Should I live or die? He asks if it is nobler to suffer the things that happen to you or to oppose and fight back against them. You could end the trouble or end up killing yourself in the process. To die is to sleep as when you sleep, you are able to end heartaches and shocks. But if everyone is not killing themselves, the afterlife is probably bad. This is why people live through their lives even when their lives are filled with calamity because of the uncertainty of death. Who would shoulder these burdens except that no one returns from heaven/hell, which makes people put up with their ills as it is better to suffer things you know vs. what you don’t? Thinking too much makes us all cowards and then we are unable to take action (suicide or avenging his father). Your face has a healthy color when about to take action but thinking too much casts the face pale in color.
Looking at this soliloquy, it is by far one of the better known ever. Now in this story, we have Prince Hamlet portrayed as a confused individual, he is not sure of himself or precisely what has transpired or will occur with himself. In the story, the Prince is thinking about life and death throughout the entire soliloquy. “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them.” (Folgers Digital Text, n.d., 3.1.65-68) The Prince is so absorbed with life versus death that he compares death with sleeping. He believes that it would not be so bad in this state, that he could end all the suffering if he simply ended his life, but he also wonders if he should just live with it all to include the hardships he would now know and live with. Even though Prince Hamlet should do what he thinks is right, to be or not be are a tough question for him, because should he live, die and take revenge or not is something hard for a young man to choose.
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Prince hamlet is a young man; this story is not just about greed, murder, and lust. It is also about the coming of a young man and him having to decide what is right from wrong. It makes the decision to listen to the ghost of the late King and act out this revenge, even though he knows it to be true, or does he simply let his Uncle, and his mother get away with what they have done? This question of life and death has him wondering what he should do, if he killed himself, he would not have to watch his Uncle govern over the nation, which he believes should have been handed down from his father. But also, he would not have to watch the actions of his mother Gertrude, and his Uncle Claudius whom he considers to be incestuous. This comes from him, “To die, to sleep— No more—and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause.” (Folgers Digital Text, n.d., 3.1.68-73) The Prince is having a hard time with the decisions making, as he continues to wonder what is better for him.
Prince Hamlet struggles to find the right answer in this soliloquy, however, he appears to find his resolution in, “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all” (Folgers Digital Text, n.d., 3.1.91) Prince Hamlet now sees that taking his life under spiritual principles would be considered a sin, now as for his fear of death and the undetermined they seem to turn out more strengthened. Not only does he fear that he would commit a sin by killing himself, but he now wonders if he does revenge for his father’s death, would the slaying of his Uncle be a sin, since it would be murder? I don’t think that the Prince was just thinking about suicide, rather looking at his life and its hardships. I don’t believe he actually comes up with an answer to his question finally. This entire play is purely about the Prince taking revenge for his dad. At which the Prince is still evaluating his decision, and he continues to delay the murder of his Uncle. This is the biggest part of this whole story, and this self-reflection soliloquy is just him considering everything and lacking the ability to act on it. Even though Prince Hamlet should do what he thinks is right, to be or not be is a tough question for him, because whether should he live, die and take revenge or not is something very hard for a young man to choose.
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