![]() There are undercurrents that seem to speak to his dilemma about what to do about Claudius, whether to kill him or not. He doesn't speak of "I" or "me," but rather "we." And yet, we can see how the speech does relate to his personal circumstances in a somewhat indirect way. (In the scene just before this, Hamlet has set in motion his scheme to put on a play to "catch the conscience of the King.") The speech is a bit removed from his personal circumstances, and seems to be more a meditation on the universal human experience of suffering. But given the context of the play, it doesn't seem likely that in the speech Hamlet is earnestly deciding whether or not to kill himself. It is apparent that the speech is about whether it is better to live or to die and the contemplation of suicide as a tool to end life's suffering. Now, I must take a moment here to explain that interpretation of this scene and this monologue has been hotly debated for a really long time. And high ambitions and great plans get turned aside and don't get put into action. And the healthy flush that comes with a committed resolve becomes sickly and pale with too much thinking. Thus our deeply thinking minds make us cowards. It confuses us and makes us accept our horrible circumstances in life, instead of rushing headlong into the unknown. Who would choose to take the oppression, insults, pain of unrequited love, the injustice and the abuse, when he could settle his accounts by stabbing himself? Who would bear these burdens if not for the fear of the afterlife, that unknown place where we all go and can never return. But what about what comes after death? That's the fear that stops us and makes us prolong our lives. Is it more honorable to endure the hardships of life or to fight back and end the suffering? To die and just sleep and end this enormous pain would be a relief. To show you an example of what you might come up with, here is the original text of "To Be Or Not To Be" and here is my summary: You more fully integrate your understanding of the monologue. By putting it in your own words, you make it your own. This is a good exercise to ensure you have a firm grasp of the overall meaning of the monologue. Summarize the monologue in your own words. My go-to free resource for looking up any outdated words is There are also sometimes "longer notes" in the backs of the books (both Arden and Folger), with more extended explanations and interpretations. Folger's notes are more concise and straightforward. Arden has more abundant, in-depth notes, but they tend to be more complex and academic. I prefer the editions of the plays published by Arden and Folger. It will explain a lot of the archaic words and references, clarify some of the sentence constructions, and will just generally provide a lot of juicy insight. ![]() An edition of the play with plenty of footnotes is your best tool for fully understanding the monologue and the play. Where in the play does the monologue take place? What happens before and after? This will help you interpret what is going on in the monologue and how to play it. It's helpful to understand the monologue as part of the larger play.
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