“To be or not to be” is, perhaps, one of the
most important monologues of all the times. The soliloquy performed by Hamlet in act III
scene 1 is the most characteristic one of the play, for this reason it has been
quoted in different movies, books and plays appealing to the intertextuality,
so everybody knows that they are making a reference to this transcendental play.
It’s very difficult trying to give, at first, a
clear interpretation of this soliloquy as it can be analyzed from different perspectives
and points of view. For some Hamlet is making reference to his inability to
face his fear and weaknesses, for some other he is referring to suicide. For my
personal point of view, he is referring to both.
The “To be or not to be” is used to refer to a
situation in which you are between two things; this means that can represent a set of dichotomies. Maybe he is asking himself whether or not is worth it to
pretend that nothing had happened with his father, and the counterpart of this
would be face the “sea of troubles” which, I believe, makes reference to
Claudius. In other words, he is questioning his own destiny; does he have to
suffer in silence the fact that his father was murdered by his uncle? Or does he
have to face his reality and look for revenge?
The thing is that whatever he chooses, his destiny would be the same. If he faces his uncle, he would end up dead, as his
father, the King Hamlet. At the same time, his impossibility of facing his new “destiny”
is making him questioning if all the suffering is worth it, therefore, committing
suicide start being an option for him. Furthermore, he is trying to convince
himself about the nature of dead. Is it death like being asleep or not?
All in all, I think this soliloquy is part of
the process of ghostification of Hamlet, an even without knowing by hand what
happened in this play, in this scene we realize that anyway he is going to die
as the only option presented in this speech is whether do something against his
uncle and being killed, or killing himself.
References:
Mabillard,
Amanda. Hamlet's Soliloquy Analysis.Shakespeare [Online] Available at: http://shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/soliloquies/tobeanalysis.html
I wonder, is your existence really meaningful if you never said "To be or not to be, that is the question", with a dramatic tone at least once in your life?
ResponderEliminarAn extremely powerful, mysterious speech in which Hamlet expresses all his confusing feelings. Maybe that is why it is difficult for anyone else to understand it: it is very personal.
Anyway, I agree with you! I think there is certain ambivalence in Hamlet's words. He -as I wrote in one of my posts, which I wish you can read- is afraid of the destiny he has to face, he is put under a huge pressure. In the end, he knows that whatever he does, death will cross his path soon.