Drama Analysis: Soliloquy from Hamlet
In the soliloquy from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, when Prince Hamlet is inside of the castle roaming the halls, Hamlet is contemplating to himself the meaning of existence and posing the question of whether or not to suffer life or to cut it short and cease the pain. In this highly recognized soliloquy by prince Hamlet is speaking upon the idea of cowardice towards ones fears and troubles and the question of is it worth actually fighting one’s problems in life or remaining inactive and simply existing and in a near frivolous life and reality, hence his the famous statement, “To be, or not to be: that is the question:” This soliloquy discusses life and action as relative means by which every individual must make decisions in life. It focuses around the common idea of the “flight or fight” paradigm, where Hamlet is questioning himself and the audience of if the pains of life are worth bearing and trying to overcome if they will do nothing but continuously form in greater calibers or is it easier to just do nothing about them.
Hamlet then continues to focus of the idea of inactivity or action towards the grim reality of life but in the sense that it would be easier to rather end one’s existence than even having to deal with the hassles and misfortunes of living. Though rather than the concept of simple death Hamlet transcends it to more gentle of sleep. Hamlet proposes that the bane of human existence is filled with nothing with “calamity” and “arrows of outrageous fortune” and that realm of perpetual joy and serenity is with one’s own dreams and subconscious and that to rid of pain and struggle from life all one would have to do is get rid of life and sleep forever in realm where “ in that sleep of death what dreams may come.” and not be hard. Even as in physical of the body or a metaphysical death of mind the notion that Hamlet focuses on is transcendence above the pains of life and the