Quizzes & Puzzles5 mins ago
to be or not to be?
17 Answers
that is a question but wat the flip does it mean?
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Sigh....
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. To die, to sleep �
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to � 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. 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. 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 enterprises of great pitch[1] and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.[2]
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. To die, to sleep �
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to � 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. 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. 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 enterprises of great pitch[1] and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.[2]
Hamlet is asking whether he should avenge the death of his father. Because he is something of a tortured soul he takes the idea of an eye for an eye quite seriously.
He is wondering what he should or shouldn't do. Should he take action and kill his uncle? Is there another way? What about respect? And if he did die without avenging his father what would the world think of him? Would he be able to live with himself if he doesn't.
He is wondering what he should or shouldn't do. Should he take action and kill his uncle? Is there another way? What about respect? And if he did die without avenging his father what would the world think of him? Would he be able to live with himself if he doesn't.
According to J.L. Styan ("Stage Space and the Shakespeare Experience," printed in Shakespeare and the Sense of Performance, edited by Thompson and Thompson), ...
In terms of overt content, this speech says very little. The opening line is generally interpreted asmeaning that Hamlet is debating whether to commit suicide or not, although so far, the lines as quoted above certainly don't confirm this. (However just after this there does exist an unmistakable reference to suicide.)
As most people read it, I think the content of the entire speech could be summed up very briefly: "Life is tough. Why do we go on with it, when it would be so easy just to kill ourselves?" Understood as such, the speech contributes nothing to the plot of the drama, since Hamlet in fact never engages in suicidal behavior. And by the same token, it tells us little about Hamlet's character. It might seem that one could leave it out of the play without doing any damage to the story.
But to simply understand this speech in terms of its paraphrasable content would be to miss its whole point. Look instead at the terms in which the message is stated.
Contd.
In terms of overt content, this speech says very little. The opening line is generally interpreted asmeaning that Hamlet is debating whether to commit suicide or not, although so far, the lines as quoted above certainly don't confirm this. (However just after this there does exist an unmistakable reference to suicide.)
As most people read it, I think the content of the entire speech could be summed up very briefly: "Life is tough. Why do we go on with it, when it would be so easy just to kill ourselves?" Understood as such, the speech contributes nothing to the plot of the drama, since Hamlet in fact never engages in suicidal behavior. And by the same token, it tells us little about Hamlet's character. It might seem that one could leave it out of the play without doing any damage to the story.
But to simply understand this speech in terms of its paraphrasable content would be to miss its whole point. Look instead at the terms in which the message is stated.
Contd.
Contd.
It is common to use the term "soliloquy" for speeches like this, where the actor is alone on the stage.
"... "Soliloquy" is a late 17th or 18th century literary concept (thus about a hundred years after Shakespeare), and `speaking to oneself' was not a device that Shakespeare or the Elizabethan stage would have recognized. However addressing the audience was a normal and constant activity. It was a convention by which an actor gave himself completely to the house, putting him in direct contact with the spectators; it was the primary device to encourage sharing. Alone on the great platform, a solitary figure made a powerful statement to the spectator, one not so much about the character's state of mind (the lines would do that), but about the actor's need to reach out to his audience with intimacy and immediacy."
Other reviewers seem to concur with this interpretation...
Gee, I feel antiquated... there were no posts when I began...
It is common to use the term "soliloquy" for speeches like this, where the actor is alone on the stage.
"... "Soliloquy" is a late 17th or 18th century literary concept (thus about a hundred years after Shakespeare), and `speaking to oneself' was not a device that Shakespeare or the Elizabethan stage would have recognized. However addressing the audience was a normal and constant activity. It was a convention by which an actor gave himself completely to the house, putting him in direct contact with the spectators; it was the primary device to encourage sharing. Alone on the great platform, a solitary figure made a powerful statement to the spectator, one not so much about the character's state of mind (the lines would do that), but about the actor's need to reach out to his audience with intimacy and immediacy."
Other reviewers seem to concur with this interpretation...
Gee, I feel antiquated... there were no posts when I began...
I like to read yes.
All Clanad is saying is that this type of speech is directed at the audience with only the character on stage to make a dramatic and powerful statement.
The reference to suicide (can't believe I missed that) is I guess because Hamlet is in turmoil about what to do.
As one speech on it's own it doesn't make much sense. As Clanad points out it could be taken out of the play all together. But if you read the whole play then it kind of comes together.
All Clanad is saying is that this type of speech is directed at the audience with only the character on stage to make a dramatic and powerful statement.
The reference to suicide (can't believe I missed that) is I guess because Hamlet is in turmoil about what to do.
As one speech on it's own it doesn't make much sense. As Clanad points out it could be taken out of the play all together. But if you read the whole play then it kind of comes together.
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