There is hardly another play in the world of literature that has enjoyed popularity as lasting as that of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet has been reenacted thousands of times in theaters all over the world, and every generation, every culture attempts to find solutions to some of the most pressings problems of the day in it. A gloomy, disquieting atmosphere of unceasing conspiracies, executions, political, and social unrest prevailing in the 17th century England is among such problems for Shakespeare’s contemporaries. This state of affairs causes the discord between dream and reality that is impossible to overcome even for such an extraordinary individual as Hamlet, who faces an extremely difficult task: “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!” (Shakespeare I.v.1380)
While all parts of the play work together in explaining the protagonist’s motives and actions, it is Hamlet’s soliloquies that help to better understand his inner struggles. Many scholars believe that the soliloquy beginning “To be, or not to be” is the “crux of the drama”, and this is rightfully so. This speech, in which the protagonist meditates upon how to choose between “continued existence or non-existence; consciousness or oblivion; life or death,” reveals the struggle that goes inside him (Petronella 79). It is in these lines that Hamlet admits to doubts that have been tormenting him since the conversation with the ghost of his father, whose request of revenge appeals to the prince’s sense of duty and puts him in a very difficult position.
After learning the truth, whether Hamlet wants it or not, he has no choice but to avenge family’s honor by killing Claudius, who lead by the thirst for power, has committed fratricide, and most likely to die himself. While the prince has no doubt about his uncle being an embodiment of all evil, who if given time, will cause even greater harm to his country and people, he is baffled by the fact that the only way to eradicate this evil is to sink to the level of Claudius and commit a murder himself. This contradiction is one of the main sources of the protagonist’s inner torments – on one hand, there is the King’s spirit that appeals to his the sense of duty; on the other hand, there is Hamlet’s own ideas of what is right and wrong, his humanistic beliefs. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise to the reader that he chooses to take time in order to think well about his course of actions.
Hamlet’s dilemma is further complicated by the fact that, no matter which way he chooses to go, it is very unlikely that after all that has happened in the last few months, he will be able to ever find happiness. Even if he avenges the dead King without losing his own head in the process, the prince will have no choice but to endure a life in the world that he despises, among people he mistrusts and in whose virtue he no longer believes. This raises an important question that the protagonist attempts to answer in his soliloquy: Is miserable existence that awaits him worth living for or is it better to put an end to all suffering?
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
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. . . .” (Shakespeare III.i.1400)
Suicide is often considered to be a lot of weak-minded people, but Hamlet is anything but weak. The unrest in his soul and disturbing thoughts that he toys with are more than understandable taking into consideration what he is going trough. “Starting with his very first soliloquy, before the ghost and Ophelia further compound and complicate his problems, the play shows that. . . . Hamlet’s troubles have already produced in him a neurotic melancholy” (Newell 40). During a very short period of time that follows, the protagonist undergoes a complete transformation from being a young man, who leads a carefree life, is in love, and believes in goodness of human nature, into a grown man, who becomes emotionally and mentally disturbed because of the knowledge about the murder of his father, growing contempt to a hasty and incestuous marriage of his mother, and the sudden aloofness of his love, Ophelia, that is caused by intrigues of Polonius and the King.
As one can clearly see, at the moment of expressing his thoughts in the soliloquy, the protagonist is conflicted by many things: he questions the veracity of ghost who might just as well be an evil spirit, tries to completely reevaluate his ideas about the world and people that surround him, but, most importantly, the prince is perplexed by his own failure to make a final decision and act on it. Because of this disturbed mental state, Hamlet sees everything in very gloomy colors. Life, in his eyes, is nothing but suffering from “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (Shakespeare III.i.1400). Profusion of words that the prince chooses to describe his existence – “troubles,” “calamity,” “wear,” “bear,” “suffer” – further emphasizes his perception of life as of a terrible burden, which makes him consider ending it (Newell 40).
Despite this moment of weakness, Hamlet is not a coward. Making a grave mistake that might give birth to even more evil and will continue a chain of injustice is the only thing he is afraid of. This is why only having received a proof of Claudius’s guilt, does Hamlet decide to go through with his vengeance. The protagonist’s determination and willingness to sacrifice his own life to avenge his father are even more impressive if one takes into consideration his obvious fear of and doubts about death:
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of? (Shakespeare III.i.1400)
When Hamlet asked himself a question of whether “to be or not to be,” he thought about ending his own life. It might seem that even though he did not commit a suicide, having rebelled against the King, the prince has nevertheless chosen to not be. This is not, however, the case: “To be” for the protagonist is to make sure that his life, no matter how long, has a meaning and that he is remembered by his people as someone who was not afraid to fight the evil, which is exactly what Hamlet has chosen.
Works Cited
Newell, Alex. “The Dramatic Context and Meaning of Hamlet’s ‘To Be or Not to Be’ Soliloquy.” PMLA. 80.1 (1965): 38-50. Print.
Petronella, Vincent. “‘To Be or Not to Be’ Soliloquy: Once More Unto the Breach." Studies in Philology. 71.1 (1974): 72-88. Print.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 11th ed. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2010. 1354 - 1464. Print.
I became a little familiar with the story many years ago when I watched a movie of the same name with Demi Moore. Since I could hardly remember a thing about that film and the name of the novel quite often appears in various lists of important works of literature, I've decided to give it a try. I believe that the main focus of the movie was the adulterous affair between the main characters, so I expected some sort of a love story with a tragic ending. It was not the case.
