A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HAMLETS FOURTH SOLILOQUY - TO BE OR NOT TO BE

A soliloquy (from Latin: "talking by oneself") is a device often used in drama when a character speaks to himself or herself, relating thoughts and feelings, thereby also sharing them with the audience. Other characters, however, are not aware of what is being said. A soliloquy is distinct from a monologue or an aside: a monologue is a speech where one character addresses other characters; an aside is a (usually short) comment by one character towards the audience. Soliloquies were frequently used in dramas but went out of fashion when drama shifted towards realism in the late 18th century. The plays of William Shakespeare feature many soliloquies, the most famous being the "To be or not to be" speech in Hamlet. "To be, or not to be" is the famous opening phrase of a soliloquy in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. In the soliloquy, Hamlet questions the meaning of life, and whether or not it is worthwhile to stay alive when life contains so many hardships. He comes to the conclusion that the main reason people stay alive is that they fear death and are uncertain what lies beyond. Hamlet's fourth soliloquy (to be or not to be) falls in the Act 3, Scene 1.

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, The 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 the 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 undiscover'd 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 pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. - Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd.

Hamlet speaks this on his entry to Act 3 scene 1 (known as the 'nunnery scene' because of the Hamlet/Ophelia dialogue after the speech) which is when Polonius and Claudius put into effect their plan, hatched in Act 2 scene 2, to watch Hamlet with Ophelia to determine whether, as Polonius thinks, his 'madness' springs from "neglected love". They have planted her where it is his habit to walk and think and concealed themselves to observe the encounter. Until he notices Ophelia at the end of the speech Hamlet thinks he is alone.

This Hamlet soliloquy uses the following literary elements: 1. Line 55 - To be or not to be is an example of antithesis, a rhetorical device containing a contrast of ideas in a balanced parallel construction. The use of antithesis draws attention to the first line of the soliloquy and focuses the reader on one of the play's prominent themes. 2. Lines 59, 60, 61 - Hamlet uses metonymy, a special type of metaphor that substitutes the name of one thing with something it is closely associated with. In these examples sleep represents death. 3. Lines 57, 69 - Hamlet uses a metaphor, comparing slings and arrows and the whips and scorns of time to life's problems. 4. Lines 69-73 - Hamlet uses parallel structure, a rhetorical device comprised of phrases with like grammatical structure, to create rhythm and draw attention to life's woes. 5. Line 79 - Hamlet uses a metaphor, calling death "the undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveller returns." 6. Lines 83-84 - Suicide is referred to as "the native hue of resolution," a metaphor; the fear of death is referred to as the "pale cast of thought."

This soliloquy is considered to be one of the most important and fundamental lines in English literature. Shakespeare's 'to be or not to be, that is the question' is still considered as a pioneer and stands apart in English literature. Hamlets fourth soliloquy that falls in Act 3, Scene 1, is the most famous and the most celebrated one, because it is the most philosophical of all. In this soliloquy, Hamlet enters with a dilemma: To be or not to be That is the question In this soliloquy, Hamlet enters toying with the idea of suicide. He thinks of the two alternatives as which one is more appropriate; whether to silently suffer the cruelties of fate or to put up a fight against the misfortunes of life. Hamlet thinks for a while that death may end all the troubles and problems of life. He quotes: (the death may) end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flash is heir to

But then Hamlet thinks of the other possibility and consequence of death and afterlife. What if death doesn't end all the troubles but increases some more and may prove to be a reflection of all the misdeeds and crimes?

What if we do not sleep in the death for eternity? What if we just cease to sleep and be restless for eternity? This soliloquy gives us an idea that the main hindrance that comes in the way is the unknown consequences after death. One may put the misery of his life to an end, but he does not know what is saved for him after his death. He may be restless, sleepless, and more miserable than he was in his life. No one has ever come back to report what are the consequences after death. So, it always remain a matter of debate. "No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have" Hamlet, using the word 'We, reflects the thoughts of all those people who once in their lifetime thinks about committing the suicide, but finally drops the idea because of several considerations including those specifically mentioned by Hamlet. This soliloquy partly explains the dilemma of Hamlets mind and the reason of the delay in executing the revenge of the Ghost. Now the question arises that how this soliloquy explains the reason for Hamlet's delay in executing the Ghost's revenge and killing King Claudius? The answer is simple. If Hamlet kills King Claudius, he was sure that he'll be dead too after killing him, and he was afraid of death because of the unknown consequences he mentions above. That is

why Hamlet was in a dilemma. He was not able to make a decision whether to execute the ghost's revenge or to live in these sufferings as he is doing right now.

This soliloquy, probably the most famous speech in the English language, is spoken by Hamlet in Act III, scene I (5890). His most logical and powerful examination of the theme of the moral legitimacy of suicide in an unbearably painful world, it touches on several of the other important themes of the play. Hamlet poses the problem of whether to commit suicide as a logical question: To be, or not to be, that is, to live or not to live. He then weighs the moral ramifications of living and dying. Is it nobler to suffer life, [t]he slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, passively or to actively seek to end ones suffering? He compares death to sleep and thinks of the end to suffering, pain, and uncertainty it might bring, [t]he heartache, and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to. Based on this metaphor, he decides that suicide is a desirable course of action, a consummation / Devoutly to be wished. But, as the religious word devoutly signifies, there is more to the question, namely, what will happen in the afterlife. Hamlet immediately realizes as much, and he reconfigures his metaphor of sleep to include the possibility of dreaming; he says that the dreams that may

come in the sleep of death are daunting, that they must give us pause. He then decides that the uncertainty of the afterlife, which is intimately related to the theme of the difficulty of attaining truth in a spiritually ambiguous world, is essentially what prevents all of humanity from committing suicide to end the pain of life. He outlines a long list of the miseries of experience, ranging from lovesickness to hard work to political oppression, and asks who would choose to bear those miseries if he could bring himself peace with a knife, [w]hen he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin? He answers himself again, saying no one would choose to live, except that the dread of something after death makes people submit to the suffering of their lives rather than go to another state of existence which might be even more miserable. The dread of the afterlife, Hamlet concludes, leads to excessive moral sensitivity that makes action impossible: conscience does make cowards of us all . . . thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied oer with the pale cast of thought. In this way, this speech connects many of the plays main themes, including the idea of suicide and death, the difficulty of knowing the truth in a spiritually ambiguous universe, and the connection between thought and action. In addition to its crucial thematic content, this speech is important for what it reveals about the quality

of Hamlets mind. His deeply passionate nature is complemented by a relentlessly logical intellect, which works furiously to find a solution to his misery. He has turned to religion and found it inadequate to help him either kill himself or resolve to kill Claudius. Here, he turns to a logical philosophical inquiry and finds it equally frustrating. The soliloquy reveals to basic information about Hamlet's Character 1. It reveals that he can be indecisive. This is supported by the quote " To be, or not to be: that is the question." He can't decide whether it is worth to live or not. 2. It shows that he is a man of reason. He begins by stating the main question and then continues to look at the issues surrounding each possible choice. This is a reasonable approach done by a man of reason, hence, he's a man of reason.

The question for him was whether to continue to exist or not whether it was nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of an unbearable situation, or to declare war on the sea of troubles that afflict one, and by opposing them, end them. To die. He pondered the prospect. To sleep as simple as that. And with that sleep we end the heartaches and the thousand natural miseries that human beings have to endure. Its an end that we would all ardently hope for. To die. To sleep. To sleep. Perhaps to dream. Yes, that was the

problem, because in that sleep of death the dreams we might have when we have shed this mortal body must make us pause. Thats the consideration that creates the calamity of such a long life. Because, who would tolerate the whips and scorns of time; the tyrants offences against us; the contempt of proud men; the pain of rejected love; the insolence of officious authority; and the advantage that the worst people take of the best, when one could just release oneself with a naked blade? Who would carry this load, sweating and grunting under the burden of a weary life if it werent for the dread of the afterlife that unexplored country from whose border no traveller returns? Thats the thing that confounds us and makes us put up with those evils that we know rather than hurry to others that we dont know about. So thinking about it makes cowards of us all, and it follows that the first impulse to end our life is obscured by reflecting on it. And great and important plans are diluted to the point where we dont do anything.