Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Hamlet


In Act III, Hamlet delivers one of the best-known soliloquies in all of Shakespearean literature. Hamlet enters the scene alone after Polonius and Claudius plot with Ophelia to secretly observe a meeting between her and Hamlet. In his soliloquy, Hamlet reflects on his choice of life or death revealing his suffering on earth, his fear of life after death, as well as the ironic simplicity of a departure from earth.

In the beginning of his soliloquy, Hamlet poses his question of life or death. "To be or not to be - that is the question."(63) This first line of Hamlet's soliloquy sets up the rest of his speech. Everything else is based upon this thought. Hamlet then wonders

Whether 'tis nobler in the minds eye to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And, by opposing, end them. (64-68)

In these above lines, Hamlet continues his question of life or death and wonders what the right thing would be. He could suffer through all of the pain that he is in now, or he could take his fate into his own hands and put and end to his misery by killing himself. This thought continues through the rest of his speech. The first five lines in his soliloquy act as guideline


That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,

The insolence of office, and the spurns

Hamlet explains that that no one would ever live such a horrible life if it wasn't for this fear of the unknown. He also talks about "The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns."(88) Hamlet is referring to life after death. No one has ever come back from the dead to speak of what to expect. This adds to Hamlets fear. That line is a very crucial one to the soliloquy.

Hamlet then reveals his fear of life after death; fear of the unknown. Hamlet realizes that when you die, you may sleep, and that is the problem. For Hamlet fears that he may be haunted by bad dreams of his life on earth.

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,



Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 894
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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