intuition have a strong sense of personal identity and self confidence. If they stray from the path of their choosing, they may often become confused, doubt their judgment, and lose sight of their goals. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet becomes conflicted between action and inaction after learning the details of his father’s death.

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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.

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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.

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The illusion of death has wondered and astonished many for years. This doesn 't exclude the fantastic author Shakespeare. Throughout the play, Shakespeare focuses on death and how society glorifies it. He often uses metaphor and analogy in order to make death seem more welcoming. Turmoil and confusion can internally destroy any country.

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He is later disgusted by his mother’s quick remarriage to his uncle, Claudius, almost two months after the death of his father who was also his mother’s husband. After Hamlet’s conversation with his father’s ghost in which Hamlet was told that his father was murdered by Claudius, he became filled with even more grief because he has a difficult duty of killing his uncle in order to avenge his father’s death. This is seen in the “to be or not to be” soliloquy.

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Hamlet is a complex and nuanced character who struggles with existential questions and grapples with the nature of humanity. This is evident in the famous soliloquy "To be or not to be" (Act 3, Scene 1), in which Hamlet meditates on the pain and suffering of life and the possibility of

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Innocence an attribute of children who have not grown up and have not felt the burden of responsibility. No person can remain in a state of pure innocence; they must act and respond to the events around them. Hamlet believes that he can do the impossible and preserve his innocence and still live life. Goethe’s analysis of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, illustrates that Hamlet is unable to act due to the fact that he bemoans innocence and purity. He says, “Trouble and astonishment take hold of the solitary young man.”

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Values and beliefs are defining principles of the way in which we view a person, action or relationship. Often, we are encouraged to think again about these values and beliefs, after being exposed to challenging and insightful events, people, or material. William Shakespeare's tragedy, “Hamlet,” written in the Elizabethan era, encourages us to think about our values and beliefs surrounding revenge, love and loyalty. After examination of these concepts, the reader develops new insights into their values and beliefs, and come to fully support the statement that “ the most significant texts encourage us to think again about our values and beliefs.”

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To be, or not to be..." is the opening phrase of a soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene"[1] of William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet. In the speech, a despondent Prince Hamlet contemplates death and suicide. He bemoans the pains and unfairness of life but acknowledges the alternative might be still worse. The speech functions within the play to explain Hamlet 's hesitation to directly and immediately avenge his father 's murder (discovered in Act I) on his uncle, stepfather, and new king Claudius.

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The only downside, however, is that we might have dreams when we are dead—bad/evil dreams. According to Hamlet in that quote, "being in love" is like getting hit by thousands of arrows because the pain is unbearable, as it really hurts that much, and due to the fact that his mom married so soon after his father 's death makes him feel a sense of betrayal. In any case, Hamlet thinks about whether it 's ideal to endure the awful things you think about in life than to keep running off into death 's "undiscovered country. " His issue is that he wouldn 't like to continue living when he is super discouraged about his uncle executing his father and marrying his mother, however, he doesn 't recognize what death will bring and that is frightening, as well. He could consequently wind up like his father.

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In Act III, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Shakespeare suggests that when given the option between life and death, individuals often choose life because committing suicide is not a resolution to life’s troubles. He develops this argument through Hamlet’s Soliloquy in which Hamlet contemplates whether or not he should commit suicide after learning that his uncle murdered his father. In his soliloquy, Hamlet compares death to sleep and the afterlife to dreaming. Hamlet claims that sleeping and dreaming are the resolutions to ending a person’s troubles. However, he mentions that there is no way to know that after death, those troubles are actually resolved.

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