The Value Of Life In Shakespeare's To Be Or Not To Be

According to the dictionary, life is defined as “the existence of an individual human being”. To me, life is not something that can be defined nor is it something that can be measured. Life is just life. There are no rules, there are no guidelines, and there is no precise way to live it. No one is paid to be born or to die which means our value is priceless and precious. How could we possibly try to calculate life’s worth? In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the very well-known speech of To Be Or Not to Be discusses Hamlet’s strong point of view on life. He basically hates life because from his experiences all it brings is pain and suffering. Victimizing himself he says life is all just one big “calamity” and “heartache” and there is no use in trying to make it last because in the end we are going to die anyways. Understandably, the inevitable idea of death is feared by many myself included, however that is exactly why it is important to realize that we need to appreciate every moment we go through, even the bad ones because without that, life would have no meaning to it. The biggest mistake one can make is thinking life has a monetary value. Amanda Ripley’s article What Is a Life Worth? Explains how the

Chris Jones talks about Ebert’s journey from his film critic glory days to his long surgical recovery ones. Despite his long term illness that did not seem to have a cure, Ebert smiles throughout it all and says “All is well. I am as I should be”. He does want to be pitied and wants to be remembered as the man who loved to write about films. He also says he is “perfectly content” and that he does not fear death because his “lifetime memories are what [he has] brought home from the trip”. That is all life is about: doing what you love, being genuinely happy, having no regrets, appreciating what you do have, and “contributing joy to the world”. Ebert knew how to do it