Hamlet Essay Jake Patell

English/ pd. 5
This paper is about what I believe Hamlet meant by his famous question to be or not to be. It is
also about what events of the play prompt this speech. I believe that Hamlet was considering
suicide to end his life. The "To be or Not to be" speech portrays Hamlet as a very confused man.
He is very unsure of himself and his thoughts often waver between two extremes due to his
relatively strange personality. In the monologue, he contemplates whether or not he should
continue or end his own life. He also considers seeking revenge for his fathers death. Evidence
of his over thinking and uncertainty is not only shown in this speech, but it also can be
referenced in other important parts of the play.
In addition, throughout the speech, it is obvious that Hamlet is over thinking and
wavering between two different extremes: life and death. One reason is because in the book he
says"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to
take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them" (3, 1, 56-60). In this quotation,
Hamlet wonders whether he should live and suffer the hardships that his life has to offer him or
die in order to end the suffering. He believes that life is synonymous with suffering. Second
reason is because Hamlet also thinks and says the "whips and scorn of time, Th'oppressor's
wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay, The insolence
of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes" (3, 1, 70-74) are all the
suffering he sees in life. All Hamlet thinks about is his sufferings and just wants to end it. Last
reason is Hamlet says out loud that "To die, to sleep -no more; and by a sleep to say we end The
heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks...To sleep, perchance to dream" (3, 1, 60-65). He is
thinking that if he chooses to kill himself, all of his heartaches would be put to rest. He would no
longer have to watch his uncle reign over the kingdom.
Furthermore, I also believe that Hamlet truly meant to commit suicide by this statement
because of all the drama that is occuring. His father's ghost has told him what happened and
demands revenge. Hamlet has two ways of taking arms against the sea of troubles he faces--
committing murder, or committing suicide. Second reason why I believe he is planning to kill
himself is because he gives another indication of his possibly suicidal misery in Act 2, Scene 2,
when he says that he will walk out of the air and "into the grave." Third reason is because
Hamlet talks about the afterlife. He says that the miseries of life are such that no one would
willingly bear them, except that they are afraid of something after death (III.i.80). Because we
do not know what to expect in the afterlife, we would rather bear those ills we have, Hamlet
says, then fly to others that we know not of (III.i.8384).
In conclusion, there many reasons why I believe Hamlet is truly thinking about
committing suicide when he says "To be or Not to be". To name a few, first, is because in the
book he says "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them". Hamlet wonders
whether he should live and suffer the hardships that his life has to offer him or die in order to end
the suffering. Next, is because says the "whips and scorn of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the
proud man's contumely, The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay, The insolence of office,
and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes" (3, 1, 70-74) are all the suffering he sees
in life. At this point Hamlet is seeing all the reasons why he should. Finally, is because Hamlet
talks about the afterlife. He says that the miseries of life are such that no one would willingly
bear them, except that they are afraid of something after death (III.i.80).