In Hamlet’s “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy Hamlet is contemplating life and death and which option he should take.
The uncertainty of death is a main topic of the soliloquy as Hamlet doesn’t enjoy his life but knows what happens after death is truly a mystery to everyone as “no traveller returns, puzzles the will/And makes us rather bear those ills we have”(3.1.80-81). Hamlet realizes although dying may result in less pain than what he feels now he doesn’t know what is next for him so he must stop for a moment to think about both options. As he says, “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come/when we have shuffled off this mortal coil/Must give us pause” (3.1.66-68). He can’t just end his life without knowing what is next.
Hamlet speaks a lot of the pain that he endures in his life and how negative life is by using negative imagery like “suffer/The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” (3.1.57-58) “by a sleep to say we end/The heart-ache,” (3.1.61-62) and “bear the whips and scorns of time” (3.1.70).
Hamlet makes appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos in his soliloquy. Ethos (appeal to character of the speaker) is used as in calls into question his character and the character of people who decide not to endure life anymore as he says, “’tis nobler in the mind to suffer” because it is a sin to commit suicide (3.1.57). There is also pathos (appeal to emotion) as he speaks of the pains of life and makes it sound so dreadful for him like with, “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time” and “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (3.1.57-58). Finally, there is logos (appeal to logic) as Hamlet rationalizes that “no traveller returns, puzzles the will/And makes us rather bear those ills we have” (3.1.80-81). No one comes back after their death to tell the rest if there is an afterlife or not and how it is if there is one.
Hamlet doesn’t want to continue so he lists out all the troubles of his life but he doesn’t want to kill himself either for he doesn’t know what happens after death for sure. He doesn’t want to live yet he is too scared to die. Also, “Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/And, by opposing, end them?” is a paradox because he is relating fighting with the idea of giving up on life (3.1.60-61).
There is parallelism in the lines “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, / Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely/ The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,” which emphasizes the many trials of life. Also “To die, to sleep./To sleep, perchance to dream,” is parallelism and it highlights the metaphors Hamlet makes between sleep and death and how it might be easier to transition into a prolonged state of sleep rather than continue his life (3.1.65.66).
The use of infinitives adds emphasis to the said action. For example, “to be,” “to die; to sleep,” all highlight that Hamlet is debating what he should do. There is also no subject attached to the verbs in order to further emphasize his uncertainty about what to do.
Hamlet uses death to refer to suicide but he generically refers to it as death so he can speak in general about death and its uncertainties.
The tone of the soliloquy was anguish as Hamlet struggles between the pitfalls of both life and death, realizing there is no ideal option. He is in continual despair as he wishes to die but then finds all these problems with the questions of what happens after death. He is not willing to take that risk of not knowing the answer so he must suffer through his life, he must “grunt and sweat under a weary life,/but that the dread of something after death” (3.1.77-78).
The diction is very descriptive and makes life seem cruel and unkind. He characterizes life as a harsh existence that must be dealt with but it leads to “heart-ache,” and it is “weary,” one must “take arms against a sea of troubles” they encounter throughout it (3.1.77, 59, 62).
The two primary metaphors in Hamlet are Death is a long sleep: “To die: to sleep;/No more; and by a sleepy to say we end/The heartache and the thousand natural shocks” (3.1.61-63). Also, Death is an undiscovered journey: “But that the dread of something after death,/The undiscovered country from whose bourn/No traveler returns,” (3.1.80-82).
Hamlet makes many comparisons about life, death, afterlife, humans, and reason: Life on earth is a painstaking journey: “To grunt and sweat under a weary life,/but that the dread of something after death,” but afterlife is an “undiscovered country from whose bourn/No traveler returns” (3.1.79-81). He compares death to sleep: “To die: to sleep;/No more; and by a sleepy to say we end/The heartache and the thousand natural shocks” (3.1.61-63). He says humans are made cowards by their conscience (reason): “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,” and “native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought/And enterprises of grate pitch and moment.” Reason is the killer of action as Hamlet doesn’t end his life because he thinks about how he doesn’t and can’t know anything about the afterlife.
Hamlet presents many oppositions throughout as he contemplates life and death. He speaks of the anguish of suffering through life and it would be easier to die but most can’t end their lives due to the uncertainty of death. He says dying would be like having a dream but you don’t know what will happen in that dream so that is scary as well. Also, this fear of uncertainty keep humanity continually thinking about life after death so much they don’t take action as this thought or reason had made “cowards” out of humans (3.1.87-89).
Eternal philosophical question pondered: What is the better option: suffering through life, which may not be enjoyed or dying without any knowledge of what happens after death?
Hamlet concludes humanity endures the cruelties of life because they are scared of the unknown territory that is the afterlife.
Mis En Scene Analysis:
In the Kenneth Branagh version, Hamlet is staring at himself in the mirror to begin it and he is quiet and softer in his voice. This demonstrates he’s taking a look into himself as he is very unsure what course of action he wants to take at this point. He is reflecting on life to figure out if it would just be better to die. He says it softly rather than yelling it to emphasize his uncertainty in his decision between life and death. Hamlet walks closer to the mirror as he is talking and the camera zooms up on his reflection in the mirror because as Hamlet progresses in the soliloquy he gradually reasons why death may not be the best option even though he is drawn to it and he gets closer to his decision of what he will choose: life or death. About half-way through music is added in to make the scene more dramatic as it is a big moment in the play and an important struggle Hamlet goes through. The scene only focuses on Hamlet and what he is saying in this scene due to close up camera angles. Hamlet’s costume is just black and the make-up is minimal because the focus should be on his words and contemplation of life.
In the Laurence Olivier version the scene starts off with music and the camera following the stairs up to where Hamlet is, giving a chaotic feeling to the beginning of the scene which fits Hamlet’s state of mind as he is torn between life and death. Hamlet if facing a sea while he delivers his soliloquy to fit the fact that Hamlet is facing a “sea of troubles” in life (3.1.59). The camera focuses in on the back of his head and then goes to a blury image of the sea, but then back to Hamlet which all seems very strange and chaotic but it reflects the lack of clairty in Hamlet’s head as he has to reason out what he is to do. Hamlet does not say all the lines and some are voiceovers allowing for some parts of the soliloquy to appear like his deep internal thoughts that he is thinking about. The dark scenery and fog gives the scene a darker tone which is appropriate for the serious and darker matter at hand. He is on the edge of the cliff, so close to death, sitting on a rock to speak the soliloquy for a majority of it but then he starts moving away from the edge back into the fog and despair of his life.
In the Mel Gibson version Hamlet is in a dark tomb room with only light from the skylight peering in. He bends over the tomb and leans down as he progresses which shows the dread and disparity that he is enduring in his life but then he rises again as he is speaking of the why humans don’t just end it to avoid the pain of life because he is realizing he will continue in his life because of the uncertainty of death. The tomb is an appropriate choice of setting because he is contemplating death and he might end up somewhere like there. He is in dark attire to reflect his dark attitude and thoughts about life. There are many close up shots of Hamlet and long shots at the end to focus on Hamlet’s thought process and indecision while he determines whether he chooses life or death. In the end he is walking toward the exit of the tomb so he is choosing to continue his life.
In the Ethan Hawke version Hamlet is walking through a video rental store. It starts off as a voiceover then he begins to speak the soliloquy. He walks by action movies and one is also playing on the screen in the store. The action signs all down the movie aisle make the decision of which action to take the most prevalent thing in the scene. This emphasizes the lines where Hamlet talks about humanity’s inaction due to reason and fear of the unknown so just as Hamlet is unsure about taking action in taking his life he is walking by the action movies in the store and not choosing one. Hamlet is wearing a black suit which is dark reflecting his thoughts but it is very formal for a video store so the hat makes him fit in with the video store a little more. The music in the background makes the walk through the video store even more dramatic just as the slow pace with which Hamlet strolls showing how heavy his thoughts are weighing on him.
The Mel Gibson version was the most effective in communicating the soliloquy. The setting was fitting as it was very dark and a place of death. The variation in close up and farther away camera angles reflected the change of thought in the soliloquy and Hamlet’s decision to carry on. The focus was mainly kept on Hamlet throughout the scene and trying to understand his emotions. While the others did this as well there setting or actions of Hamlet weren’t as fitting for the soliloquy. Branagh’s version was good and I like that Hamlet said it while looking at a mirror showing his reflection on life and how he is looking into himself for his decision but there was a lack of movement and everything was kept very static. The changes in camera angles and the position of Hamlet (one moment leaning over the tomb, kneeling on the ground the next, and then rising, walking toward exiting the tomb) all reflected Hamlet’s transition in thought. There was more emotion displayed from Hamlet.
If I were to make changes to the other versions, I would change Branagh’s to have more movement in the scene by changing camera angles a little more than he already did. Also, have Hamlet speak with more fluctuation in his voice, maybe getting a little louder when he speaks of why death may not be the best option and why many humans just don’t kill themselves. In the Hawke version, the setting of a video rental store may not have been the best option. It is such a public place that it makes it hard for Hamlet to show more expression with his volume of voice and body expressions. There was a lot of focus on the screen playing in the store and the action signs on the movies as he walked down the aisle that it took away from Hamlet and what he was saying. There could have been more focus on him and his facial expressions to communicate the meaning and thought process going on during the soliloquy. In the Laurence Oliver version I would tone it down a little bit, possibly less chaos at the beginning because the focus should be primarily on Hamlet, his words, his expressions and thoughts.
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