Moral Doubt in Hamlets Soliloquy - To be or not to be......

The Moral Question in Hamlets Soliloquy - To be or not to be... The major question in To be or not to be cannot be suicide. If it were, as many have noted, it would be dramatically irrelevant. Hamlet is no longer sunk in the depths of melancholy, as he was in his first soliloquy. He has been roused to action and has just discovered how to test the Ghosts words. When we last saw him, only five minutes before, he was anticipating the nights performance, and in only a few moments we shall see him eagerly instructing the players and excitedly telling Horatio of his plan. To have him enter at this point debating whether or not to kill himself would be completely inconsistent with both the character and the movement of the plot. The†¦show more content†¦A further objection to the suicide theory, one that may be even more significant in its implications, is the form of the question Hamlet puts to himself. He states his dilemma as to be or not to be- not as to live or not to live. the issue, as he sees it is not between mere temporal existence a nd non-existence, but between being and non-being. In other words, he is struggling with a metaphysical issue: not the narrow personal question of whether he, an individual man, should kill himself, but the wider philosophical question of mans essence. Hamlet is facing the moral question that has too long been thought irrelevant to the play: whether or not he should effect private revenge.. To be- what? To be a man , in the full metaphysical sense of being as it was understood by philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Being is what a thing is, its essence, that which defines it. Or not to be. There is no middle position. A thing is or it is not. The first line of the soliloquy, so often droned in a tone of meditative musing, should be spoken as an insistent, emphatic, even passionate demand. The whole moral question is focused in this challenge. Is it any nobler, Hamlet asks, to endure evil passively, as all the voices of Church and State and society have insisted, or does the true nobility of that which is man demand that he actively fight and conquer evil that beset him? Can it really be virtue to sit back and leave itShow MoreRelatedFactors Contributing to Shakespeares Hamlet Being a Great Play1203 Words   |  5 Pages his superior power of insight into, and reflection upon, his situation, and his capacity to suffer the moral anguish which moral responsibility brings, is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. Throughout the play, Hamlet, through both soliloquies and actions, displays these characteristics, which make Hamlet such an important and intriguing individual. 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In Shakespeare’s original version of Hamlet, Hamlet’s speech from ActRead MoreHamlet - Soliloquies Essay1481 Words   |  6 Pagesconflicts a nd introspective attitude in each of the lengthy soliloquies in the play. Hamlet is a static character whose thoughts never dramatically change. Each soliloquy delves further into Hamlets motivations, or lack thereof, and psyche. Each soliloquy, each slightly different, is all united by vivid imagery, introspective language, and discussion of Hamlets delay of action. The first soliloquy serves to set the stage for the rest of Hamlets thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is here that Hamlet