To Be or Not To Be Soliloquy Analysis Context:​
In the play, Hamlet learns his Uncle Claudius has murdered his father. The ghost of his father appears to Hamlet and tells him to avenge his murder. Hamlet swears he will do so, but then becomes reluctant to act. He pretends to be mad while he gathers more evidence against his uncle. Claudius and his advisor, Polonius, believe Hamlet to be crazy because he has been rejected by Polonius’ daughter, Ophilia. They go to spy on Hamlet and Ophilia. Hamlet enters, speaking to the audience in soliloquy about the true cause of his frustrations and anguish. The Monologue: Hamlet Act III Scene i To be, or not to be­­that 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. To die, to sleep­­ No more­­and 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 sleep­­perchance 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. There's the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprise of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action. Paraphrase Thought Pattern To live or not, that’s the question. Is it better to put up with all the terrible things that life throws against us, or just to put a stop to it all. Dying is like sleeping. And when we sleep we end the heartache and pains. When we sleep, we dream­­ That’s exactly the problem. Because the dreams we have when we die might be very bad indeed. That’s the driving force that keeps us trying to live for as long as we can. Because who would put up with all the garbage of life, the dictators, and arrogant people, the failure of law, the arrogance and corruption of office, the heartbreak, and the general pains of life if you could just end it? Who would work and sweat except for the fear of something worse after death. That place where no one comes back from makes us put up with what we have instead of gambling on something worse. So we all become cowards. We all talk ourselves out of big decisions not because they’re wrong, but because we are afraid and we lose our ability to act. Problem: I don’t know if it’s better to be alive or dead. Being dead looks like sleeping, and sleeping is generally good, but it might be a nightmare. Struggle: There are plenty of terrible things that happen in this life, and we would end it all except for the fear that what comes after death may be much worse. Struggle: So, we wind up sticking around not out of conviction that it’s right, but rather, out of fear. Emotion Frustration, anger. Realization, wry humor at being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Anger and dismay at how bad life often is. Disbelief that we all stick around as long as we do. Disgust that men are living because of cowardice instead of conviction.