Hamlet's 'To Be or Not to Be': A Soliloquy Analysis and Interpretation

This essay provides an analysis of Hamlet's soliloquy 'To be or not to be' from Shakespeare's play, focusing on its significance within the context of the tragedy. The essay explores Hamlet's internal conflict, his contemplation of life and death, and his struggle with the decision to seek revenge for his father's murder. The analysis delves into the key questions posed by the soliloquy, examining Hamlet's state of mind and the philosophical implications of his words. The essay examines the soliloquy's role in revealing Hamlet's character, as well as how different performances of the soliloquy bring out various aspects of Hamlet's character. By drawing on both the text of the play and various performances, the essay aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the soliloquy's enduring power and relevance.

Running head: HAMLET
Hamlet and Soliloquiy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Hamlet, also known to the readers as well as the audience as The Tragedy of Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark, is one of the tragedies written by William Shakespeare, who is known to
be one of the most popular author and playwright of the world, Hamlet tell the readers about
the tragic story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark and his quest to avenge his late father by
taking revenge on his uncle Claudius, who had murdered his father for the throne and tried to
marry his mother. The play is said to be the longest play written by William Shakespeare
himself. Soliloquy’s play an important role in the tragedy itself and the essay will analyse
will one such soliloquy from the essay itself.
The purpose of this essay is to analyse a soliloquy from the play Hamlet by
William Shakespeare.
It might have been commonly seen by the readers that the soliloquies play a very
important role in the plays which were written by William Shakespeare himself. This is also
the case in the play Hamlet written by Shakespeare himself. In this tragedy, there have been
quite a number of soliloquies which have been used by Hamlet himself. However the most
important of all the soliloquies is Hamlet’s speech “To be or not to be”. This particular
soliloquy have been performed by actor David Tennant in the BBC play of the same name in
the year 2009 (Foakes, 2014)her instance where the same soliloquy was used in Oliver’s film
based on Hamlet, which was made in the year 1948. The discussion would also provide an
analysis of the soliloquy itself .
The soliloquy is said to be the most important of all the soliloquies which have been
stated by Hamlet himself. Trying to analyse the soliloquy, it is found by the readers that
Hamlet is in an anguished state at the present time due to the loss of his father (Foakes,n123.
His kingdom is under the control of his uncle who had murdered his father and usurped the
throne and married his mother. Through this soliloquy, the readers find Hamlet to be asking

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himself the question that whether his actions for his uncle is right, even though he murdered
his father, even though the decision to kill his father had arisen out of the despair which he
had felt at the time.
Hamlet is bothered by the actions which is about taking revenge on his uncle Claudius
for murdering his father (Foakes, 2013). Hamlet is not sure about his cations as there is the
question of responsibilities which he have for his people and the need for getting revenge on
his uncle. Thus, the soliloquy is related to the struggles of life and death.
At the send of the soliloquy, Hamlet realizes the answer to his questions. He realizes
the answer to the struggles which he had been facing them in the soliloquy itself. Thus, it can
be sad that Hamlet understands the difference between life and death (Arrington, 2015).
This, from the above discussions, it can be concluded that the soliloquies help the
reader to understand the subject matter from the perspective of the person speaking it. This
soliloquy is what makes the play so exciting for the audience themselves.

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Reference List
Arrington, P. (2015). Feigned Soliloquy, Feigned Argument: Hamlet's “To Be or Not to Be”
Speech as Sophistic Dissoi Logoi. Ben Jonson Journal, 22(1), 101-118.
Charney, M. (2014). Hamlet's fictions. Routledge.
Foakes, R. A. (2013). Hamlet’s Neglect for Revenge. Hamlet: New Critical Essays, 85-99.
Foakes, R. A. (2013). Hamlet’s Neglect for Revenge. Hamlet: New Critical Essays, 85-99.

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