To Be Or Not To Be: Inaction And Hesitation In Hamlet

While Hamlet waits to meet Ophelia, the young price obsesses over his dilemma. A lethal dilemma that is deeply connected to the human condition. Hamlet may feel guilty about his changing religious views or betrayed by his uncle. Ophelia might feel lost in thought. Hamlet is unable to face these problems, and will remain a victim to his self-doubt. The young price, who is feeling defeated by a life of struggle and unfulfillment, uses his audience to show his decline in self-worth. Hamlet acknowledges how his inaction has made life difficult and makes a quick personal commitment to end what he’s started. Hamlet uses alliteration, metaphors, biblical references, generalization, and emotive language to motivate his audience and to persuade them not to spend too much time worrying.

Hamlet begins his soliloquy before the audience with a description of his dilemma using emotive terminology to broadcast his inner dialogue. He asks, “to be?” or more precisely, “to not to be”. Do you prefer to live in “outrageous Fortune”, the inevitable temporary highs and prolonged sufferings? Or, to “take up arms against” the taxing cycle in only one way: death. Hamlet’s wanderings are free from the judgement of others. Hamlet’s suicide monologue was not an act of desperation to convince his enemies about his instability. It was more like a genuine expression of his thoughts, feelings and thoughts. Is it better for you to go with the flow or swim towards a goal? Hamlet isn’t debating whether it’s better to go against the tide or to swim for a goal. He is fully aware of the indestructible cycles and feels totally victimized by them. Hamlet is asking whether he should be happy and whether he should kill himself. Hamlet elaborates on why he changed his view of life to foster a sense of connectedness and empathy for his human struggles. Hamlet extends his argument and explains the flaws of human existence, such as “the pangs or dispriz’d loves” or “the patient merit th’unworthy take.” Hamlet’s grief is connected to Ophelia’s inconsistency love. He feels betrayed at the “obscenely hasty” marriage of Ophelia’s mother to her uncle and begins his uphill battle against evil. Hamlet might not be able to say exactly what he meant, but this self-projection does have its benefits. Humans experience pain in a similar way. As a way to dull alienation, he spoke to the crowd. Hamlet pushes the audience into his world to show them the truth.

Hamlet continues to explain why his relationship to death is flawed. He uses biblical references to help him relate to his inner dialogue to the audience. Hamlet is able to see why death puzzles him in this segment. Hamlet is proud of his connection to God. Hamlet is often adamant about his connection to God. He feels pressured to live a morally-oriented life. Hamlet exposes his inner conflicts between his loss in joy and his religious beliefs by revealing his fears. Hamlet continues to mention this religious turmoil in the soliloquy. Only those who live can know what the country is holding, and those who have died cannot tell their story. Hamlet didn’t shy away from the themes concerning mortality and afterlife in his previous soliloquy. He acknowledges that hope. Hamlet wishes God hadn’t made suicide a sin. This lamentation, before Hamlet even knows the cause, suggests that the young prince had been struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts during the play. These conversations seem to contradict each other. Hamlet’s desire, to kill, to commit suicide, and to exact revenge against his Christian teachings about love, Providence, forgiveness, is a conflict. Hamlet soon realizes that he can’t act on these impulses because the fear of the future is greater than all other issues.

Hamlet closes his self-deprecation with a generalization of his human experience. This makes it easier for the audience to absorb his message and implement change in their own lives. Hamlet scolds himself for inaction in the final segment. He also realizes his greatest character flaw. Hamlet’s last segment of the soliloquy is a rant about his conscience, and he reveals his most fundamental character flaw. Hamlet is determined to revenge his father’s death but he slows down. Instead of acting fast, Hamlet explores other options like making the king guilty, misdirecting others, and finally, suicide. The revelation isn’t just a sad story. It’s a tool for self-evaluation as well as self-motivation. Hamlet spent his entire play thinking rather than acting. Hamlet tells the audience that outside forces cannot be controlled. We can however control what we do and how we react to external forces. Our decisions can be made only when we are completely exhausted from a monotonous, unfulfilling lifestyle. We have only the power to choose what we do and how we handle hardships.